Jcstroud

Pardon but I think we took a wrong turn in Albakerque?!@$%% back to the stamps.😊

Ok maybe yes maybe no but on August 25th through the 30th of1942 the Matsuya Department store had a Gunto Summer sale that had fittings and Swords on sale. Hideki tojo Ministry of the Army ,the Osaka Sword Club,The Japanese Sword Newspaper all Hosted the Event displaying the latest external specifications aka Rinji Seishinki this info came from the late and highly respected Nick Komiya. With all due respect.seems unlikely they did not know each other since they both had shops Tokyo and Osaka not to mention others. Small world no?

If my sources are correct the " mustache" stamp is called the Yamagata stamp it signifies War Department Property found it amongst your colleages posts here on NMB this anchor stamp as you know is a Tenshozan Tanrenjo stamp used on upper level Kaigunto

Interesting thought about the Px acquired souvenir blades is that I have yet to see one that was not "anti-rust aka stainless without the anchor in circle stamp , I guess they are not good enough for us but good enough for them perhaps.given their dark disdain for non traditionally made blades but later changed their opinion after Having seen the excellent examples such as Kazuichi and Ichiro Hattori ,Fujiwara Kanenaga and more but the purists dont want to hear that.

After all this you gotta do what ya gotta do

What coild explain all of this is Zenhiro Hattori was said to be the owner of Tenshozan Tanrenjo he also had forges in Osaka,Mishima City ,and ties to Seki city,Takayama forge,and inaba forge.He had established a large network of forges and stores .Some of these forges as you all know had resident Naval inspectors such as the Hattori forge in Osaka.It is no wonder how they could produce 8747 Souvenirs from November 6th 1945 and finish production by March of 1947 .it is said his son inlaw Eiji was instumental in saving many swords after the wars end. This probably explains why there are so many different stamps and as a result the swords were used as surplus. The Hattori Connection.And after all that where were they sold? The Hattori Building. Hmmmmm.

Question: if a sword was proven to be made after the war would it still be shunned irregardless of quality?

Ha ha ha I know my artwork is bad but.....oh by the way the Toyosuke souvenir for sale in France did not sell and got reposted. I tried to put in a bid but their website is like mission impossible .fubared if you know what I mean. But 1800 euros is a lot if you ask me would have offered at least a grand or better more with a certificate.

鎌倉 カマクラ. I think trystan wrote. KAMAKURA not sure what the two first kanji symbols are .mid war,4mm stamps,varied locations, same filemark patterns,

Dont know if this helps but here is one more to compare

REST IN PEACE TOYOSUKE

Bang Bang san do you have more info on this sword? Nakago pics etc?

Yes they from the same sword I only have this one Toyosuke #45 found it in Puerto rico mountains.7 years ago

Best i can do very faint but there

The marks are in pencil and are very faint this is the drawing in my notes showing the locations .they are very similar but seemingly inconclusive but no other ninben kanji comes close.except the ninben for tsuka.

Could that mean Toyosuke was a assistant to Inaba Kaneyoshi.? Working at the inaba shrine ? It seems i have left no stone unturned your patience with me and all my unanswerable questions deserves at the very least an honorable mention. Thank you all. John

What is strange is I found this same symbol on my Toyosuke tsuba.

Question if you were to find the same symbol written in pencil on the wood end of the tsuka under the fuchi what would be the significance.???

Here you go.

You can google the Inaba shrine but the photos are copyrighted.checkitout!

An interesting note : the kanji at the Inaba shrine seems to be a match. Very close to Gifu Castle also called Inabayama castle.

So far the 4mm anchor stamps that I have found on souvenir swords were from Takayama forge e.g. Masahiro Masanao ,Kanenao,Man of Nara....Was Takayama a prison forge or was this a myth?

You will also find this mark on pg 91 of 104 in Malcolm's Japanese Naval Swords pdf part2 by the same Inaname Kanenami . I guess it must be koshirai shop trademark I am assuming both toshos share the same marks likely Toyokawa inspection marks?

Hey Bruce we might have something here...the above photo of the stainless nakabo the mark below the 4mm anchor stamp has the same symbol as the wood end on the tsuka of Toyosuke #45 !