Jacques D.

From the Shitahara taikan

According the Shitahara taikan (this smith belongs to this school), there is only one smith who signed that way (didn't check nihonto meikan). Mei seems legit but it's not a big name (ranked chu saku by Fujishiro) so i don't know if it's worth an expensive restoration.

Fortunately it's gimei.

IMHO it looks like a little heterogeinity in the steel.

Sori seems to be saki.

Kirill R. @ I must disagree. At shinsa, kasane is mesured but NBTHK dont' know how many times the sword in question has been polished, so kasane is an indication of what it is at instant T and not what it was when it was made, thus not that a criteria for attribution. Last comment on this topic where there is too much digression.

Frankly i wonder how man can kantei a tired sword out of polish based on poor pictures and without measurements. The only thing i can say is that signature is not consistent with that described in the Japanese litterature (lack of ji 住) and it can't be shinto or shinshinto

No Bizen Munemitsu in Shinto or Shinshinto era.

According the nihonto meikan (page 971,972) and if i read it correctly, there is not mei with Bizen kuni Osafune Munemitsu without ju. Same for the Osafune taikan

Once more, there are no extant sword by nidai, sandai and yondai Munemitsu and we can exclude the godai. The only reasonable option is the rokudai but no oshigata for this minor swordsmith in the litterature.

Oshigata i shared above. The whole mei is questionable but this atari is easily visible

Cannot be the godai (jojosaku)

From Markus Sesko's book Munemitsu (宗光), 1st gen., Shōwa (正和, 1312-1317), Bizen – „Bizen no Kuni Osafune-jū Munemitsu“ (備前国長船住宗光), first name „Genzō“ (源三), according to transmission a student of Nagamitsu (長光), other see him as younger brother of the latter, suguha mixed with ko-ashi, kataochi-gunome Munemitsu (宗光), 2nd gen., Jōji (貞治, 1362-1368), Bizen – „Bishū Osafune Munemitsu“ (備州長船宗光), hardly any blades are extant by the 2nd, 3rd and 4th gen. Osafune Munemitsu Munemitsu (宗光), 3rd gen., Ōei (応永, 1394-1428), Bizen – „Bishū Osafune Munemitsu“ (備州長船宗光) Munemitsu (宗光), 4th gen., Bun´an (文安, 1444-1449), Bizen – „Bishū Osafune Munemitsu“ (備州長船宗光) Munemitsu (宗光), 5th gen., Bunmei (文明, 1469-1487), Bizen – „Bizen no Kuni-jū Osafune Sakyō no Shin Munemitsu“ (備前国住長船 左京進宗光), „Bizen no Kuni Yukie-gun-jū Osafune Sakyō no Shin Munemitsu“ (備前国靭負郡住長船左京進宗光), „Bizen no Kuni Osafune Katsumitsu Munemitsu Bitchū Kusakabe ni oite saku“ (備前国長船勝光宗光備中於草壁作, „made by Bizen Osafune Katsumitsu and Munemitsu in Bitchū´s Kusakabe“), second son of Rokurōzaemon Sukemitsu (六郎左衛門祐光), „Sakyō no Shin“ (左京進), younger brother of Ukyō no Suke Katsumitsu (右京亮勝光), he was born in the ninth year of Eikyō (永享, 1437), there exist joint works with Katsumitsu and after the death of the latter also with his son Jirōzaemon Katsumitsu, we know date signature from the first year of Bunmei (1469) to the third year of Kyōroku (享禄, 1530) which shows us that he must had become more than 90 years, he supported the Sengokudaimyō Akamatsu Masanori (赤松政則, 1455-1496) – who gained temporarily control over the provinces Harima, Bizen and Mimasaka – in forging swords and accompanied him also to Harima province, there exist also works which were made in Kyōto and in a field camp in Ōmi province, mostly katateuchi with much niku, less tapering, and a short nakago are extant, tantō are also rather compact, have uchizori and a thick kasane, the jigane is a dense ko-mokume with ji-nie or a somewhat standing-out itame, the hamon is a gunome-chōji or suguha in nioideki mixed with ashi and yō and ko-nie, the jiba of the 5th gen. is more nie-loaden and does not show utsuri, he was also renowned as excellent horimono carver, ryō-wazamono, jōjō-saku Munemitsu (宗光), 6th gen., Tenbun (天文, 1532-1555), Bizen – „Bishū Osafune Munemitsu“ (備州長船宗光), „Bizen no Kuni-jū Osafune Sakyō no Shin Munemitsu tsukuru“ (備前国住長船左京進宗光造), blades with date signatures of the Tenbun era are attributed to a second generation Sakyō no Shin Munemitsus Munemitsu (宗光), 7th gen., Eiroku (永禄, 1558-1570), Bizen – „Bishū Osafune Sakon Munemitsu“ (備州長船左近宗光), „Bishū Osafune Tahei no Jō Munemitsu“ (備州長船太兵衛尉宗光), first name „Tahei“ (太兵衛), gunome-chōji, suguha, wazamono Munemitsu (宗光), 8th gen., Tenshō (天正, 1573-1592), Bizen – „Bishū no jū Osafune Saemonshichirō Fujiwara Munemitsu saku“ (備州之 住長船左衛門七郎藤原宗光作), first name „Saemonshichirō“ (左衛門七郎)

Oshigata of Munemitsu; there is no resemblance with yours