Translation Japanese Sword

[JTO]

  Hi. I’m trying to find information on a friend’s sword that she inherited from her grandfather. He brought it back from the Pacific Theater after WW2. I think I have a partial date on one side of the sword transcribed that indicates it was made in February of 1940. Can someone transcribe the remaining characters and perhaps the maker on the other side, please? Thank you. 

[ROKUJURO]

Hi JT,

welcome to the NMB!

Please sign all posts at least with a first name plus an initial, so we can address you politely. It is a rule here.

The blade is indeed dated 1940, and the maker seems to read KANETOSHI (TACHI MEI). 

 

Do you see stamps of any kind on the NAKAGO (tang)? They might indicate the way the blade was made.

[Rawa]

RJT Kanetoshi - Military Swords of Japan - Nihonto Message Board https://share.google/FjYi7D9z4FmMNDmdX

Check this and look for star stamp. But mei looks different. More pictures of entire blade. Why it have 2 mekugi ana? Its mounted in civil koshirae now?

[JTO]

Thank you for the quick responses. There are no other markings on the tang. These are all the pieces I have for the sword. The tsuba has what appears to be a maker’s mark. Also some hand engravings that might be kanji characters. They look different than the rest of the wear and tear on the tsuba. 
 

JTO

[JTO]

I have another picture of the entirety of the tsuba that shows the possible engravings. 
 

Julie - JTO

[PNSSHOGUN]

Hi JT, the mark on the Tsuba is for Suya Shoten which was a high end maker of officers fittings and other military items. The other markings may be the officers surname. 

[JTO]

Thank you! I had hoped its manufacture date of 1940 meant it was a higher quality sword than what was mass produced after WW2 started. 
 

JT

[Rawa]

Wooden saya? It could be type 94 without some parts and leather cover. If you can please give us photo of saya entry.

[PNSSHOGUN]

The Type 94 pattern stopped in 1938, this sword is dated 1940. 

[JTO]

This is the best I can do with the photos of the scabbard. It may have been covered at some point. There are faded banding-type marks along its length. There are no specific markings. The family had no bring back paperwork, so this is all I have to work with. The family doesn’t care about it, but I thought if I could give it some history and a simple preservation, then maybe a family member might want to display it as an historical artifact associated with their grandfather. It’s what my family did with the German pistol my father bought back from the other side of the world. Thanks for all the help!

 

JT

[Bruce Pennington]

Hi Julie!

I think you are right that this saya (scabbard) was originally leather covered.  

 

With a 1940 date, the blade was made too early to see a star stamp.  My earliest on record is Feb, 1941.  Did you slide the brass collar, habaki, down?  Sometimes a stamp can be hidden underneath.  Either way, it might help if you post a couple of close-ups of the blade, showing the hamon (temper line).  Sometimes guys can tell if it was traditionally made by the way it looks.