Japanese Samurai Sword, 16th Century Smith, Translated Tang

Original era manufacture. Classic Japanese Samurai era sword with a 22 inch, hand forged blade, with a signed tang.A very knowledgeable collector friend of ours, kindly had a look at the Japanese swords in our collection several years back. He took photographs of the tang of each, returned to his home in Southern California, and proceeded to research them.This particular sword he attributes to a Japanese smith who was active between the years 1573-82. The translation reads Hoshu Takata ju Fujiwara Muneyuki.The paperwork that our friend prepared for us will be included with the sword.The sword blade is clean, no nicks in the cutting edge, with only some light staining on the blade surface. Silver covered habaki blade collar, decorative iron tsuba with gold highlights. The grip measures 9.5 inches in length with intact binding, and brass menuki inside the lacing.Wooden bodied scabbard with a leather field covering, with the scabbard measuring 28.5 inches in length.