Kiipu

ホ = 1st Factory of Kokura Army Arsenal. All the blades below have a second inspection mark that is the katakana character ホ HO stamped on the top of the blade tang. This HO stamp is an inspection mark used by the 1st Factory of Kokura Army Arsenal. Japanese army ordnance records confirm that the 1st Factory manufactured swords. What I find interesting is that all the blades have different final inspection marks on them. These include stamps from Kokura, Matsuyama, and Nagoya. Could this indicate that the 1st Factory only made blades that were distributed to others for final fitting? 小 ホ = http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/5999-arsenal-stamps/page-1?do=findComment&comment=57569 小 ホ = http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/5999-arsenal-stamps/page-11?do=findComment&comment=223259 山 ホ = http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/5999-arsenal-stamps/page-9?do=findComment&comment=183735 名 ホ = http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/5999-arsenal-stamps/page-8?do=findComment&comment=143580 名 ホ = http:// www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/5999-arsenal-stamps/page-9#entry176662

Koizumi Chikaharu 小泉･親治. Guntō 軍刀 [Military Sword]. Tōkyō Suikōsha 東京水交社 [Tōkyō Naval Club], 1938. Tsutsumi Akira 堤･章. Guntō kumiai shimatsu: Rikugun jumei tōshō no shūhen 軍刀組合始末: 陸軍受命刀匠の周辺. Aizu bunkazai chōsa kenkyūkai 会津文化財調査研究会, 1994. Further Information on Jumei Tosho

To me, they are one and the same. The K was dropped and replaced by 一. Just like Seki which went from the 岐 logo to the 刀 logo. Serial Numbers in Sequential Order 38027東 K within a cherry blossom. 38254東 K within a cherry blossom. 39023東 K within a cherry blossom. 68452東 一 within a cherry blossom. 68765東 一 within a cherry blossom. 68920東 一 within a cherry blossom.

I agree as does Komiya san over at http://www.warrelics.eu/forum/f216/short-development-history-type-95-gunto-676112-post1753234/#post1753234!

Here are the characters for Mizuno as they appear in wartime documents. Mizuno is a Japanese surname with only one pronunciation according to Japanese Names by P. G. O'Neill. 水野

Bowen, Chris. The Kato Smiths of Meguro, Tokyo: Taisho to the Present – Excellence in Obscurity. 2017. Gendaito Reference Fs: Kato Smiths Of Meguro, Tokyo

Deduction on my part. Japanese wartime production records give the name as 神戸. In 1942, Kokura Arsenal transferred this company to Tokyo 1st Army Arsenal supervision. So, I am looking for a sword company that starts with 神戸 and is somewhere in the Tokyo area. A few nights ago I was reading through the Arsenal Stamps. thread and there was the advertisement. When I saw the address in the advertisement, I just about fell out of my chair! Ohmura's website also speculates that this was the maker too. http://ohmura-study.net/794.html

Here is some more information about 合名会社神戸商店. http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/5999-arsenal-stamps/page-5?do=findComment&comment=98780

An Australian collector from Victoria told me that Type 95 fuchi came in either brass, iron, or copper plated alloy. Can anyone identify what material this fuchi is made of? It is coming from a 神戸商店 made Type 95, serial number 68452東. Sorry about the maker's name, the translation is currently unknown as it is a last name that has like five pronuncitions! http://www.warrelics.eu/forum/Japanese-militaria/Japanese-nco-sword-verification-676512/

I like your website and the way it is laid out. I wish more websites were as convenient to navigate.

The phamplet is a 1998 reprint of the below 1943 War Ministry document that I acquired from Japan. More or less, it is just a pamphlet that illustrates the markings. It does not go into the details. For the record, there are earlier versions of this document but this is the only one that I have seen. Rikugunshō 陸軍省 [War Ministry]. Rikugun Heiki Gyōsei Honbu 陸軍兵器行政本部 [Army Ordnance Administration Headquarters]. Ken’in oyobi hyōshiki kitei 檢印及標識規定 [Regulations for Inspection Marks and Signs]. General Order 2389. 19 October 1943.

