Tokubetsu joint

[Striking 9th]

Sounds more and more like the Tokubetstu joint was something he had smoked.
Another irresponsible author, exhaling his trigger happy fantasy for a fancy quick caption that gives collectors a boner?

LOL....nice!!!! Hope you get out of there soon my friend.

[Geoff Ward]

Hope you get well quick Nick! Best wishes,Geoff

[BOB C]

Mr.banks passed away this summer.

[RussellM]

Nick, I love your sense of humour - classic!

Get well soon!

Regards

Russ

[gunto]

Mr.banks passed away this summer.

Sad to hear. RIP.

[Nick Komiya]

I checked the naval regulations and amendments, but as expected, there is no record of such a dagger ever being introduced. Daggers are part of the Navy Uniform Regulations 海軍服制 and establishment of a new dagger or any spec changes　require the imperial signet and signature to be enacted, so it is like a person with no birth record. That does not rule out prototypes, but a navy dagger with army insignia sounds a little too far-fetched even before getting to a prototype. Is there any reference to it in a Japanese source, so I can use those exact words to check? So far as I can see no Japanese source mentions it. So for now it's a Yeti to me.

[Nick Komiya]

Let me now show you what a birth certificate of a dagger should look like.
Here are the first and last pages of the 6-page Imperial Ordinance 99 from 1914.

[gunto]

Now got it in hand. Im 100% sure its made in the time.
The star mekugi is constucted in the same way as the sakura ones.
The brownish laquer on the handle is the same color as a kaigunto saya and a navy parade dress saber I have. Both are mid war pieces.
All parts marked 30. Crossguard has the diamond w/ N , this stamp are smaller than another one I have.

[Nick Komiya]

The army flyers that supposedly received these daggers would have been members of the Yasukuni unit, an army unit that was trained in torpedo bombing using the army's Peggy, heavy bomber converted to a torpedo bomber. By the end of 1944, the navy lacked experienced pilots and the army lacked navigators that could keep the plane on course over the ocean, so a joint crew was put together covering each others weaknesses as a trial case. The army personnel served as the pilot and gunner, whereas navy personnel served as the navigator, radio man and bombardier. They were placed under the navy's command from October 1944 and took part in the battle off the coast of Taiwan, etc. I do not believe for a moment that they received special daggers, but at least this gives you something concrete to research.

[GHP]

FYI re: Seal-Stamp

Gunto,

FYI --That one flag you're using as a backdrop has the seal of the Shichi-no-Miya Shrine:

七宮神社

Shichi-no-Miya Jinja (Japanese language only)




--Guy

[gunto]

Thanks Nick ,
Interesting story and I will try investigate further.
When looking at japanese military and civil swords from 1968-1945 there are so many variants and small things. So Im in no doubt that this dirk was issued. But time will maybe tell.

Thanks Guy for the translation . The flag has more stamps.

[gunto]

The dirk at then buttom is from same maker.
The parade sword is of same quality as the star dirk with same guilding and brownish laquer.
Last photo shows that someone wrote B.E.H. on the seppa.