Kantei
A short, wide, almost straight blade seen from both sides on a black background, with a groove along the back, the temper in large patches and the dark tang below.

Sagami · Nanbokuchō · Sōshū

Hiromitsu (広光)

The great Sagami master of the Nanbokuchō, credited by the NBTHK with establishing hitatsura: his period, his disputed lineage, the keys to his work and his famous blades

Hiromitsu (広光, Hiromitsu), also written 廣光 (Hiromitsu), forged in Sagami, the province of Kamakura, in the mid-14th century. With Akihiro he is the great name of the Sōshū of the Nanbokuchō, and the NBTHK credits him with establishing hitatsura, the temper that covers the whole blade. Almost all that remains are wide, long tantō and wakizashi. No publishable photo of his blades has been found, and so this monograph has no images.

Photo: dealer in Japan

around 1350
First dated work
1364 or 1367
Last dated work, according to the NBTHK
1
Known signed tachi
Ōkurikara
In the Kyōhō meibutsuchō
On this page
  1. Quick profile
  2. In short

Quick profile

Name
Hiromitsu; signature 廣光 (Hiromitsu) or 相模国住人廣光 (Sagami no kuni jūnin Hiromitsu), and on a tachi of 1353, Saemon-jō Hiromitsu HD
Kanji and reading
広光 (Hiromitsu), also 廣光 (Hiromitsu) HD
Period
Nanbokuchō: work dated from around 1350, in the Kan'ō era, until 1364 according to one issue of the NBTHK journal and until 1367 according to another HD
Province
Sagami, in Kamakura HD
School
Sōshū HD
Master
No document: pupil of Masamune, his natural or adopted son, or pupil of Sadamune, depending on the source AT
Documented fact and tradition
Documented: his signed and dated blades and his NBTHK papers. Tradition: his master and his kinship with Masamune. AT

In short

What we know. There are blades signed by Hiromitsu in Sagami with dates from around 1350 to the 1360s. The NBTHK considers him somewhat older than Akihiro and the smith who established hitatsura.

How we know it. From the NBTHK journal, which in 2026 published a wakizashi of his with Tokubetsu Jūyō papers, and from the Japanese dictionaries. His two most famous blades are known from the Japanese Wikipedia and from Markus Sesko.

What we do not know. Who his master was, whether he was related to Masamune and the exact year of his last work. The official designation record of his two famous blades has not been located.

Sections

  1. Kamakura after 1333 Life and times When he worked, his relationship with Akihiro, his lineage according to each source and how he signed.
  2. Hitatsura · dango-chōji Work and style Hitatsura, the kantei keys of his blades and how not to confuse him with Akihiro or with the Hasebe.
  3. Kyōhō meibutsuchō · Tokubetsu Jūyō Famous works The Ōkurikara, the Kashagiri and the blades with special NBTHK papers.
  4. Bibliography Sources The sources consulted on 4 October 2026, with their link.