Conway S

Steve, I don’t think that is the original liner. Do you notice how this one is cloth as opposed to leather and the rivet is added to the front? Looks like a post-war reissue job. Conway

Hi Cody, There is nothing to learn from looking at the tang on this particular variant of parade saber. It’s going to be bare metal with no markings and you risk not being able to put it back together nicely. As John points out, this one has a plated blade. Once the very thin layer of plating is damaged, it has a tendency to peel and flake off. Your sword looks to be in okay shape. As @Deiro points out sometimes these style of parade swords have mounted nihonto, but not this one. Conway

Bruce, Kagi 键 is the Japanese pronunciation (Kunyomi)whereas Ken is the pronunciation derived from the Chinese pronunciation (Onyomi). I found this distinction when I couldn’t find a smith by the “Yama” pronunciation of 山. Conway

Tony, You have the characters correct. The smith is Takeyasu. I take it no translation is needed for 作. The blade is made from anti-rust steel which accounts for the bright appearance of the nakago. It is in late-war kai gunto fittings. It is 100% genuine. You may have noticed the numbers on the nakago match the numbers on the tsuba, seppa and probably the fuchi and tsuka as well. Conway

25+

Hi Maurice, I wouldn't recommend disassembling parade swords. They are not meant to be taken apart and there is nothing to learn from looking at the "tang" of these plated blades. Sometimes they won't go back together as nicely and the components may be loose. Here is the link to Dawson's book - sold by the author on eBay: https://www.ebay.com/itm/126589207911 Conway

I was literally typing the reply when I say you posted... Conway

Sherif, The other is a lightweight parade sword in shin gunto mounts. See the below reference. I also have one that looks very similar to this example. Very cool! @Shamsy@Bruce Pennington Conway https://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/22122-paradelight-weight-gunto/#comment-225012

Michael, I think it’s Tadamitsu, 忠光, but not 100% sure on first character. Looks like a name on the mon. I’m drooling a bit…. Conway

Vern, The III III tick marks on the nakago are Roman Numerals. Is the German soldier painted or a print? Looks cool. Conway

Do the seppa and tsuba have any markings on them? The nakago has tick marks near the mune. Just curious if those correlate to any markings on the fittings. Conway

The smith is Kanekado 兼門. Dated June 1943. The stamp looks like the Nagoya “Na” 名. Conway

Bruce, Here is another example of the STAR A on late war kai gunto fittings.

Looks like a Kokura Arsenal zohei-to. Very nice condition! Conway

There's a thread for mon identification here: