Tang Translation

[warbuff]

Hey everyone!

I had a nice Japanese Navy sword walk-in at the antique mall I work at. I was hoping maybe someone could help me with the translation of the writing on the tang. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Kind regards!

[rbminis]

This might help whoever tries to read the Kanji for you.
Ralph.

[ghp95134]

豊佐作
Toyosuke Saku
Made by Toyosuke

Assembly number:
四六
46

The circle stamp is most likely an anchor within a circle for the Toyokawa Arsenal. I've not found anything on Toyasuke, but have seen a few of his other swords on the internet and they all have the Toyokawa Arsenal stamp.


Cheers,
-- Guy

[SteveM]

There is some discussion on the Nihonto Message Board about "Toyosuke". I'm not following it so closely, but basically I think the speculation is that the swords signed "Toyosuke" were produced at the Toyokawa Naval Arsenal in the months immediately after the war, possibly produced as souvenirs for US servicemen. (Apologies for not having the details. Bruce and Thomas might be closer to the various theories than I am.).

[Bruce Pennington]

It would help to get a clear shot of the small stamp at the top, and an overall shot of the fittings. Most Toyosuke blades we've found have been in souvenir fittings but a small number have shown up in wartime kaigunto fittings.