Shigesuke was a swordsmith residing at Wake-no-sho in Province during the late period. He worked alongside Shigenori, the other known smith of the Wake group; extant signed works by both are exceedingly rare. For Shigenori, dated examples survive from Shochu 3 (1326) and Genko 4 (1324), while Shigesuke is represented by works dated Karyaku 3 (1328), from which the era of their activity can be ascertained. The Wake district is cited as one of the presumed locales associated with the old smiths, and one view holds that these makers were swordsmiths who drew upon the lineage, though the details are not clearly known. Shigesuke's precise genealogy remains similarly obscure. His output, as far as can be judged from surviving examples, tended toward blades of relatively compact proportion; yet the quality of workmanship is such that it is described as fully comparable to -- "in no way inferior to and possibly exceeding" -- the customary works of the contemporaneous smith Kagemitsu.
Shigesuke's characteristically shows a tightly packed , at times mixed with and , with fine adhering densely and entering in a subdued manner. The grain may show a tendency toward (standing grain), and a -like mottled texture may be intermingled. appears distinctly and is a defining feature of his forging. The is fundamentally -based -- characteristically a or construction -- with , , and - intermingled; and enter well; and the temper is with a that may tend toward (a tightened appearance) or (a moist, soft quality). Fine and slight appear in places. In his , a -like style reminiscent of Kagemitsu has been observed, together with (frogspawn-like elements) that display a distinctiveness and variation in temper-line expression. The typically runs in shallow and turns back in with a shallow , or may show at the tip; on occasion it becomes .
The consistently positions Shigesuke's workmanship within a domain closely akin to that of the contemporaneous school -- features "close to work of the period" -- while acknowledging an individuality that sets the Wake group apart as a peripheral yet accomplished line of forging. Evaluative language across sessions is measured and respectful: blades are described as works of "fine workmanship" and "outstanding achievement," with both and in (sound and well-preserved) condition and exhibiting "no breakdown in either or ." Signed examples are consistently noted as "valuable source material" and "precious documentary material for the study of the Wake group of swordsmiths," given their extreme rarity. The bestowed by Shogun Tokugawa Tsunayoshi upon Mizuno Katsunaga in Genroku 14 (1701), long transmitted within the Mizuno family of Yuki Domain, testifies to the esteem in which these blades were held in later centuries. Shigesuke thus occupies a distinctive place within the tradition: a maker of the homeland whose rare surviving works attest to a refined and accomplished hand, closely allied to the mainstream yet preserving the character of a localized school whose full history remains only partially illuminated.