Kiipu

According to the leaflet handed out by the committee, the 将校軍刀鑑査委員会 [Officer Military Sword Inspection Committee] was located inside the 陸軍兵器行政本部 [Army Ordnance Administration Headquarters] building located at 東京市牛込區若松町 [Wakamatsu Town, Ushigome Ward, Tōkyō City]. See frames 5 and 7 of the document linked below. https://www.jacar.archives.go.jp/aj/meta/imageen_C14020933500?IS_KEY_S1=C14020933500&IS_KIND=SimpleSummary&IS_STYLE=eng&IS_TAG_S1=InfoSDU& About half of this document is already translated at the link below. http://www.warrelics.eu/forum/Japanese-militaria/family-short-blades-gunto-688110/

The link below is the first one that came to my attention back in September of last year. The serial number is way off according to Pennington's Mantetsu table. Should be dated 1942 and not 1940. http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/26165-attention-mantetsu-owners-a-survey/page-9?do=findComment&comment=302430

The Kōa Isshin 興亞一心 blades used two different styles of kanji for 亞. The early blades dating from Spring and Fall of 1939 used 亞 and those dating from Winter 1939 and after used 亜. See Ohmura links below. However, the Winter 1942 dated sword linked below is using the early version of 亞 and not the later version of 亜. This is the only exception I have found to date. Does anyone know of any others? http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/4407-mantetsu-with-attribution/ 興亞一心 marked blades. 昭和己卯春　W 38. 昭和己卯秋　ハ 二四 [HA 24]. 昭和壬午冬日鷹信焠之　ヤ 二四六 [YA 246]. Ohmura Links http://ohmura-study.net/221.html http://ohmura-study.net/222.html

I had not noticed this and it is an important detail that needs to be looked at. The 1944 dated 満鐵鍛造之 blades appear to be drilled as Type 100s while the 1944 dated 興亜一心 blades are drilled as Type 98s. I think the ヒ HI and モ MO prefixed 満鐵鍛造之 blades are possibly coming via Tokyo Arsenal and have M partial inspection marks. All are hilted as 98s. However, ヒ 一一五五 is drilled as a 100 but fitted as a 98. Possibly more HI and MO blades are drilled as 100s as well. The セ SE and ス SU 満鐵鍛造之 blades were possibly assembled by Nan-Man Arsenal and lack the M partial inspection stamp. All are fitted as 100s. There is only one 興亜一心 blade in all this and it is a セ SE and it can be seen at the link below. Notice the nakago is drilled as a 98. https://popgun.ru/viewtopic.php?f=163&t=830563 Of course, all of the above is subject to revision by Bruce, JP, & Co., Ltd.

I found the post which has even more pictures. civlian katana in military use http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/15735-civlian-katana-in-military-use/

Ohmura Tomoyuki 大村･紀征. Shinsetsu tatakau Nihontō 真説　戦う日本刀 [True Theory, Japanese Sword Fighting]. 2019. http://ohmura-study.net/601.html The contents can be found at the link below. http://www.hiden-shop.jp/SHOP/mb-oom1.html Looks like chapter 5 has a section on Mantetsu. 満鉄刀　～鉄道部品製造技術を活かした高品質刀

While not encountered to date, donated swords were to be marked with an encircled 愛. 愛 = ai = love. http://www.warrelics.eu/forum/f216/short-development-history-type-95-gunto-676112-post1954301/#post1954301 The marking above differs from the more common marking of 愛国 as pictured at the link below. 愛国 = aikoku = love of country or patriotism. http://www.castle-thunder.com/model.htm

I have been of the opinion for some months now that Nan-Man Army Arsenal was the one assembling these Mantetsu Type 100 Officer's Contingency Swords. The lack of the M partial inspection mark is the only evidence that would seem to support this opinion at the moment. Some months back, I read over a hundred pages of wartime production records from Nan-Man Arsenal and could find no evidence that they had anything to do with swords prior to 1944. Nan-Man was not even a small arms producing facility for that matter. The easiest sword for them to setup for and start assembling would be the Type 100 and that appears to be what happened.

Just in case one does show up, here is the character 私. The New Nelson number is 4124, page 805. For additional information, see the link below. http://www.warrelics.eu/forum/Japanese-militaria/kanji-use-queston-728958/

More information about the 関 stamp can be found at the link below. http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/5999-arsenal-stamps/page-16?do=findComment&comment=315240 Nakago Reverse Seki 関 stamp followed by either January 1945 昭和二十年一月 or February 1945 昭和二十年二月. I am leaning toward February 1945.

I had to translate this term today and this is what I came up with. Tōcho, n. 刀緒 a sword-knot; sabre-knot. Source: Creswell, H. T., J. Hiraoka 平岡閏造, and R. Namba. A Dictionary of Military Terms: English-Japanese, Japanese-English. American ed. Chicago, Ill.: University of Chicago Press, 1942. Page 1160.

