Ken, you are spot on with your opinion of this spike dagger. It is a swagger stick sword, and most likely made in India for a British customer. I believe there is a brass collar missing from the mouth of the scabbard, and the two remaining brass nails secured it. I did not get a back story with the item, bought it at antique mall from a dealer who mostly sells vintage black powder guns. He probably got it in a trade or from an estate.
I'm still interested in finding out the meaning of the markings on the blade. Japanese was a bad guess. I've been to Japan twice but that doesn't make me an expert on Kanji!
Regards,
Andrew
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