Kokura Arsenal 小倉工廠 was established in 1933 and in 1940 was renamed Kokura Army Arsenal 小倉陸軍造兵廠. Ogura is a common mistranslation of Kokura 小倉. This mistranslation dates back to World War 2 and continues to this day via "Google Translate". 小 = ko, o. http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/5999-arsenal-stamps/page-12?do=findComment&comment=263167

Another Japanese army inspection mark used by the Matsuyama Branch Office of Kokura Army Arsenal. 山 = yama http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/5999-arsenal-stamps/page-9?do=findComment&comment=183735

In regards to the second kanji character 特, this is another one of those obscure Imperial Japanese Army inspection marks. It can be used by any factory. This inspection mark indicates special approval. 特 = TOKU http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/5999-arsenal-stamps/page-11?do=findComment&comment=243760

Looks like a deeply struck Na inspection mark. Carefully look at the fuchi and see if you can see any arsenal or company logos. Don't fret as it looks like yours is iron and it can be hit or miss in that case. 名 = na

I think I found the Mizuno company logo and inspection stamp but still have no serial number. Does anyone know the complete name for this company? http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/5999-arsenal-stamps/page-11?do=findComment&comment=219263 Mizuno stopped Type 95 production in 1942 because of some quality control issues. http://www.warrelics.eu/forum/f216/short-development-history-type-95-gunto-676112-post1753234/#post1753234

The above translation was generated by "Translator for Microsoft Edge.' For those using Microsoft Edge as their browser, you can learn more about it below. With one mouse click, the entire web page is translated. I use it all the time and think others will find it useful too. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/p/translator-for-microsoft-edge/9nblggh4n4n3?activetab=pivot:overviewtab I also use "Google Translate" for cut and paste work when browsing. I even use it sometimes when working with MS Office documents. Sometimes it is easeir to look up the character by "Google Translate" and then cut and paste into MS Office. Using the "Insert" function in MS Office can be a time consuming affair to say the least. https://translate.google.com/ Enough said.

Ohmura's website mentions that the serial numbers are in iroha order. Just giving credit where credit is due. http://ohmura-study.net/222.html

Yes, it is readable and it is as you say. 関 Seki Edit: You need to rotate the picture 90 degrees clockwise to see it clearly.

Before proceeding, open a MS Word document and go to the HOME tab. In the Font box, use the drop down menu and one will see all the fonts installed in alphabetical order. Check and see if you have MS Mincho installed. If so, you are good to go. If not, you may need a Japanese language pack depending upon what version of MS Office/Windows you are using. While you are at it, check and see if you have MS Gothic as it has kana as well. There also other fonts available as well. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_CJK_fonts

The information is coming from the Ohmura website. It matches exactly. With that said, it would be interesting to find out what publication reprinted it. Possibly a club newsletter or such. http://ohmura-study.net/222.html

It would be helpful for me if the database could distinguish between what kana is being used [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kana]. Typically KATAKANA is written in UPPERCASE while hiragana is written in lowercase. And yes, spellcheck is going to make your life miserable in MS Word! No sooner than you type "TO" it will change to "To". I wonder why they call it progress? ト = TO と = to My reason for bringing this up is the following Mantetsu. I guess they could not find a katakana TO stamp so decided to confound us with a hiragana one instead! Post #67 http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/26165-attention-mantetsu-owners-a-survey/page-3?do=findComment&comment=271524

Typo in database. ケ731 and not KU731-S. ケ = katakana KE. https://japanesesword.com/archived-pages/2017/7/28/mantetsu-to-in-34-pattern-shin-gunto-mounts-hit-in-the-fuchi-by-bullet Post #217 Is this one missing from the database? http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/26165-attention-mantetsu-owners-a-survey/page-8?do=findComment&comment=293774

Post #36. The second sword pictured is different from all the others in that the katakana character イ is in parentheses (イ). This detail is important and needs to be recorded as such in the database. (イ) 1644 http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/26165-attention-mantetsu-owners-a-survey/page-2?do=findComment&comment=270357 Post #141 And another one! (イ) 556 http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/26165-attention-mantetsu-owners-a-survey/page-5?do=findComment&comment=279859

Post #14 The katakana character is YA and not SE. ヤ 72. According to your table, this would date to 1942, possibly autumn. http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/26165-attention-mantetsu-owners-a-survey/page-1?do=findComment&comment=264433