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His father
His father, Miyairi Yukihira (1913–1977), a native of Sakaki, entered the forging institute of 栗原昭秀 (Kurihara Akihide) in Tokyo in 1937, was designated a Living National Treasure in 1963 and in 1973 changed his signature, 昭平 (Akihira), to 行平 (Yukihira). He died on 24 November 1977. When he was a child, he says, the family house lodged seven live-in pupils of his father.
His career
He was born in 1957 in Sakaki, the second son of Miyairi Yukihira. In 1977 he started working with his father and, after his death that same year, continued with Fujiyasu Masahira, his father’s senior pupil. He obtained his licence from the Agency for Cultural Affairs in 1982.
In 1996 he dropped the signature 恵 (Megumi) and took that of 小左衛門行平 (Kozaemon Yukihira): Kozaemon, from his great-grandfather, and Yukihira, from his father. In 2006 he opened a dojo in Sakaki to train successors; among his pupils are 河内一平 (Kawachi Ippei), who joined in 2000, and 宮入陽 (Miyairi Yō), who joined in 2015.
In 2019 he became president of the 全日本刀匠会 (Zen Nihon Tōshōkai), the national swordsmiths’ association, taking over from Mikami Sadanao. In October 2012 his Sakaki dojo hosted an exhibition of his work and a public forging, according to the description of a video from that day.