Kiipu

And a link to a typical school used parade/dress/command sword. 法政大學豫科 = Hōsei Daigaku Yoka = Hōsei University Preparatory Department or Preparatory Department of Hōsei University. WW2 Japanese Army Sword -DESIRABLE Inscription

While browsing around on the Internet, I ran across this April 1937 dated Chiba Shōkai 千葉商會 catalog and thought others might enjoy looking at the sword section. It mentions several swords for school use in the upper left corner.

I ran across this while researching a Japanese trading company in New York City and thought I would pass it along. Hagiya Katsuhira [萩谷勝平] (1804-1886) Edit: Be sure to click on the three "Chrysanthemum" icons at the bottom of the page to show the "Marks", "Examples (from the web)", and "References".

The souvenir swords run the gamut as for as parts are concerned. The early ones would have used naval parts and when the supply was exhausted the switch to the more readily available army style parts. For this reason, the early souvenir swords could easily pass as a naval sword. No matter what parts were used, the goal was to have a nice looking sword for sale in the PX. And finally, never underestimate the wear and tear of kids playing with Dad's bringback!

The first two characters are indistinct while the last three characters 一太郎 are a first name.

This is the same exact sword that is pictured over at WRF. All the dings and scratches are the same.

See post #10 for an example of a black painted handle and scabbard. Leather covered sword @Shamsy & @Stegel

Nice! A 19th series commercial Mantetsu. It is the lowest reported serial number for this series. The highest is ツ 六五一 [TSU 651]. ツ 二九 = TSU 29. 昭和辛巳春 = 1941 Spring. 興亜一心　満鐵作之 = South Manchuria Railway Company (SMR) made this.

These swords are practically nonexistent here in the United States so I am somewhat chagrined to see everybody else around the world owns one. Fortunately, they show up in Indonesia, United Kingdom, Netherlands, and Australia from time to time. Right Column: ジャワ刀 = Jawa-tō = Java sword. Left Column: スマラン = Sumaran = Semarang. A city 市 or province 州 in Central Java. An Appraisal on Some Japanese Swords Please Sword Number 3

Bob, as an aside, the use of seasons is uncommon on Japanese swords from this period of time. As you are already aware, the swordsmith is Takehisa 武久 and the black painted subassembly number is 87. 八七 = 87.

Above the date there appears to be an M partial inspection mark; but, I will need "eagle eyed" @BANGBANGSAN to have a look at it first. 昭和十九年春 = 1944 Spring.

I asked Nick over at WRF to take a look at the logo and below are the two options that he came up with. 各農家の「山印」

The subassembly number is 22. 廾二 = 22.

Before coming to conclusions as to provenance, lets wait until it arrives and see exactly what kind of markings are on the nakago. In addition, the habaki can be taken off and an overall view of the blade can be seen. Patience is a human virtue after all.

My goodness, he speaks French too! Well in that case, it is all French to me! Chinese: 棒棒君 = BÀNG BÀNG JŪN = Master Bang Bang. (君 Japanese suffix for a boy's name & Master as in referring to a young boy in English) For those born after circa 1980, it may come as a surprise that my mother would address letters to me with the prefix Master followed by my name! Edit: Now that I think about it, all correspondence used a prefix such as master, miss (Ms.), mister (Mr.), misses (Mrs.). Every household would have a copy of Emily Post's or Amy Venderbilt's books about etiquette and the rest can be found within these books. Emily Post Amy Vanderbilt

A quick way to spot an early zōheitō is to look and see if it has a blade fuller or not.

It's all Chinese to me! 天皇 = Tennō = Emperor. 昭和十五年 = 1940. 佐藤小太郎 = Satō Kotarō. I am told by an anonymous source named "ecurb" that this is a pseudonym used by @BANGBANGSAN in his misspent youth.

Thanks James. Your sword was made by Kazunori and there are several examples of his work on this forum that can be found by searching under "Kanematsu Kazunori". 関住兼松一則作 = Seki jū Kanematsu Kazunori Saku. @mecox

@jamesbranagan, this was a little confusing for me having to go to your profile to see the pictures. One picture in particular caught my eye and I will repost within this thread. Exactly what part of the sword has this stamp and where is it located? I have not seen this marking before and several of us on this forum would like more details. @Bruce Pennington @BANGBANGSAN

Piers, I always use the existing thread title in case something goes wrong with the link. Since I am here and I am making a pest of myself, I might as well add another link! You just got to like these pictures? Small Table Displays at Gun Shows, Post #4

And his new forum name is Darth Vajo of Bavaria! @Xander Chia there are some really good articles that you should take a look at via the link below. You will find several that discuss the shortcomings of the traditional made sword, especially in regards to cold weather. Japanese Sword and Tosogu Related Articles This article in particular shows that even back then the shortcomings were known and workarounds were developed to address the problem. Ura Nihon no Toko By Yoshikawa Kentaro

Via GBF. Tanegashima/Teppo Wanzl Conversion

A little infographic just for Bruce! Amahide, Post #14

Hi Ed, best to just leave the habaki alone for the time being. Below is a link to get you started on the handle rewrap question. However, I would wait until others have chimed in with more recent experience. Type 98 Japanese Officer's Sword In addition, on the menu tab at the top of NMB, click on Nihonto Info. From the drop down menu, hover over Links and then click on Restoration. This will display several individuals who do sword work.

The same character, just old versus new style. 亞 = 亜 https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/亞 https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/亜