Yamasaka Kichibei (山坂吉兵衛), known also by the abbreviation Yamakichi or Yamayoshi, was a representative maker of Owari province active from the late period into the era. He flourished at roughly the time as Nobuie and Hoan, with whom his work shares certain stylistic commonalities, and is said to have originally been an armorer in the service of the Oda family. The signature "Yamasaka Kichibei" is associated with a maker active around the Genki era (1570--1573), and within works bearing the Yamayoshi name, his pieces display the most archaic stylistic character. The line continued for several generations, while those who later styled themselves "Sakurayama Kichi--" represent makers of the to Genroku eras (1661--1704). He is regarded as the "great first generation" (o-) of this lineage.
Yamasaka Kichibei worked exclusively in iron, and his are characteristically executed in the otafuku form -- a shape that was, for its time, strikingly innovative. His signature technique is kuruma- (cart-wheel openwork), a specialty of Owari also found among works by Hoan, Nobuie, and Kanayama. The hammered-plate iron ground (-shitate) reveals areas where hard iron nodules known as emerge, constituting a principal point of appreciation shared by Owari . His openwork lines are taut and sharply defined, and the iron surface is well forged, lending his pieces a rustic, untamed quality. The plugged with lead in the technique called "Owari plugging" (Owari-) -- set slightly lower than the surrounding ground -- are highly prized as a distinguishing feature.
The consistently describes Yamasaka Kichibei's as possessing an "imposing" form and "dignified" overall presence, with iron surfaces that are "rich in freely varied changes" and that, together with the powerful , convey "a particularly deep appeal." His cart-wheel openwork is recognized as intensifying the impression of "born from the severe age of the Sengoku period," and his works are praised as "especially distinguished" within the oeuvre of the Owari school. The rustic strength of his iron forging and the severity of his openwork design firmly place him among the foremost Owari makers of the warring provinces era.