Courtesy of Sesko’s, Swordsmiths A-Z:                                                                             

MASAHIRO (正広), 1st gen., Kan ́ei (寛永, 1624-1644), Hizen – “Hizen no
Kuni Saga-jū Masahiro” (肥前国佐賀住正広), “Kawachi no Daijō Fujiwara
Masahiro” (河内大掾藤原正広), “Hizen no Kuni Saga-jū Kawachi no Daijō
Fujiwara Masahiro Hashimoto Sadenjirō Masanaga” (肥前国佐賀住河内大掾
藤原正広橋本左伝次郎正永), “Hizen no Kuni Saga-jū Kawachi no Daijō
Fujiwara Masahiro saku” (肥前国佐賀住河内大掾藤原正広作), real name
Hashimoto Sadenjirō Masanaga (橋本左伝次郎正永), he changed his first
name later to Yashichibei (弥七兵衛), he was born in the twelfth year of
Keichō (慶長, 1607) as oldest son of Yoshinobu (吉信), when his grandfather
Tadayoshi (忠吉) changed his name to Tadahiro (忠広), he succeeded him as Tadayoshi but on orders of his lord Nabeshima Katsushige (鍋島勝茂, 1580-1657), he changed his name on the 19th day of the eleventh month Kan ́ei wo (1625) to Masahiro (正広), what means only about one year after he had started to use the name Tadayoshi, genealogic records of the Masahiro lineage mention that he received the honorary title Kawachi no Daijō on the 27th day of the fourth month Kan ́ei five (1628) but he did not sign with this title until Kan ́ei 16 (1639), therefore there exists the theory that he received this title not before the end of the Kan ́ei era, Masahiro enjoyed a special patronage of Nabeshima Katsushige and it is said that he had a certain “exclusive contract” with him and that he was not allowed to work for other customers, this would also explain why he did not use his honorary title or dated his blades, and this on the other hand could support the old handed-down information that he received the tite Kawachi no Daijō actually in Kan ́ei five but just did not use it that often, it is also recorded that he took care of the 2nd gen. Tadahiro (忠広) after the death of the 1st gen. Tadayoshi, he died on the fifth day of the second month Kanbun five (寛文, 1665) at the age of 59, dense ko-mokume with fine ji-nie which appears as konuka-hada, the hamon is a bright gunome-midare, me mixed with chōji and/or ashi and yō in ko-nie-deki with a wide nioiguchi, the yakigashira are roundish and there are nie and sunagashi seen in the valleys of the midare elements, but he also applied a suguha or a gunome with regular intervals between the individual gunome elements, wazamono, jō-saku

MASAHIRO (正広), 2nd gen., Kanbun (寛文, 1661-1673), Hizen – “Hizen
no Kuni Masanaga” (肥前国正永), “Hizen-jū Musashi no Kami Fujiwara
Masanaga” (肥前住武蔵守藤原正永), “Hishū Saga-jū Fujiwara Masahiro”
(肥州佐賀住藤原正広), “Hizen no Kuni Kawachi no Kami Fujiwara
Masahiro” (肥前国河内守藤原正広), real name Hashimoto Yashichirō
(橋本弥七郎), he also bore the first name Sadenjirō (左伝次郎), son of the 1st
gen. Masahiro (正広), he received the honorary title Musashi no Daijō on the
19th say of the tenth month Manji three (万治, 1660), this title was raised to
Musashi no Kami on the 28th day of the ninth month Kanbun one (1661) but
was changed on the 13th day of the fourth month Kanbun five (1665) to Kawachi no Kami, with this he changed his name from Masanaga (正永) that he had used so far to Masahiro (正広), he died on the sixth day of the eighth month Genroku twelve (元禄, 1699) at the age of 73, suguha, notare mixed with ko-gunome-ashi, gunome-midare, sometimes also picturesque hamon, wakizashi are mostly signed with the prefix “Hishū” (肥州) instead of “Hizen,” jō-saku

MASAHIRO (正広), 3rd gen., Jōkyō (貞享, 1684-1688), Hizen → MASANAGA (正永), 2nd gen., Jōkyō (貞享, 1684-1688), Hizen

• MASAHIRO (正広), 4th gen., Hōei (宝永, 1704-1711), Hizen – “Hishū Kawachi no Daijō Tōshi Masahiro” (肥州河内大掾藤氏正広), “Hizen no Kuni Kawachi no Daijō Fujiwara Masahiro” (肥前国河内大掾藤原正広), real name Hashimoto Tomonoshin (橋本友之進), he signed in early years with Takemasa (武雅), the name change to Masahiro took place with receiving of the honorary title Kawachi no Daijō on the 27th day of the fourth month Hōei five (1708), he died on the 17th say of the fourth month Kyōhō 18 (享保, 1733) at the age of 61, notare mixed with gunome-ashi, suguha, gunome-midare, chūjō-saku

From Fujishiro’s Shinto Hen:

MASAHIRO HIZEN YONDAI [HÔEI 1704 HIZEN] SHINTÔ CHÛJÔSAKU

 This smith is the yondai.  The sandai inscribed Masanaga from start to finish and never signed as Masahiro.  He (yondai) died at the age of 61 in Kyôhô Jûhachinen (1733) Gogatsu.  For the sandai, refer to Bitchû no Daijô Masanaga on Page 320.

Signature: HIZEN KUNI KAWACHI NO DAIJÔ FUJIWARA MASAHIRO

This sword comes with a 48-hr. inspection period.

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$3500 plus S/H and any additional associated fees (pp, wire, etc.)