Kiipu

The plot thickens! Seems there are character variations within this Kanesada lineage. Akira Komiya over at WRF has pointed out that the 2nd generation Kanesada used 兼㝎 instead of 兼定. So maybe that is what is seen above? Strange sword Akira referenced the following Japanese Wikipedia article. 和泉守兼定

Malcolm Cox has released another monograph for gendaitō collectors and it is worthy of taking a close look at. It can be downloaded for free via the link below. Cox, Malcolm E. Yoshioka Yoshichika 吉岡 吉近, Shimada Yoshisuke 島田 義助, and the WARRIOR Stamp. 2024. A4 size, 47 pages. Yoshika Yoshichika, Shimada Yoshisuke and the Warrior stamp

Are we sure this is Kanesada 兼㝎 and not Kanesada 兼定? Strange sword

The emblem at the top center of the letter is for the Imperial Military Reserve Association 帝国在郷軍人会. This was a joint Army-Navy association and hence the star over the anchor symbol. 在郷軍人会 Thanks for sharing as I have never seen one of those letters before.

It relates to the Battle of Tsushima. The link below is courtesy of SteveM, who cited it in a previous Mikasa thread. Z flag

That is the swordsmith Isshin. 一心 = Isshin. ICHI (一)

While doing my usual grave digging, ran across a Katsumasa 勝正 with a number of 264. Not sure if this one is already recorded or not. Help with a stamping

After consulting with some of the translators, I am going to use the following translation. 昭和五年五月二十七日念之 = 1930-0527 kore o omou/omotte = in remembrance/commemoration/memory of 27 May 1930.

Another otsu dirk 乙種短剣 but with a chiseled name instead? Mikasa tanto translation

Updated link below via Wayback Machine. Star Stamped Japanese Sword ☆　隠岐国住沖光作　☆ Oki no kuni-jū Okimitsu saku. 昭和十八年七月 July 1943.

The date inscription under discussion is coming from page 87 of Modern Japanese Swords. The picture below shows the ura 裏 side of the katana-mei 刀銘. It also has a horimono of 皇國興廃在此一戦. For more information about the book, see the link below. New Book Out. Modern Japanese Swords: The Beginning Of The Gendaito Era Some corrections for the book can be found below. Mistranslation On The Book [Modern Japanese Swords: The Beginning Of The Gendaito Era].

On Windows, I guess one needs the Chinese language pack installed to see this character. In MS Office, the font used is "MingLiU-ExtB." The character that comes before 之 can be seen over at Wiktionary.org. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/𫝹 The key to understanding the meaning is the relationship of the battleship Mikasa 三笠, the steel used 砲鋼, and the Battle of Tsushima 日本海海戦. Thanks to Mal & Sueko for their help with the translation.

It is a Chinese character and I will post a link tomorrow. The reason for the character is that May 27th was the start of the Battle of Tsushima 日本海海戦.

18 Akihisa 昭久 19 Akinobu 昭信 20 Masatsugu 正次 21 Miyairi Akihira 宮入昭平 22 Hideaki 秀明 23 Hideaki 秀明 24 Yasutsugu 安次 25 Yasumitsu 靖光 26 Yasuhiro 靖廣 27 Yasuhiro 靖廣 28 Toshihiro 壽廣 29 Kunimori 國護 30 Yasuoki 靖興 31 Yasunobu 靖延 32 Yasunori 靖憲 33 Tsukamoto Okimasa 塚本起正 34 Kanenobu 兼延

Below are the kanji characters for the 51 swordsmiths in Modern Japanese Swords by K&M. 01 Gassan Sadayoshi 月山貞吉 02 Gassan Sadakazu 月山貞一 03 Miyamoto Kanenori 宮本包則 04 Gassan Sadakatsu 月山貞勝 05 Gassan Sadakatsu 月山貞勝 06 Gassan Sadakatsu 月山貞勝 07 Gassan Sadakatsu 月山貞勝 08 Yoriyoshi 頼吉 09 Minamoto Sadayoshi 源貞吉 10 Minamoto Katsumasa 源勝正 11 Mumei 無銘 12 Naohiro 直弘 13 Kurihara Akihide 栗原昭秀 14 Yoshihara Kuniie 吉原國家 15 Kasama Shigetsugu 笠間繁継 16 Akimitsu 昭光 17 Akihisa 昭久

I have not run into this ending on a date before. What would the Japanese pronunciation and English translation of 𫝹之? 表 omote: 以軍艦三笠砲鋼　秀明 motte gunkan Mikasa hō hagane　Hideaki. 裏 ura: 昭和五年五月二十七日𫝹之. 拵え Koshirae: 白鞘 shirasaya. 𫝹 = 念. Kapp, Leon, Hiroko Kapp, and Leo Monson. Modern Japanese Swords: The Beginning of the Gendaito Era. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2015. Page 87.

Stamp Alert @Bruce Pennington

Several noteworthly features on this old thread. Take a look at the habaki and mekugi.

Here is another one of those red stamps on the bottom of a hilt. Help with mei and where do i start?

Cross-Reference WRF: Translation of Mei(Gimei) on older Wakizashi

兵庫県 Hyōgo Prefecture. 井上安治 Inoue Yasuji.

☆ 武蔵国昭幸造之　☆ Musashi-no-kuni Akiyuki tsukuru kore. 昭和十九年一月吉日 A lucky day in January 1944. Musashi Province Found a second one in Japan. 表：昭和18年10月吉日 裏：武蔵国昭幸造之 https://aucview.com/yahoo/k173657682/

Gendaito Project YOSHIHIRO (慶広・慶廣), Saitō MOTOHIKO (元彦), Saitō KIYOMARU (清丸), Saitō KAZUFUSA (和房), Saitō MASANAKA (正中), Saitō

This would be Yamagata Prefecture prior to the serial number prefix of MA マ. 昭和十七年五月日 A day in May 1942. ☆　羽州山形住昭吉作　７４　"Star" Ushū Yamagata-jū Akiyoshi saku 74.

Jeff, you did real good. It is an early Type 100 with a "star" stamp and a serial number of 74.