I just bought a very old Japanese woodworkers tool set at a garage sale today. The beautifully hard-carved boxed set has small wood framed coping saws, delicate but razor sharp edging planes, and what appears to be laminate saws that cut on the back stroke. The seller said that he purchased them while he lived in California back in the 50s and he told me that the first two digits in the model number on the set indicates the year they were made; but he said that the Japanese didn't use numbers as we here in the USA would to represent traditional years such as a 20 for 1920 but that the Japanese used the years of their Emperor's reign instead. Does anyone have any information or know of any website links that may verify this?

 

You might try contacting the folks here:

http://www.japansociety.org/contact/

 

... by the_tow_guy!

That link put me in touch with a history scholar and tool buff who explained that my model number 41-10 means it was made in the 41st year of Emporer Meiji's reign, or 1908.

 

My pleasure. I had 7 trips to Japan totaling about 60 months while fixing planes for Uncle Sam. Had a vague recollection of what you were asking, but too fuzzy to answer directly (and I NEVER would have come up with the emporer's name).

More Japanese trivia: When the Emporer dies he is no longer referred to by his name while he was living (except in history books of course). Hirohito is now Showa as I recall.