Kiipu

This is what I have for Hirohisa 久廣 in 1937. 氏名 Full Name:　武藤･秀吉 Mutō Hideyoshi?. 刻銘 Inscription:　久廣 Hisahiro. 住所 Address:　福岡縣三潴郡大川町酒見四八六 Fukuoka-ken Mizuma-gun Ōkawa-machi Sakami 487. 徒弟ノ数 Number of Apprentices:　一 (１). 資本 Capital: ２､０００￥. 製造能力 Manufacturing Capacity: 一ケ月 一五 15 per month.

The name is 林清 on the tag. The first character is the last name and the last one is the first name. Many different pronunciations for each character though. @Stegel

Based upon the serial number of 110808東, it was made by Iijima in 1942.

Hi Cody and welcome to the forum. Below is a link to a brief introduction to the Type 95 Military Sword 九五式軍刀. Your particular sword was made by a company called Suya. IJA Type 95 NCO Sword Info

I know of one offshore sword with a name on it. It was made in Indonesia during World War II. A mei, a very odd/questionable Nakago, a weird mark and katakana writing.

The Fuller & Gregory book entitled Japanese Military and Civil Swords and Dirks, page 247 & 249.

枝川 Edagawa or Edakawa. A Japanese last name. Cross-Reference Help authenticating sword and signature

Some additional photographs of 80442 can be seen via the link below. "custom Nco"

The handle is a replacement part that an armorer/armourer would have at the divisional level and above. While this part is not common, they do occasionally make an appearance. As you can see, the spare part is not drilled for the mekugi. The area that is not pebbled indicates the approximate position of the mekugi. It is likely your sword was damaged while in service and the armourer had to replace the handle. The most common damage to Type 95s was as follows. Dent/bent scabbard (26.97). Scabbard tip wear & tear (13.48) Blade bent (11.24) Scabbard throat screw lost (10.11) Hilt grommet screw worn-out (8.98) Hilt grommet screw lost (8.98) By far the best source of information about the Type 95 is via the late Nick Komiya. Short Development History of Type 95 Gunto

Does this sword have a star stamp by chance? Maybe Niigata Prefecture タ２１９７?

The only thing I see is yellow paint. Not much more I can do with this one.

A Kanenobu made blade that is engraved on both sides of the blade. 濃州関住兼信作 Nōshū Seki-jū Kanenobu saku. Translation Help With Kanji On Both Sides Of The Blade Itself

Not exactly a military sword, but I think everyone will like looking at it nevertheless. 甲子大黒天 Kinoene Daikokuten (translation courtesy of Edokko). Engraving on Samurai blade?

Hi Daniel, welcome to the forum. I always like it when these swords make an appearance. They are thought provoking and divisive at the same time. Best case scenario, a wartime "tourist" sword, like the dagger my father bought in Karachi, India, in 1944. Worst case scenario, it was made some twenty to thirty years ago in China. Who is right, only you can determine as you have it in hand. All we can do is provide a learned opinion. No matter what, I like it and am glad you shared pictures of it. All the best and hope to hear from you down the road.

Nagamitsu used the character to the left that Jean shows above. This a variant of the character to the right and has the same meaning. It is just a little different. Names sometimes used variant characters that differ from normal ones. I posted the above more for the translators on the forum than the collectors. It does not affect your sword by any means and can be safely ignored.

Another Inami kantei-sho, which helped with the translation above, can be seen at the link below. Special acknowledgements to Geoff & Guy over at WRF. Help with Old Tanto and Papers

Kantei Hakusui 鑑定白水 [Seal of] Kantei Hakusui Kantei-sho 鑑定書 Certificate of Appraisal Tōkō-mei 刀工名 Name of swordsmith 　Jidai 時代 era/period: 前 before 　Nagasa 長サ length of blade: 尺寸分 Oshigata 押形 　PROVINCE 　MAKER’S NAME 　ERA 右正眞也ト相認メ申候也 　昭和年月日 　Nihontō Kenkyū Hakusuikai Kaichō 日本刀研究白水會會長 President of the Hakusui Sword Society of Japan 　Signed: Inami Hakusui 伊波･白水 [kao]

Dan-The-Man is overlooking the obvious blade damage that occurred during the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600! FYI, that is not rust, but blood stains. No doubt about it, extremely rare and priceless. Even Markus Sesko is in agreement. YOSHICHIKA (吉近), Shōō (正応, 1288-1293), Bizen – “Yoshichika” (吉近), Ko-Bizen school, jō-saku

Kawasaki Nagamitsu 川﨑長光 used a variant character for kawa 崎. It shows up on all his mei except for the shortened Nagamitsu 長光 forms. He was admitted to the Seki guild in 1941-0228. 濃州住川﨑長光作 Nōshū-jū Kawasaki Nagamitsu saku. 﨑 vs 崎

Mistranslation On The Book The nickname for Okayama Castle 岡山城 is Ujō 烏城 [Crow Castle]. The first name 龍起 can be pronounced several different ways, including Tatsuoki as used below. 備前国於烏城下市原龍起作 Bizen no Kuni oite Ujō-ka Ichihara Tatsuoki saku.

Placing a collect call to our resident Mino man. @mecox Kanenao, Ishihara Kanenao (兼直 石原 金直) KAN 1733 Born on 25 May, 1908 (Meiji 41), registered as a Seki tosho 27 October, 1939 (S14.10.27) age 31, and was living at Miagi, Tomioka-mura, Kamo-gun. Said to have been trained under Amaike Masatsune. He made some naval swords early on but later mostly worked in Seki on shingunto; Seki stamps. Cox, Malcolm E. Japanese Naval Swords, WW 2: Swordsmiths & Workshops. Part 1. 2021.

sarute (猿手) – Lit. “monkey hand.” Ring on the pommel opening of a tachi to which a cord could be tied. From page 378 of Sesko's Encyclopedia of Japanese Swords.

For another example, see the NMB thread below. Looking to find out what this Sword may be - type, value From Korean War Time Period

Oddly enough, sarute 猿手 can be translated as "monkey hands" and hence the depiction of monkey hands on your sarute. Clasped Hands Sarute

It was rather difficult to find but below is the thread. Leather hanger for Type 95 Cavalry 騎兵用?