John C

@Bruce Pennington Bruce: This one just popped up on showa22. You might have it already if he's reselling one. https://www.ebay.com/itm/236612905534? John C.

Thanks everyone. This is helping to narrow down the actual meaning (and timing) of the stamps. I've tried to research the tensho script stamps and I'm finding more results in the Chinese charts than the Japanese charts. I had also entertained the idea the swords may have been made in Manchuria or Dalian. The journey continues..... John C.

@Bruce Pennington I apologize up front if this has been posted before. Thomas sent me a document re: a pic of a meiji 25, however it also had mantetsu pics in it. John C.

Thanks, Trystan. So in re: my post above, does it mean "to inspect"? John C.

Here's a 1st gen Mishina Nobuyoshi with kiku. John C.

Possibly, however there were a lot of Nobuyoshi throughout the years. Shinano was used by several, including 1st and 2nd Gen from 1661 through about 1723, which is why I asked about the kiku. I think you will need to kantei the blade to determine a period then go from there. John C.

Kyle: Is there a kiku above the mei? John C.

Interesting. I found a reference for jian chai, which in one sense can mean to "inspect." Probably a play on words with the inspector's name and the radical for inspect. John C.

It reminds me of the left side of "censored". John C.

Thanks, Conway. Those pics will do nicely. It gives me the serial number and the stamp on the ura side. In fact, it's only the second time I have that particular stamp - and right around the same time frame (the other example was serial 5546). John C.

I too thought it was not legit on first instinct. The kissaki looks like the wrong shape and the tsuba, while fat, looks too fat and does not have the right shape. There should be more of an angle from the flat center of the mimi to the edge. But never say never with military swords..... John C.

Interesting. Does appear to have some sort of "battle damage", though it isn't in gunto mounts or in a leather-wrapped saya. Could be the type carried by a gunzoku or maybe suffered from some over zealous previous owner testing out his marksmanship on granddads souvenir. John C.

Steve: I use 8-9 oz leather for holsters, sheaths, and such. If you have an old leather belt, holster, or sheath you aren't using, it's probably 8oz (about 1/8 inch) and would do nicely. John C.

Nice shot of Mark Hall Patton, aka the Beard of Knowledge. John C.

Steve: WW2 mounts, however I don't think it's a ww2 blade. Could be an older family blade or a pre-war made blade. John C.

Answer key for Tosogu puzzle:

Answer key for this puzzle:

Thanks, Bruce. Please refresh my memory on what the HO stamp signifies. Does it pertain to a certain arsenal or factory? John C.

At 84 years old....I would probably have a stroke just signing my name. I suspect there may be some minor differences. John C.

For folks interested in doing a crossword on tosogu, I posted one in that forum. Enjoy! I hope these are both fun and educational. Thank you for looking. John C.

Hello: I've been doing a series of crossword puzzles for entertainment with a slant toward learining and research. And I didn't want to leave out the tosogu folks. Please find attached a puzzle of easy to medium difficulty (mostly easy) just to exercise the brain pan for a few minutes. Other puzzles can be found in General Nihonto and Izakaya if you are interested. I found this topic to be the most difficult because of the number of alternate meanings and descriptions, so there may be more than one answer - just use the one that fits the puzzle. The puzzle can be downloaded or just viewed in the screenshots. Enjoy! John C. Crossword Puzzle_4_a Tosogu.docx

Thanks, Sam! Number 50 on the list. John C. p.s. For anyone - is that a KO stamp on the drag below the middle 7?

John: In re: the crysanthemum on the ears - would that be considered a 16 (outer layer) or 32 petal (including the back layer)? John C.

The only way to know for sure is to send the sword to shinsa. If it gets papered, then you can be confident. John C.

Just a general note about these. They were so popular with G.I.s during the war that they were being faked and sold during the war. It got so bad that Stars and Stripes had a cartoon about the practice. John C.