Kiipu

Encircled anchor with black painted 95. Nice ww2 late war Japanese Naval sword SOLD

@mecox Who is this? s499 nice Japanese Gunto sword star stamped gendaito pat 44 mounts

There you go Piers, I made it 70!

Ran across it today and agree that it is suspect. The good general is indeed the rather outspoken Ishiwara Kanji. 石原莞爾閣下佩刀 = Ishiwara Kanji kakka haitō. e345454334

I prefer to see each side of the tang in separate columns.

宗利　３９４ = Munetoshi 394. [Serial number is upright versus upside down]. 昭和十六年十 = 1941 October. Arsenal Mark on RJT sword Fittings

I have another early Type 100 by Munetoshi 宗利, serial 394, that is dated October 1941. Serial number is stamped in the same direction as yours.

Normally numbers on that side do not match the other parts. However, never say never.

Can confirm that it is a Mitsunaga as I can see both characters. FYI, this is the first Mitsunaga that has a painted subassembly number on it.

Definitely an early souvenir sword. On picture 13, is that an encircled anchor stamp inside of the habaki? Would this have been stamped prior to folding the metal to form the habaki?

You mean the black staining around the upper right edges? Lets call it a six and call it a day!

Sesko, Markus. Encyclopedia of Japanese Swords. Lulu Enterprises, Inc., 2014. Page 453. WWII = Word War II.

It does seem to be an Asian two-handed handle for use with a sword. Maybe some sort of Japanese or native sword hilt. The metal tang would seem to have been about 5 inches long based upon the indentations in the wood.

I do not recall seeing this type of handle before. Maybe a handle for a machete? It has the lanyard hole in the back. What is the overall length and how long is the cutout in the wood for the tang? I wonder if @Dave R would know what it is for?

Hi Kyle, the mei is 山川秀夫 Yamakawa Hideo. The tang markings and stains are identical to the sword below. Help with translation of symbols on WWII Sword tang

The white painted characters look like 平二一七一 [Hira-2171].

It does kinda look like a handwritten six (6) or a really bad zero (0).

You are right, it is in the K-range and 37730 is within the serial number range used by this maker. I am unaware of these K & 一 markings being intermixed. @Stegel

I agree with Conway. However, the second one has an unfullered blade and could be of interest to some collectors that are missing this Suya variation.

Hi Peter, it is not a Japanese character or a logo. Are there similar markings on the other side? Also, it seems as if there is some abrasion adjacent to the indentations? Maybe some type of repair was going on?

☆　武蔵国昭則造之　Musashi-no-kuni Akinori Tsukuru Kore. 昭和十八年八月吉日　サ１６４　A lucky day in August 1943　SA-164. A Type 100 with a star stamp and prefecture serial number. 品番No-sw23169

A list of the known serials can be seen via the link below. Whats the DEMAND for early copper handled type 95 ncos swords??

Ran across this November 1944 picture of Japanese naval officers and one clearly has a single hanger on his sword. Kaiten Group "Kikusui"

The drawing of the seventeen (17) dirks is coming from a Japanese publication called RANRU. The translation below is courtesy of Shiro Yoshida. Left Column, Top to Bottom 1) Imperial Forest & Field Bureau. 2) Small Forest Station. 3) Forest Officer. 4) Governor’s Headquarters of Taiwan. 5) Governor’s Headquarters of Korea. 6) South Pacific Government Office. 7) Navy Cadet. 8. Navy Officer. 9) Imperial Police Guard. Right Column, Top to Bottom 10) Government Office of Karafuto, Sakhalin. 11) Department of Imperial Household. 12) Red Cross. 13) Railroad Bureau. 14) Police Officer. 15) Firefighting Officer. 16) Manchuria. 17) Manchuria.

The translation can be found via my link above.