The commentary identifies Munetada (宗忠) with the smith the record under the Fukuoka around the Kenryaku era, 1211 to 1213, and the published sources place him among the Ko-, the earliest generation of the Fukuoka school of . He is counted with Sukemune, Naomune, Muneyoshi, Narimune, Shigehisa and Sadazane among the early hands whose work keeps the flavour of . His form is fixed in one sentence repeated across his designations: his shapes "are limited to those of slender build with a compact , possessing an old-fashioned charm".
The fullest description belongs to a of the , standard in with a marked difference between base and tip widths, still high in , drooping slightly toward the tip and closing in a . Its is mixed with , standing overall, with and , and a stands out across it. The published sources make a particular point of that reflection: the dark banded areas of the "reliably rise high, clearly crossing over the ", and it is on this point that they accept an early date. The temper is a mixed with and a slight tendency. Above the it becomes a straighter tone, with and , adhering, and and . The runs in a shallow with a tendency.
His other blades are described more briefly, yet they hold to the same small scale. A greatly shortened , narrow in with a small, compact point, is forged in mixed with , leaning slightly to standing grain, with and . Its temper is a with and , the deep and adhering well, appearing here and there, and the slightly slender runs straight to a . Of the two prewar , one shows an of moist quality with a distinct and a -toned in ; the other shows , a standing and a feeling mixed with , the wide. The Important Cultural Property at Mishima Taisha is catalogued as with a , an and a temper, 73.6 cm long.
Within this small body the published sources read two manners. The is a flamboyant interpretation, "with somewhat larger heads being conspicuous", a manner they call occasionally seen among the Ko-, citing the by Shigehisa as a parallel. Beside it stand the quieter -toned pieces of the prewar designations and the shortened . Of one the commentary records that it is "by the same hand as the Munetada listed above" (前掲(重美番号四五七番)の宗忠と同作である), so that two of his blades are tied together in the record itself. The signature has a lower character that cannot be read with certainty, and the blade is appraised to Munetada from the form of the upper character .
What places him is drawn from his own features. His clove pattern stays small in scale and tightens toward above the , his are slender with a compact point, and on his finest blade the crosses the . The published sources gather these into one judgment: in both and the "well displays the characteristics of Ko-", and the same reflection fixes the generation to which he belongs.
Fujishiro grades him Jo-jo , and five designated works stand on record: one Important Cultural Property, the at Mishima Taisha; one ; one ; and two recognized in 1947. There is no National Treasure. The published sources state that "reliably authentic signed work of Munetada survives in only two or three examples", and call the manner of his signature exceptionally fine; the they rank "an excellent work of Munetada showing superior workmanship". The provenance recorded against his blades is distinguished. One is handed down in the Shimazu family, and the other was among the cherished swords of Suga Saneshu, a Shonai-domain retainer on close terms with Saigo Takamori. The Important Cultural Property is patrimony held at the shrine. With only two blades in the and tiers, a signed Munetada comes before a private collector only seldom, and such an encounter is a notable event.