Bruce Pennington

Adding a couple photos for ease of discussion

Well, this is an interesting one! Above the mei and ana, you can see where someone filed off a Showa stamp. It was an inspection/approval stamp of the Seki Cutlery Manufacturers Association, used between 1935 and 1942. Most dated blades with the stamp are from 1940-1941. Sesko lists a Kuniyuki: "KUNIYUKI (国行), Shōwa (昭和, 1926-1989), Ōita – “Kuniyuki” (国行), real name Honjō Tetsuo (本荘鉄男), rikugun-jumei-tōshō" "Ōita" is the city or prefecture he was from: "rikugun-jumei-tōshō" or RJT was an Army program that had tight production specifications, and their blades come with a star stamp, but the program didn't start until 1942. Kuniyuki obviously applied for the program when it was instituted, and passed the test for entry. The showa stamp most likely means the blade was not made in the traditional manner, but in my experience, the blades bearing this stamp are well made, and nice quality.

@PNSSHOGUN John, Are the habaki you posted from your files? I don't see them on the Jauce auction gunto. @Gerry - Thanks for posting this. I've gotten some great Imperial Gift habaki to add to my files, and all of these are better than the one I had in the Stamps doc. I've updated the document with a good one from this thread.

Does that blade actually fit in the scabbard? Doesn't look like it would. Did the locals have machetes?

Wow, great find, Trystan! Lacking any other info, it's all we have to go by for now.

Don't see him in Sesko's list. If anyone can find him, it would be @mecox. Nice blade!

1942 Thanks!

While waiting for the smith translation, The tsuka is nice. Saya was made for a leather cover, now missing, and the haikan (belt loop ring) has be put on upside down. Also, the seppa has been flipped, as it is blocking the hole in the tsuba for what would have been a leather strap & snap around the fuchi. Wartime polish makes it hard to see hamon details, but with the current photos, it seems to be showato (non-traditionally made). Not a bad gunto, depending upon price.

Excellent photos, Den, thank you! Date range on Seki stamped blades is 1940-1944, with the massive majority of them in 1942. Ha, thanks, it's just something I enjoy doing!

Posting photos in case the link ever goes dead. Blade is showa-stamped Hidetoshi, no date. I have several of his on file, and about half are in civil fittings.

Isabella, So very kind of you to share this info, thank you, and that picture of you two is quite lovely.

Joop, While we wait for translation, can you show a couple pics of the blade and blade tip? Ito wrap is folded all in one direction, standard for Chinese work.

Rob, you've been holding out on me! Does that one have a date on the other side? Jon, Yes, a Showa stamp, and date June 1941. Nice find! Amazing how many of these have been saved from the dumpster over the years.

Another, for sale HERE

Nice find, Thomas! The first site went for: 源任功 Minamoto no Tadakatsu/Yoshinori Just for clarity, the reason I'm chasing this is because I have a blade with this mei, posted by @KB1107 some time ago, with the numbers "115 115" stamped on the end of the nakago. Once this one popped up, I noticed the differing kanji to other Yoshinori blades I have on file.

Hi John! You've got a very fine Mantetsu sword there! 2nd photo Koa Isshin Mantetsu made this 3rd 1942 Spring Serial number: RA 1027 Interesting note, you now have the earliest know Mantetsu blade with the "W/M" stamp! Our understanding is that it is a "halfway inspection" mark. It's seen on all sorts of military equipment of the era, but they started showing up on blades in 1942 when the Army assumed control of all sword production. Ray's link has all the essentials. For a more in-depth read, you can download our South Manchurian Railway - The Mantetsu Blade article. @Kiipu @BANGBANGSAN

Thanks Steve, I'm checked each one to see if Sesko uses any of them. So far, I've found a TŌSHI (任使), but obviously, the wrong second kanji. He also uses it in SATŌ (左任) → UTŌ (右任), and KUNITŌ (国任), but no recorded uses of the TŌ in front. Now, this is a reach, but is it possible the mei uses simplified versions of other kanji, like: NORISUKE (法助)? On another note, Markus lists the second kanji as: (功) Koto, as in: ARIKOTO (有功), And in the end, we already know there were several WWII smiths that simply don't show up in anyone's lists.

@hobnails Chris, any stamps?

Sesko lists a bunch of various kanji for "Yoshi" but none with this one. Do you have a reference for it? Could we see if anyone has a different reading for this smith?

First blade I have seen from him: YOSHINORI (嘉則), Shōwa (昭和, 1926-1989), Gifu – “Yoshinori” (嘉則), real name Matsuyama Umeharu (松山梅春), ryōkō no jōi (Akihide), Fifth Seat at the 6th Shinsaku Nihontō Denrankai (新作日本刀展覧会, 1941)

Thanks again, Gilles! It will be in the next Stamps doc, next March.

Thank you, Gilles! I will list it as Yoshikiyo then. I don't have a Masashige kao on file. Would it be possible to get a shot of that one?

Just finished scanning for the kanji with no luck. The only time 白 was in a mei, it was part of a locale. Not surprising. We see the same dilemma in the WWII smith lists. Just can't possibly have everyone that ever did the work on a list. So, as your best guess, are we going with "Hakusei" as the English pronunciation?

Looks like: 義兼 (Yoshikane) 三品 由一 Real Name The 3 dots are just punch marks to tighten the hole on the nakago. The two different numbers tell us that at least one of the seppa aren't original to the rig. Whether a replacement during or after the war - no way to know.

Markus' book isn't really laid out for easy name searches. I didn't find either name in my attempt. I was searching the English, though. Next time I have time, I'll try browsing the kanji in the names to see if I spot one. Thanks guys!