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Kaikōsha (偕行社) Guntō


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I came across an interesting signature on a guntō today. The sword was posted on FB by someone who supposedly inherited it from his grandfather. My attention was immediately drawn to the engraved cherry blossom, which I have never seen on a gunto before. Below which is written ‘Tōkyō Kaikōsha (東京偕行社). After a little research I discovered that Kaikōsha was an ‘old boys‘ club of sorts for retired officers. However, it also seems that they manufactured and sold military equipment, though I was unable to find any other examples of the cherry blossom or organisation’s name engraved on guntō. Has anyone else encountered one of these before?

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6 hours ago, BANGBANGSAN said:

It's  for Steel.

Now, I'm sure the Japanese Army didn't think it necessary to let the soldier know that his saya was made of steel.  So, I'm betting this is either an Army inspector whose mark is saying "Made of Army supplied Steel", similar to the role the star stamp played in later years, or it's a shop logo, which says "steel" in the design.  We also see several ways makers of officer blades sort of put "bragging rights" mei, or hotstamps, that state the type of steel used (Kobuse, Yasugi, etc), and maybe this is in that category. 

 

My gut says it's an arsenal inspector.  MOST stamps I've seen on drags are of arsenals, so maybe it's an approval of the steel used.  Though, I do have one with "Sha" stamped on the drag, which is possibly a contractor stamp:

image.png.57db01b157761dc31966ad669e19869a.png

 

Hrmph.  Just another mystery to add to the list.  Thanks Trystan.

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3 hours ago, Bruce Pennington said:

Now, I'm sure the Japanese Army didn't think it necessary to let the soldier know that his saya was made of steel.  So, I'm betting this is either an Army inspector whose mark is saying "Made of Army supplied Steel", similar to the role the star stamp played in later years, or it's a shop logo, which says "steel" in the design.  We also see several ways makers of officer blades sort of put "bragging rights" mei, or hotstamps, that state the type of steel used (Kobuse, Yasugi, etc), and maybe this is in that category. 

 

My gut says it's an arsenal inspector.  MOST stamps I've seen on drags are of arsenals, so maybe it's an approval of the steel used.  Though, I do have one with "Sha" stamped on the drag, which is possibly a contractor stamp:

image.png.57db01b157761dc31966ad669e19869a.png

 

Hrmph.  Just another mystery to add to the list.  Thanks Trystan.

Bruce

It's possible contractor stamp.But not likely for 偕行社 though.

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