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Old 04-07-15, 01:11 PM   #1
GoldenRivet
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It is definitely a Japanese Arisaka Bayonet

The circular symbol with the figure 8 represents the Nagoya Arsenal, this is actually the symbol of Nagoya at the time and is derived from the symbol of the two mythical dolphins (the Shachi) symbolized on the roof ends of the Nagoya Castle which is a prominent land mark in Nagoya

The diamond symbol represents the bayonet was manufactured by a company called Riken Kozai under the supervision of Nagoya Arsenal (or under authorization or contract etc)

much like you have the Vought F4U Corsair - while being designed and built by Vought contracts allowed for the aircraft to also be produced by Brewster and Goodyear because of demand - the same is true of Japanese rifles and bayonets - the Arisaka had a couple of variations in the design, but due to the sheer numbers needed for production several companies were authorized to manufacture them... Riken Kozai being one of them. While Riken Kozai's headquarters was located in Gunma Prefecture their primary factory was in Tokyo.

Thus based on the markings on the blade, this bayonet was produced in Tokyo by Riken Kozai under the authorization of Nagoya Arsenal

as for the serial number "59131" - the serial numbers ranging from 50,000 to 99,999 were manufactured by from 1940-1945. the closer the serial number is to 50,000 - the closer to 1940 the production range... 99,999 would be the last Arisaka bayonet produced by this manufacturer prior to the surrender.

the "glyph" preceding the serial number is called a "series marker"

If there was an absence of a series marker it meant that the bayonet was produced for training of soldiers and would have been issued to military schools in Japan or would have been used to train soldiers during their bayonet training - this would also be indicated by the absence of a serial number entirely

because there is a glyph preceding the serial number, one can deduce that this bayonet was produced for issue to a combat ready unit

the series marker preceding the serial number just shows the series of bayonet

EDIT: given the image of the scabbard and the overall length from end to end being 20 inches - it is 100% a Japanese Arisaka Type 30 bayonet. Given that the serial number is pre-60,000 i would estimate the bayonet was constructed prior to the end of 1941 which means it was probably part of the bayonets disseminated for use almost anywhere in the Pacific Theater of Operations during WW2 - there is unfortunately no way to know exactly where each bayonet went or what battles - if any - it participated in. But you can almost guarantee that this one was affixed to the end of a rifle, and given the tenacity of the fighting in the Pacific its likely that it saw combat - even if it never did draw blood.
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Last edited by GoldenRivet; 04-07-15 at 01:36 PM.
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