Kiipu

A PX souvenir sword by Kiyomichi 清道. The link still works.

The Naval Type 97 Military Sword was made in about 1942 or 1943 by Tenshōzan. 天照山鍛錬場作 = Tenshōzan Tanrenjō saku. Search Terms Type 97, Tenshozan, Kaigunto.

Was the は stamped sword in postwar souvenir fittings? I ask as it has a black painted 2-digit subassembly number.

I found all these by doing a NMB search using the term Anchor. It yielded 15 pages, I then sorted them in chronological order, and started with the oldest posts first.

A possible souvenir sword with black painted number of 四六 and stamped number of 867.

Tenshōzan souvenir sword number 二. Bruce, I thought you had gone through NMB for all these? @Bruce Pennington

Tenshōzan souvenir sword number 八五. @Bruce Pennington

Tenshōzan souvenir sword number 三五. @Bruce Pennington

@Bruce Pennington Did not see number 八八 in the Tenshōzan souvenir sword listing.

浅野侯爵　Asano Kōshaku　Marquis Asano. 阿部伯爵　Abe Hakushaku　Earl/Count Abe.

Whoops! I seem to have missed that fact. I guess the pink slip is in the mail.

A souvenir sword and a Type 100. Of note though is the nakago mune markings on the Type 100. Your opinion on 2 Japanese swords

Note the character for large 大 ink stamped on the back of the belt. Japanese naval sword belt

Hiromitsu was a Seki swordsmith. Considering this is a late war Type 100 it is probably just a machine made blade. Is this the same Gifu marked sword that you posted pictures of in the "Arsenal Stamps." thread? If so, calling @Bruce Pennington.

ウ七〇三 while @george trotter has reported ウ七〇四. U703 is an army contract blade with a yamagata "M" inspection mark.

And putting it all together, one gets the following. 廣光 = Hiromitsu. 昭和二十年四月 = 1945 April. I suppose it is a late war Type 100 with inspection marks?

And also maybe to waterproof the canvass? Plain canvass would be like a sponge. The late war Type 100 made by Nan-Man Arsenal used a rubberized canvass material possibly for the same reason?

Do you think the canvas was dyed or painted black?

Besides the black canvass that was used, I have also noted the use of a black "electrical tape" type of material. Does anyone know what the correct term is for this? Below is a link to one of the better illustrations of this material in use on an Inaba. Navy Rinji Model

Attention all hands! At the top of the page below the banner, click on Nihonto Info and then click on Research. Clicking on the last entry will yield Sesko's Compendium.

Hi Eric, it was noted that the sword was matching, presumably by the serial number? Is this indeed the case? A disclaimer is in order. Japanese officers did use and modify Type 95s. They could either rent or purchase them outright. It is a rather hotly debated issue when these hybrids, a Type 95 blade with officer fittings or vice versa, appear. Puzzling Type 95 Nco The leather sword knot is causing verdigris to form on the crossguard and should be removed. Also, some greases can stain the blade, so it would be wise to remove all the grease from the blade. Replace it with a substance that is more blade friendly. A finally, some better reading material for your edification. Short Development History of Type 95 Gunto

武州住正長 Bushū jū Masanaga.

The portion highlighted in white is 襾. However, I agree with Bruce that this is not the complete character which looks more like 酒. However, Trystan has forgotten more than have learned so take it with a grain of salt.

The blade and its fittings looks good but the scabbard is for an officer's sword. Notice the scabbard lock on the hilt does not lock into the scabbard. Also note the two tassels, one for an officer and the other for an NCO. I would hazard to say it is a mismatch; but it is real. What does the seller mean that the numbers match? Ask for a photograph of this.

The sword belonged to a youth school. The school name is abbreviated and thus difficult to identify exactly what school it is. These school markings are common on swords, rifles, and bayonets, used for training.