Kiipu

Better pictures would help with the reading. The text in red below would need better pictures to confirm the translation. 源昭兼 = Minamoto Akikane 昭和二十年一月 = 1945 January Blade started out as a Type 100. Note the second hole toward the bottom. I would carefully check it for a "star" stamp and/or inspection marks on the nakago mune.

The 94s with arsenal 造兵廠 blades had more curve to the hilt compared to other 94s. Not sure why this was. An example can be seen via the link below. Not sure what is going on with the one above though. Help with sword

Below is the citation for the recent Plimpton book. This is a sword only book and thus no coverage of Japanese dirks. I would recommend acquiring a copy of the 1997 F&G book first before the Plimpton book. Plimpton, John E. Swords of the Emperor: A Guide to the Identification of Imperial Japanese Swords, 1873–1945. Nashville, TN: Headstamp Publishing, 2022. Swords of the Emperor (Standard Edition)

What better way is there to start the new year than with some gendaitō reading material. Mal & Co., Ltd have thoroughly revised the two part treatise on Japanese naval swords. This was a major, full-time, undertaking by Mal & Sueko that took months to accomplish and the results speak for itself. Do give Mal a big thanks for all that he has done via the download pages linked to below. Lets support those that help us be better informed collectors. Cox, Malcolm E. Japanese Naval Swords, WW 2: Swordsmiths & Workshops. Part 1. Updated. 2024. A4 size, color illustrations, 132 pages. Japanese Naval Swords Part 1 Cox, Malcolm E. Japanese Naval Swords: Swordsmiths & Workshops. Part 2. Upgraded. 2024. A4 size, color illustrations, 166 pages. Japanese Naval Swords Part 2

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.