Sometimes people list these mounts as marine or navel but this is not correct. This is a late war army officers sword from WWII. This sword is a hand forged blade and not mass produced. It has good hada that was well forged and a very active hamon that was water quenched in the tradition manner. This is a very good example of a sword made by the Rikugun Jumei sword smith Kanetoshi. Kanetoshi is listed as a Rikugun Jumei Tosho. Swords made from this group can have a star stamp on the blade as this one has. This blade comes in original mounts and is in good condition.

From the “Japanese Sword Guide”

The presence of a STAR stamp on the nakago of a WW II era sword blade is an indicator of a blade made by swordsmiths of the Rikugun Jumei Tosho. To become Rikugun Jumei Tosho, a swordsmith had to pass tests and examination of his blades. Once accepted as an Army Certified Swordsmith (Rikugun Jumei Tosho), the smith was given a regular allocation of tamehagane with which to make sword blades. Jumei Tosho smiths also made blades using non-traditional materials, mainly forged mill steel. Blades with star stamps and which show nie in the yakiba are considered by some collectors to be gendaito; whereas other stamps were indicative of blades made by non-traditional methods and are therefore not gendaito. It is still hotly debated as to whether all tang stamps indicate non-traditionally made blades or whether certain stamps such as the star stamp indicate blades made in the traditional manner. Some star stamped blades have received origami from the NBTHK. A complete list of Rikugun Jumei Tosho swordsmiths was published in Showa 17 entitled “Rikugun Jumei Tosho Meibo”. There were also Navy commissioned swordsmiths (Kaigun Toko), but little information is currently available on them.