Japanese Samurai Sword Blade And Tang Markings

JAPANESE BLADE MARKINGS - The blades of swords, knives and bayonets are often marked to indicate different type of information. things such as blade strength, location of manufacturing, unit of issue, etc. are indicated. The markings are inscribed in different ways. Sometimes in the shape of symbols, other times by using letters from the alphabet or kanji symbols. This information is brought to you courtesy of MilitaryItems.com a provider of military antiques and collectibles to private collectors, museums and educational institutions. JAPANESE MILITARY SWORD TANG MARKINGS The Samurai swords are often marked. Most of the markings are found in the tang area. There are exceptions to this rule, specially with machine made blades. Other swords that can have markings in the tang include the ofifcer parade swords. These blades can be hand-made, just like the Samurai sword, therefore it can have the same type of markings. The following table provides some examples of how the swords can be marked. For additional information on how to read the markings of Samurai Sword.  No   MARKING   DESCRIPTION 1 Samurai sword tang Marking. This type of markings usually indicate the date in which the sword was manufactured. additional information may include the location and the name of the sword maker. Often times the name of the master will be found on the opposite side of where this inscription is found. 2 This is the mark of the Cherry blossom. The symbol of the Japanese Imperial Army. This stamp is found in a Samurai sword of WWII vintage. 3 Samurai sword maker signature Marking. 4 This picture shows manufacturing markings painted on the tang of a Samurai sword. More than likely this is a serial number. These type of markings are found on WWII Samurai swords. The paint used for these markings is usually green, red or white. 5 This is an arsenal Marking. Stamped on Samurai swords with machine made blades. The marking indicates WWII production. Markings of this type are most often found near the base of the tang or near the end section. They are not usually found in the middle of the tang. This marking is known as the Seki stamp. JAPANESE BAYONET MARKINGS Japanese WWII bayonets were stamped with the arsenal marking at the base of the blade. The marking was found on one side only. Additional markings such as serial numbers may be found on the pommel. In some cases the cross guard was also stamped with the arsenal logo, however this case is not very common. The following are pictures showing some of the markings found in Japanese Arisaka bayonets used during WWII. These are arsenal markings. It is importan to note that these may not be all the markings found in the Japanese bayonets. It is possible that other companies produced the item.

No	Logo	DEscription	Company
1		The arsenal marking consists of four balls. One in the center while the others are spread on the sides.	Tokyo arsenal before the year of 1936.
2		The Arsenal marking remained the same bu the name was changed.	Kokura arsenal from the years of 1936 to 1945.
3		This arsenal marking is composed of two logos. One is the four ball pattern. The other is knwon as the hourglass logo due to the shape being similar to an houglass.	Unknown company name but under Kokura supervision.
4		The arsenal marking shown here consists of a five pointed star with a circle in the center. An oval shape is seen inside the circle.	Jinsen arsenal in Korea.
5		This is another compound arsenal marking. Two logos are stamped on the blade. One is the four ball pattern. The other is an arrow pointing to the right with the letter "M" in the center.	National Denki under the supervision of Kokura
6		This arsenal marking is composed of two logos. One of the stamps is a short diamond with a character in the center. The other logo is a circle with a reversed number 8 in the center.	Toyoda Automation Loom Works under Nagoya supervision. Also known as Toyoda Jidoshoki Seusakusho.
7		The arsenal marking consists of a circle with a set of horns at the bottom.	Nagoya arsenal.
8		This arsenal marking is composed of a half circle with a five pointed star located above it.	Unknown arsenal.
9		this marking consists of an arrow pointing to the right. The center of the shaft shows the letter "M". The tail has fins.	National Electric or National Denki.
10		This Arsenal marking is the shape of a circle with a smaller circle inside it. The inside circle has three lines coming out of its sides.	The Mukden arsenal located in Manchuria.
11		This arsenal marking consists of a Japanese character.	Murata arsenal.
11		This is an interesting marking. Not sure if this is intended to be in this shape to indicate an arsenal or if this is not really a marking.	Unknown if it is an arsenal.

