1892 Type 25 survey assistance needed

[Scogg]

Unfortunately the other side is not shown. I commented and asked if anything can be seen on that side. Hopefully we get an additional picture 

[Scogg]

[John C]

Thanks, Sam. That mark is what I would expect but wanted to be sure.

 

John C.

[John C]

Just as a point of interest on the marks, the two seen above on 11157 (possibly Koide) start arond 9536 and are the only ones seen until around 12000 or 13000 when the marks changed location to the guard. Prior to that, there were 6 or 7 different marks used in several different configurations. We now have 49 on file.

 

John C. 

[Scogg]

Got another one for you @John C

 

At the Vegas arms show

 

 

[John C]

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?

[Bruce Pennington]

Looks like "HOホ "  to me, upside down

[John C]

6 hours ago, Bruce Pennington said:

Looks like "HOホ

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

 

John C.

[Scogg]

ホ = HO = 小倉陸軍造兵廠第一製造所 = 1st Factory of Kokura Army Arsenal

 

All the best,

-Sam 

[Conway S]

@John C Here’s another one- serial number 5419. There were no stamps on the guard and as you can see it was put in a Type 32 scabbard. These are the only two pictures I grabbed because the blade itself was in rough shape. 

 

[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.

[Kiipu]

The right side of the character is 僉.  It is most likely a Chinese character used in a name.  Trystan or Conway S might be able to figure out the left side.

[John C]

1 hour ago, Kiipu said:

It is most likely a Chinese character used in a name.

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

John C.

[Conway S]

I think the left is the hand radical - 手 （扌). So maybe the character seal script is the Chinese character撿 （jiǎn)

[John C]

3 hours ago, Conway S said:

Chinese character撿 （jiǎn)

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.

[BANGBANGSAN]

On 1/31/2026 at 4:04 AM, Kiipu said:

The right side of the character is 僉.  It is most likely a Chinese character used in a name.  Trystan or Conway S might be able to figure out the left side.

@BANGBANGSAN

It’s 撿, but it should be 檢 — stamped the wrong character, like this one

 

Edited yesterday at 04:03 AM by BANGBANGSAN

[John C]

51 minutes ago, BANGBANGSAN said:

It’s 撿, but it should be 檢

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

 

John C.

[Kiipu]

On 1/20/2026 at 5:22 PM, Scogg said:

 

Note the 水 character to the right.

[Kiipu]

On 1/23/2026 at 11:06 AM, John C said:

p.s. For anyone - is that a KO stamp on the drag below the middle 7?

 

No, it is not the 小 stamp.  It kinda looks like 未.  Would need more examples to determine exactly what character is being used.

[Kiipu]

14 hours ago, BANGBANGSAN said:

It’s 撿, but it should be 檢 — stamped the wrong character, like this one

 

I think this is just a case of using an older character instead of a misstamp.

@SteveM

[SteveM]

Interesting. It sure looks like 撿 (or its variant 𢮦), but Japan really doesn't use this kanji.

 

To my mind, it should be 検 (or its old variant 檢), which means "inspected" (i.e. the sword passed a quality control inspection.) So I have no idea why a kanji that isn't used in Japan should be stamped on a sword. Its not very likely that a Japanese sword shop would have a stamp of an unused kanji on it. Possibly it was made in China/Manchuria? Or, maybe there is some other explanation? 

 

 

[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.

[BANGBANGSAN]

These swords were not made in Manchuria. If any connection to China must be made, it is that in 1906 the Suya shop exported 900 swords to China（清國Qing Empire) The attached drawing indicates that they are similar to the Type 25/32.

 

 

[BANGBANGSAN]

On 2/1/2026 at 12:49 PM, John C said:

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

 

John C.

Yes,It means inspected.

[BANGBANGSAN]

6 hours ago, SteveM said:

Interesting. It sure looks like 撿 (or its variant 𢮦), but Japan really doesn't use this kanji.

 

To my mind, it should be 検 (or its old variant 檢), which means "inspected" (i.e. the sword passed a quality control inspection.) So I have no idea why a kanji that isn't used in Japan should be stamped on a sword. Its not very likely that a Japanese sword shop would have a stamp of an unused kanji on it. Possibly it was made in China/Manchuria? Or, maybe there is some other explanation? 

 

 

Variant of “検” or “𢮦”: Based on its structure (扌 + 㑒), this character is often treated in dictionaries as a variant of “檢” (simplified to “検” in modern Japanese) or “撿” (rare in Japanese, more common in Chinese). Some large databases, such as Kanji Jitenon, list it as a glyph variant of “撿”.

It definitely should be 検/檢 for inspected.

[Kiipu]

When I first looked at it, I thought it could be 檢.  The reason I hesitated was because the left side of the character had a vertical line with two Vs towards the top and bottom.  Normally in Japanese, the lower V would be upside down; however, this character had both upright.

 

11 hours ago, BANGBANGSAN said:

It definitely should be 検/檢 for inspected.

 

I agree and the rōmaji ローマ字 pronunciation of ken is the same.  They are one and the same.  I also agree it just means inspected.

Wiktionary 檢  [See under Chinese alternatives]

@Markus

[Kiipu]

16 hours ago, John C said:

I had also entertained the idea the swords may have been made in Manchuria or Dalian.

 

The Meiji 25th Year Cavalry Sword was made by Tōkyō Hōhei Kōshō 東京砲兵工廠 [Tōkyō Artillery Arsenal].

 

I strongly recommend everyone reading this thread to take a look at this book.  (Mod Scogg says I can use bold, italics, and underlining at the same time for dramatic effect!)

Military Industries of Japan