Mihara Masahiro

Mihara Masahiro was a swordsmith of the (Ko-)Mihara school active in Mihara, Bingo Province (present-day Mihara City, Hiroshima Prefecture) during the late Nanboku-chō period. He stands alongside Mihara Masaie as one of the principal smiths of the Mihara school and is known as a talented craftsman who sustained the sword culture of the Bingo region. His jigane features the masame-tinged itame characteristic of the Mihara tradition, with fine, even jinie producing a clean, refined surface texture. His hamon—primarily suguha mixed with ko-midare—displays the refined elegance characteristic of the Mihara school. The "Meibutsu Ōmihara" (Important Cultural Property), recorded in the Kyōhō Meibutsuchō, is traditionally attributed to Masahiro.