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Help Identifying Makers Mark and History Japanese Army Sword

Submitted by Warren Odekirk on Sun, 2017-12-24 20:09

I am looking for assistance in identifying and providing a bit of history for a Japanese Army Officer's sword that was captured on May 29, 1945 in the Philippines during WWII. We believe the Makers Mark identifies the Maker as Yoshichika Minamoto, but we cant identify the rest of the characters on the tang.

The attached photos show the only characters found on either side of the tang. I haven't been able to located a temper line on the blade either.

Thank you for your assistance.

Warren

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#1Submitted by saipan59 on Wed, 2017-12-27 02:19.

Yoshichika

Hi Warren,
The signature is "Minamoto Yoshichika kore (o) saku", which means "Minamoto Yoshichika made this".
Note that Minamoto is a historical clan name, used by many smiths.
See YOS1067, which may be the smith that made your blade.

Pete
#2Submitted by Warren Odekirk on Fri, 2017-12-29 01:10.

Where do I look up YOS1067?

Pete;

I am very new to this so, where do i go to look up YOS1067?

Thank you for your assistance.

Warren Odekirk
#3Submitted by saipan59 on Fri, 2017-12-29 02:47.

YOS1067

Hi,
Go to the "Swordsmith Index" in the menu on the left.
Meanwhile, here is a direct link:
https://nihontoclub.com/smiths/YOS1067

Pete