Tsuda Echizen no Kami Sukehiro

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He was born in 1637 in the village of Uchide in Settsu and was the adopted son and pupil of the first Sukehiro, called Soboro Sukehiro. In 1657 he received the title Echizen no Kami and in 1667 he entered the service of the castellan of Osaka, Aoyama Munetoshi, when he added the surname Tsuda. Over sixteen hundred works are credited to him. Until 1674 he wrote «Tsuda» in block script (Kaku-Tsuda) and afterwards in cursive (Maru-Tsuda), and the works of this later stage are the most sought after. He began with his master's chōji and created the tōran-ba, a large wave-like midare with tama, imitated by smiths all over the country; he was also excellent at suguha. His brother Teruhiro and his son-in-law Tsuda Ōmi no Kami Sukenao were notable smiths as well. The Kaihō Kenjaku of 1797 ranks him ō-wazamono. He is among the most forged smiths.