Yosazaemon no Jo Sukesada was a swordsmith of the school in Province, active during the late period in the era commonly designated . Among the many smiths who bore the name Sukesada, those who appended a zokumyo (common name) to their signatures numbered as many as twenty-one according to the Hayami survey, yet the smith foremost among them for the number of superior works is this Yosazaemon no Jo Sukesada. Two generations are known to have used the signature. The first generation's birth year can be calculated retrospectively from an extant bearing the inscription "Tenbun 6, made at age seventy-one," placing his birth in Onin 1 (1467) and establishing a working career that spanned from the Eisho era through at least Tenbun 8 (1539). Next in reputation after Yosazaemon were the Sukesada smiths known by the common names Hikobei and Genbei, though neither approached Yosazaemon's standing in either volume or quality of designated works.
His range of workmanship is notably broad. The tempering most characteristic of this smith is koshi-hiraki -- with an opened waist -- which he frequently developed into complex, multi-layered (compound) , mixing , , and angular elements into flamboyant, high-tempered patterns. He was equally accomplished in , producing blades with wide, quiet temper lines enlivened by and , and in full , where frequent and merge into a continuous tempered surface of great energy. His forging is typically a tightly packed with fine , intricately interwoven , and, in many examples, a faint characteristic of the tradition. The activity in both and tends toward the manner that distinguishes work from the -dominant style of earlier production. Within the tempered areas, and appear frequently, and the is characteristically bright and clear. His blades typically display the standard late : somewhat compact proportions, wide with little taper, pronounced , and an extended , with the often planed down to produce a high .
Yosazaemon no Jo Sukesada is regarded as the foremost technician within the entire group, a smith whose high level of skill is evident across every mode of tempering he employed. His works are consistently praised for the refinement of their forging -- the tight surface texture and finely woven creating a notably high-quality -- and for the spirited, vigorous character of their , which in his best pieces rises high in brilliant, flamboyant irregularity. Many extant blades retain their original proportions in (sound and well-preserved) condition, with well-retained and robust form, further enhancing their value. Certain works also carry inscriptions naming the commissioning patron, providing important documentary evidence for the study of this smith and his circle. In every respect, Yosazaemon no Jo Sukesada represents the highest standard of achievement among the late- swordsmiths.