Yukihide was born in Bunka 10 (1813) in Hoshimaru village, Asakura, Province, as the legitimate son of Matabei Morishige. He styled himself the thirty-ninth generation successor to the () lineage. In the early Tenpo era he went to and studied sword-forging under Shimizu Hisayoshi, a disciple of Hosokawa Masayoshi. In Koka 3 (1846) he went down to Tosa at the recommendation of Sekita Shinpei Katsuhiro, becoming an official domain smith in Ansei 2 (1855). From Man'en 1 to Bunkyu 2 (1860-1862) he forged at the Tosa domain estate in Fukagawa, . In Keio 3 (1867), owing to discord with Itagaki Taisuke, he returned to Tosa and thereafter signed "Toko" (東虎). His swordmaking concluded in Meiji 3 (1870), and he died in Yokohama at age seventy-five in Meiji 20 (1887).
Yukihide's archetypal manner is a -based temper carrying a shallow tendency, mixed with , , or angular elements. The is characteristically a tightly forged , at times flowing toward -- a tendency the identifies as "one of this smith's distinctive traits." The adheres "thickly in fine particles" with "fine entering well," and the steel is described as bright and clear. What elevates his work above formula is the depth of the , which the repeatedly call "markedly" or "notably" deep, with that "adheres thickly and strongly," occasionally mixing coarser and producing slight unevenness. , , and run conspicuously through the tempered area. His bold forms -- wide , thick , -- are "entirely characteristic" of the Ka'ei and Ansei eras and convey "a grand and forceful presence." Rarer works in and a fierce - with and sanjuba effects demonstrate that "rather than aiming at Go, he intended an image of a higher-ranked masterwork."
The 's evaluative language for Yukihide is strikingly consistent: "the of the hardened edge is markedly deep and the is thick and strong, so that both and are bright and exceptionally clear." Multiple conclude with the phrase "a blade in which Yukihide's high technical ability is displayed to full effect." His inscriptions recording forge locations, iron materials (including Nambu mochi-tetsu), and patron names are noted as possessing "high documentary value." The matched is called "extremely rare" among his works. Despite the great length and weight of many of his blades -- some exceeding 86 cm in -- the observes that they are "skillfully finished without any sense of strain," confirming a command of scale that the examiners regard as one of the defining achievements of late craftsmanship.