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If it had the chrysanthemum stamp on it then it was a war trophy. After the war, thousands of Arisakas were sold as war surplus in the US with the chrysanthemum stamp ground off as it was the “property” of the Emperor.

Many Japanese ground the chrysanthemum off prior to battle or a banzai charge. When I was a kid a woman had thrown out her late husbands war souvenirs. We played with the Ariska rifle for years. Along with the helmet and other odds and ends. That rifle still had the chrysanthemum on it but the bolt was removed which was required if you brought it home after a battle. Lot of people ignored the rule or mailed the bolt home separately. Another friend's dad had a katana behind the washing machine in the basement. His grandfather brought it home from the war, when he passed it ended up behind the washing machine in their house where the little kids could not get to it. Imagine there are still many swords that could be invaluable national treasures missing from the war, the majority taken to the US as war souvenirs. I always wondered what if that sword was one and nobody in the family had a clue.