Rikugun Toyama gakkō 陸軍戸山学校 [Army Toyama Physical Training School]. Guntō no sōhō oyobi tameshigiri 軍刀の操法及試斬 [Military Sword Handling Techniques and Test Cuttings]. March 1944. https://ndlonline.ndl.go.jp/#!/detail/R300000001-I000000675993-00 The manual above is a compilation and revision of two previous Toyama manuals: 軍刀の操法及試斬 (1940-11) and 短期速成教育軍刀（一撃必殺）訓練要領 (1942-01).

One down, one more to go! Do I detect a master plan at work here? Let me guess, a stamped Masayuki?

As the original link no longer works in the "Star Stamped swords" thread, I have provided the current Ohmura san link below. This page is in both Japanese and English. 造兵刀　Army Arsenal blade http://ohmura-study.net/206.html

http://ohmura-study.net/211.html Bruce, we pay you way too much money for these kinds of mistakes! The sword is dated October 1939. Instead of using a 四, a side-by-side 二 二 is used instead. 昭和十二二年十月日

Two more additions to the original post. Kaigun gijutsu kenkyūjo 海軍技術研究所 [Naval Technical Laboratory]. Bujin-tō no tairyō seisan ni kansuru kenkyū 武人刀の大量生産に関する研究 [Research on Mass Production of Warrior Swords]. 昭和十四年十月 [October 1939]. https://www.digital.archives.go.jp/das/image/F0000000000000218509 Watanabe Kunio 渡辺国雄. Guntō 軍刀 [Military Sword]. Yūseidō shuppanbu 有精堂出版部, 1944.

The short sword has the plum blossom which is associated with China and Manchukuo.

Stenger-Scott Publishing http://www.stenger-scott.com/#issue/Issue/portrait/1

NLF Gunto Discussion http://www.warrelics.eu/forum/Japanese-militaria/nlf-gunto-discussion-672281/

Without documentation it is hard to tell. Is it a contraction or an inspection mark?

Additions to original post. Ōno Tadashi 大野･正. Gendai tōkō･kinkō･shokkata sōran 現代刀工･金工･職方総覧. [A General Survey of Modern Swordsmiths, Metalworkers, and Artisans]. Seiun shoin 青雲書院, 1977. Murakami Kōsuke 村上･孝介. Shōwa tōken meibutsu chō 昭和刀剣名物帳 [Catalogue of Noted Japanese Swords of the Shōwa Period] Tōkyō 東京: Yūzankaku shuppan 雄山閣出版, 1979. Kishida, Tom トム･岸田. Yasukuni tōshō 靖国刀匠 [Yasukuni Swordsmiths]. Tōkyō 東京: 1994. Banks, Ken. Japanese Pattern Dirks: The Banks Collection. Zor’s Military Antiques, 2011. Fuller, Richard. Japanese Sword Surrender Tags, 103 Fully Translated: Plus Retention Certificates & Surrender Letters. Dreadnought Publishing Co., 2014.

Document Parts 其一　昭和十九年度鍜錬刀軍刀生産計画表 Part 1　1944 Fiscal Year Forged Sword Military Sword Production Plan Table. 鍜錬刀 = tanren-tō = Forged Sword. 其二　昭和十九年度造兵刀軍刀生産計画表 Part 2　1944 Fiscal Year Arsenal Sword Military Sword Production Plan Table. 造兵刀 = zōhei-tō = Arsenal Sword. 其三　昭和十九年度特殊鋼刀軍刀生産計画表 Part 3　1944 Fiscal Year Special Steel Sword Military Sword Production Plan Table. 特殊鋼刀 = tokushukō-tō = Special Steel Sword. Arsenal Abbreviations 東一造 = 東京第一陸軍造兵廠 = Tōkyō 1st Army Arsenal. 名造 = 名古屋陸軍造兵廠 = Nagoya Army Arsenal. 大造 = 大阪軍造兵廠 = Ōsaka Army Arsenal. 小造 = 小倉陸軍造兵廠 = Kokura Army Arsenal. 南造 = 南滿陸軍造兵廠 = Nan-Man Army Arsenal.

I thought the stamp was only used by one swordsmith though, a Morimitsu 盛光? As a standalone character, 福 can mean fortune, blessing, luck, or wealth. http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/25687-mune-stamp/?do=findComment&comment=279876

福 FUKU Meaning unknown but it does show up twice on nakago mune. http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/25687-mune-stamp/?do=findComment&comment=259498 http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/5999-arsenal-stamps/page-12?do=findComment&comment=279790

It is the full company name for Mantetsu's sword factory and it coming via Ohmura sensei. http://ohmura-study.net/221.html The name breaks down into three parts. Written in the usual Japanese manner of top to bottom. 南満洲鉄道株式会社　South Manchuria Railway Co., Ltd. (SMR). [More commonly know by its abbreviation of Mantetsu 滿鐵 = 南満洲鉄道株式会社.] 大連鉄道工場　Dairen Tetsudō Kōjō　Dairen Railway Workshop. 刀剣製作所　Tōken Seisaku-jo　Sword Factory. 鐵 = 鉄.