Yukimasa is recorded in sword-signature reference works () as having resided at Hikasasho in Province, with his working period placed around the Bun'o and Koan eras of the mid- period (1260s--1280s). He is regarded as a smith who carried forward the line of , and his oeuvre occupies a transitional position between the restrained manner of that earlier tradition and the more flamboyant style of the group. A separate Yukimasa bearing the date Heiji 1 (1159) is identified in reference works as Ko-Hahei; that blade, preserving its original with deep and pronounced , carries the earliest known dated inscription among Japanese swords and constitutes an exceptionally important documentary source.
The mid- Hikasasho Yukimasa works in a manner that intermingles flavor and flavor. The forging is typically or with fine adhering well and standing prominently in the . The ranges from mixed with ---incorporating - and in the more flamboyant passages---to areas of -based small , rendered in deep with . The may turn back with a somewhat pointed tendency or present a straight form with . His characters are noted as extremely large and differ from the usual manner seen among the group, providing a further distinguishing attribute.
Extant signed works by Yukimasa are exceedingly rare, and the quality of workmanship in both and is consistently fine. His blades serve as valuable reference material for the study of mid- production at the intersection of the and lineages. Though the majority of surviving examples are shortened, they retain period-appropriate and the characteristic standing that firmly situates them within the mainstream of tradition at its artistic height.
