The name Sanekage (真景) encompasses two distinct smithing traditions appraised under a single lineage. The elder Masakage of Hoki Province is recorded in as a disciple of Ohara Masamori, placed before the Genryaku era (1184-1185), though "a view has also been advanced that would set his activity earlier than Yasutsuna." Extant signed works by this Ko-Hoki smith are "extremely few -- only three are known." The later Kashu Sanekage and Kashu Masakage, active in Province during the period, are "traditionally said to have been a disciple of Norishige"; however, the repeatedly notes that "whereas Norishige bears dated works from the Showa and Gen'o eras, Sanekage has works dated to the Joji era," producing "a somewhat significant chronological gap" that makes direct tutelage unlikely. "It is more natural to regard Sanekage as having received Norishige's influence indirectly." Dated signatures place him at Enbun through Joji (1356-1368), and signed works are acknowledged as rare and of high documentary value.
The Ko-Hoki Masakage produces an mixed with that is "somewhat " with "abundant " and , the steel showing "a kanai-iro tone with a blackish cast." His of features at the , with a that "has a tendency." The Kashu works share a fundamentally - vocabulary -- mixed with , thick , frequent and -- but are distinguished by what the terms Hokkoku-: a "somewhat blackish kana-iro" steel tone revealing "the characteristic texture particular to works from Japan's northern regions." The displays vigorous , and the consistently "shows a tendency toward ." In stronger examples, , , and combine to produce "a somewhat -like impression." The frequently terminates in vigorous , at times achieving a flame-like () effect.
The appraises these works as those of a smith who "can recall the work of upper-ranked masters," yet whose dark-toned forging and subdued distinguish them as unmistakably northern. The evaluative language is consistent: "in the black-tinged forging one can discern the characteristic surface texture particular to works from Japan's northern regions," and the blades display "an imposing spirit within an understated austerity." The rare signed bearing a Sadaji 6 (1367) date is noted as possessing "exceptionally high documentary value." Across all Kashu attributions, the "extends well into the interior of the ," and "frequent flashes of and produce an overwhelming, tour-de-force workmanship" -- a tradition that carries the Norishige legacy into the mid-fourteenth century through what the examiners characterize as "an unrestrained, rustic flavor."