A JAPANESE EDO PERIOD KATANA

A JAPANESE EDO PERIOD KATANA, 18th century, the 27 ¼" single edged blade with midare hamon and signed tang, Shin Gunto tsuba, wrapped shagreen grip and leather bound wooden scabbard, 39" overall (Illustrated) The swordsmith signing this blade appears to be Shigeyuki of the Fujiwara clan, working in Bungo Province. The blade does not appear to be dated. W.M. Hawley, Japanese Swordsmiths Revised, (1981), states that there was a swordsmith working in Bungo Province around 1624 who used these characters in his signature (ref SHI 745; p.724), followed by subsequent generations through to the 18th century who used various combinations and variations on these characters