From wiki link:
...One of the final standing orders of the Imperial Army was to file off the Emperor's family chrysanthemum insignia, or mon, from each of the rifles, thereby preventing dishonor from having the symbol fall into surrender. Therefore, the value of one of the rifles to a collector is slightly higher if the insignia, referred to by collectors as a "mum", is intact, as this implies the rifle was captured on the battlefield prior to Japan's surrender.....
Thats pretty cool! I didnt know anything about this rifle, let alone this insignia tidbit!
Acquisition story:
My mom is a private in-home nurse and her patient recently died. As she was cleaning up his place, she called me in a panic, asking me to come over and "get rid of this thing, get it out of here!".
I got down there and discovered it wasnt loaded and I didnt even think it operable since I couldnt see down the barrel. I brought it home and gave it a good initial inspection, then started to clean it and noticed it was probably just packed in cosmoline (? not sure, but it was kinda yellowish, but more black). Sure enough I was able to run a bore snake through it and after a GREAT deal of cleaning, I could actually see a shine in the barrel when I put a light in there.
Thanks again!!