Japanese Samurai Sword Tang

The Japanese Samurai Sword Tang - This page is dedicated to the study of the Samurai Sword blade tang. The different aspects of its construction are discussed here. Several photos and drawings are provided to facilitate its understanding. This information is brought to you courtesy of MilitaryItems.com . The provider of military antiques and collectibles on the web.

The tang is the end of the blade opposite to the point. Its promary function is to provide a place where the handle of the sword can be attached. 

The tang of the Samurai sword contains a good amount of information regarding the date, swordsmith, school/village and construction of the blade. It is important to note that not all of this information may be found at one time in every blade. Some tangs will contain less information than others.

TANG SHAPES (NAKAGO)
The tangs of the Samurai swords came in a variety of shapes. The following photographs feature some of the shapes. It is important to note that these are not all of the shapes that existed. The Japanese term to describe the shape is Nakago.
The following section shows pictures of the tangs and also provides a graphical interpretation as a means to provide a different way in which to look at the shape of the tang.

Tang type Funagata - This tang style is commonly found in swords from the Showa period (World War Two) as well as older blades.
Tang type Futsu - The tang featured here is found in most swords from the World war Two period (Showa).
Tang type Shiribari - This shape of tang is commonly found in blades that are from the early 1800's and older.

THE TANG FILING MARKS (YASURIME)
Another distinguishing factor found on various Samurai sword tangs are the filing marks. These consists of a series of straight lines that were applied by the swordsmith by using a file on the surface of the tang. The Japanese term used to describe the markings is Yasurime.

The following pictures and graphics illustrate the different types of tang file markings. Where available a photograph of the markings is provided. It is important to notice that the patterns shown here may not be all of the ones that were available but are the most commonly found.

FIRST SET OF FILE MARKS

Gyaku Taka No Ha - This design of tang file markings is known as the "V" pattern due to the fact that its lines are very similar to the letter. This is a fairly common pattern.	Kesho - This is a more complicated design. The file markings are made in three different directions.	Kiri - The pattern formed by this design consists of a series of horizontal lines. This is a fairly common type.

SECOND SET OF FILE MARKS

Higaki - Know as the "X" pattern due to the fact that the file marks follow the same pattern as an X. Also known as the checkered pattern.	Katte Agari - A file pattern consisting of perpendicular lines at an angle. The downward direction is from right to left. Very similar in design to the Sagari pattern except for the angle of inclination.	Kiri Sujikai - This tang file pattern consists of one side with a straigt set of lines then the other side angling downward.

THIRD SET OF FILE MARKS

Sujikai - This pattern consists of a series of perpendicular lines at an angle.  The downward direction goes from left to right.	Katte Sagari - A file pattern consisting of perpendicular lines at an angle. The downward direction is from right to left. Very similar in design to the Katte pattern except for the angle of inclination.

This page is dedicated to the study of the Samurai Sword tang. The different aspects of its construction are discussed here. Several photos and drawings are provided to facilitate its understanding.
One of the most commonly asked questions is "How much is my Japanese sword worth?". A price guide is available and can be seen by visiting our Samurai Swords section. A trend can be observed. The present worth of the items in the collector's market is illustrated.
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THE TANG - TIP SHAPE

The tang of the Samurai sword comes in a variety of shapes. Some of these were created by the swordsmith as a trademark. Others are the result of the shortening of a blade. The shape of the tang is known as "Nakago-Jiri".

The following photos illustrate some of the different shapes of Nakago found on the swords.

Kuri Jiri tang style. This type is characterized by the use of a smooth rounded surface. Composed primarily of a single line.	Haagari tang style. Two rounded lines are meeting at one point. Usually one line is shorter than the other.	Kengyo tang style. This tang tip is identified by the presence of teo straight lines meeting at one point where one line is usually shorter than the other.	Kiri tang style. This is the type of tang normally seen on swords that have been shortened. Consists of a flat end.
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Liyamagata Tang. This type is composed of three lines. Two of them coming to a small flat section found at the very top.

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