Japanese? Chinese? Character Translation Requested

RobT · 13th April 2025, 05:45 PM

Hi All,

When I first saw this knife on the seller’s table, I thought it was Philippine but on closer inspection, I’m not so sure. The 6.125” (15.5cm) blade is ground on one side only. As you can see from the flat side photo, the blade profile, while slightly asymmetrical, really doesn’t have a clip point as the grind would make it appear. The ground side of the blade is stamped with Japanese or Chinese characters plus a concave sided diamond shaped maker’s mark with some illegible characters inside it. Can anyone translate the legible characters? The guard, ferrule, and pommel cap are steel. It appears that the tang is peened over the pommel cap but it looks like factory work, not the typical Philippine blacksmith job. The hilt itself is lathe turned hardwood and is very smooth. The shape reminds me of a plug bayonet hilt. The blade, guard, and pommel cap are joined together with no movement but the ferrule and the wood hilt rotate freely. There is a leather washer at the base of the blade. No sheath.

Sincerely,
RobT

13th April 2025, 05:45 PM	#1
RobT Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 531	Japanese? Chinese? Character Translation Requested Hi All, When I first saw this knife on the seller’s table, I thought it was Philippine but on closer inspection, I’m not so sure. The 6.125” (15.5cm) blade is ground on one side only. As you can see from the flat side photo, the blade profile, while slightly asymmetrical, really doesn’t have a clip point as the grind would make it appear. The ground side of the blade is stamped with Japanese or Chinese characters plus a concave sided diamond shaped maker’s mark with some illegible characters inside it. Can anyone translate the legible characters? The guard, ferrule, and pommel cap are steel. It appears that the tang is peened over the pommel cap but it looks like factory work, not the typical Philippine blacksmith job. The hilt itself is lathe turned hardwood and is very smooth. The shape reminds me of a plug bayonet hilt. The blade, guard, and pommel cap are joined together with no movement but the ferrule and the wood hilt rotate freely. There is a leather washer at the base of the blade. No sheath. Sincerely, RobT Attached Images