Bruce Pennington

OLD THREAD UPDATE @Brian Wolfe Brian, If you are still active here, would you please post some photos of the nakago? The is an odd-ball of a sword, and these are always a mystery. The tsuka is fully Army while the tsuba/seppa set is Navy. The wooden saya (and fuchi) were made to be leather covered. Ohmura called them "informal saya", I like to call them field or combat saya, and can be found on both Army & Navy gunto, but predominantly on Army gunto. So the mystery is - was this mix done during the war or post war? You have it in hand and can speak to how well it all fits together. If tight, it could be during the war; if loose it could be post war. But even that isn't definitive.

OLD THREAD UPDATE The first linked site is dead, and I cannot read the second. So for posterity's sake, the longer sword is called the "Ko" (or first) made for cavalry NCO's. The shorter is called "Otsu" (or second) made for artillery and foot soldiers. They were released in 1899 and made through 1936, though they were seen being carried throughout WWII.

OLD THREAD UPDATE @Dave B - If you are still active here, would you do us a favor and post photos of the nakago (tang), please? This has hints of being Chinese made.

OLD THREAD UPDATE 義明 (Yoshiaki) Real Name 三品 直市 YOSHIAKI (義明), Shōwa (昭和, 1926-1989), Gifu – “Yoshiaki” (義明), real name Mishina Naoichi (三品直市), born July 27th 1909, he worked as guntō smith and died February 5th 1989, ryōkō no retsu (Akihide)

OLD THREAD UPDATE MITSUSADA (光定), but I don't know what era. They range from the 1300s to the 1800s.

Thanks to the help of many, I have a few articles on various sword topics that are free for download. Stamps of the Japanese Sword - A brief history of civil and military sword stamps with a collection of examples of each. South Manchurian Railway - The Mantetsu Sword - An extensive history of the SMR Mantetsu sword production, translated by J.P. Cesco from Ohmura's site, followed by a full run-down of the sword markings and recent discoveries we've made about them. The Mysterious NLF Gunto - A Souvenir - Lays out the discovery process we went through in finding out that 8 000 + souvenir swords were produced by the Tenshozan factory after the war. It appears to be a Navy kiagunto, but uses Army metal fittings. Enjoy!

OLD THREAD UPDATE The smith was - 兼音 (Kaneoto) KANEOTO (兼音), Shōwa (昭和, 1926-1989), Gifu – “Kaneoto” (兼音), real name Fujii Otoji (藤井音二), born 1921, he worked as a rikugun-jumei-tōshō, ryōkō no retsu (Akihide) The stamp at the top is the larger Seki stamp of the Seki Cutlery Manufacturers Association. These usually aren't dated, but the stamp was in use from 1940 - 1944, with the massive majority of dated blades in 1942. The civil organization was asked to inspect showato for quality.

OLD THREAD UPDATE This is not an NCO gunto. It is a contengency model (Rinji seishiki) of the Type 98. You can read about them on these threads by Nick Komiya: History of the misnamed "Type 3" Officer Sword Legally Rebutting "Type 3" nomenclature Unveiling the Rinji seishiki Sword in 1940 The smith is Yoshichika Probably this one: "YOSHICHIKA (吉近), Shōwa (昭和, 1926-1989), Gifu – “Yoshichika” (吉近), real name Yoshioka Tetsujirō (吉岡鉄次郎)" The photo on the date-side is not clear enough to make out. It is March of a WWII year, but cannot see that part.

OLD THREAD UPDATE The stamps are of the Toyokawa Naval Arsenal (anchor in circle) and below is the inspector for the Inaba Shrine forge. Blade is signed "Inaba made".

@steelbonnet - It's been a while, do you still have this Mantetsu? If so, could you please post full photos of bothe sides and the serial number on the back edge?