Kiipu

A GBF thread asking about current reproductions. Does anyone make firing/functional Tanegashima matchlock reproductions?

A sword/uniform shop logo that has been encountered before. Arsenal Stamps. Old versus New 神 = 神

Ted, glad to hear my post above was useful; alas, the list above was only focused on the army though. For a list of naval dictionaries, see my post over at TPF. Japanese Military Dictionaries For Japanese sword terms, see the NMB thread below. Japanese Sword Encyclopedias & Dictionaries

A peacetime specification versus wartime specification. Sharpening and dulling blades were taken for granted

Magazine sold.

Just in case some missed it, the scabbard has some writing on it in white paint. Tonkin･1945 Tonkin (French protectorate)

As an aside, I have been unable to find a blade made by Sakō Hideichi 酒向秀市 to compare to. Also, he does not show up in the 関鍛治刀匠名簿. And to add to the confusion, I think I found a third Kanezumi 兼住 from Gifu listed on page 220 of Slough's book. 鷲見兼住 Washimi Kanezumi.

Correct, there was a second one in Gifu Prefecture by the name of Kawasaki Sen´itsu 川崎専逸. Below are some examples of his mei. 濃州住川﨑長光作 Nōshū-jū Kawasaki Nagamitsu saku 関住川﨑長光作 Seki-jū Kawasaki Nagamitsu saku 長光 Nagamitsu

See response above. 皇紀二千六百年 = Imperial Era 2600 Year = 1940.

Is that picture coming from a book? I found a Kanesumi with similar fittings but the tang pictures are unreadable? It has the same white painted numbers as the one above. WWII Era Japanese Kanesumi Sword See Slough, page 66, and look at the profile of the bottom of the Kanesumi tang.

There seems to have been two swordsmiths that used the name of Kanesumi 兼住. Form Sesko's Gendaitō web page comes the following. Of these two, Satō is the most common. Kanesumi 兼住, Satō. Kanesumi 兼住, Sakō. Below are some examples of Kanesumi 兼住 mei that may be of possible interest. 1. Almost there... Note top right corner. 2. New Pick Up Note the partial loop. 3. kane......something Note the partial loop.

I have been discussing this with Akira over at WRF and Edokko over at GBF. Akira mentioned this mei came up for discussion over at WAF and the owner stated it was from Kanesumi 兼住. Edokko found an example of a sōshotai 草書体 of 住 that is similar that I will attach below. The jury is still out though as the stylized character has elements of several others. Hopefully down the road another blade will surface to assist in identification.

Fujita Masao 藤田昌雄. Mōhitotsu no rikugun heiki shi: Shirarezaru rokaku heiki to dōmeigun no jittai もう一つの陸軍兵器史〜知られざる鹵獲兵器と同盟軍の実態 [One More History of Army Ordnance: The Role of Captured Weapons and the Condition of Japan's Coalition Forces]. Tōkyō, JP: Kōjin-sha, 2004. Page 239. 2004-fujita-もう一つの陸軍兵器史-pp239.pdf

Do you have any other pictures of the sword?

Kaneuji 兼氏 used the same style Kane but the second character differs. Military Sword with Shark skin Saya ?