Gō Yoshihiro
江義弘 (Gō Yoshihiro)
A smith of Matsukura-gō in Etchū in the Nanbokuchō period; with Masamune and Yoshimitsu one of the three greats of the Kyōhō meibutsuchō, though no signed blade is known.
Profile
Yoshihiro lived at Matsukura-gō in the Niikawa district of Etchū, hence his byname Gō, also written with another character of the same reading. Tradition says he died at twenty-seven, makes him a pupil of Masamune or of Norishige, and counts him among Masamune's «ten pupils». No blade with his signature exists: all are attributions, partly by the Hon'ami family, hence the saying that «nobody has seen a Gō or a ghost». His manner starts from Sōshū-den, with a clear, bright steel and temper, unusual among the northern smiths. The Kyōhō meibutsuchō places him, with Masamune and Awataguchi Yoshimitsu, among the three greats, and shintō smiths such as Nagasone Kotetsu and Inoue Shinkai studied his work.
Monograph
Gō Yoshihiro (江義弘)
A smith known only through attributions, told with the level of evidence of each fact.
Read the monograph
Notable works
- Inaba-gō: katana, national treasure; attribution inlaid in gold by the Hon'ami in 1585.
- Tomita-gō: katana, national treasure, Maeda Ikutokukai foundation.