Yoshihiro Kubo was born in 1965 on Amami Oshima, a remote island in Kagoshima Prefecture.

After graduating from the Faculty of Horticulture at Chiba University, Yoshihiro Kubo achieved excellent results in biotechnology research at the graduate school and was expected to become a university professor or researcher.

One day, he happened to watch a TV program in which a swordsmith said, "We can never make the famous swords of the Kamakura period with today's technology". He then began to question why something that could be done 700 years ago could not be done today, and decided to become a swordsmith because he wanted to reproduce Japanese swords of the Kamakura period with his own hands.

Upon completion of his graduate studies, he apprenticed himself to Yoshihara Yoshindo, a master swordsmith living in Tokyo. In 1994, after receiving permission to make swords from the Agency for Cultural Affairs, he moved to Shimane Prefecture and began making swords.

In the same year, he exhibited for the first time at the Exhibition of New Swords. He was awarded the Excellence Prize and the Newcomer's Prize. In 2001, he moved his base of operations from Shimane Prefecture to Hiroshima Prefecture and established "Yoshihiro Forge" to become an independent swordsmith.

The "Utsuri" pattern that is often seen on Kamakura period Bizen swords, which is Yoshihiro Kubo's goal, has been said to be impossible to reproduce using modern techniques. However, he has conducted a series of scientific experiments, such as collecting data on the patterns that appear when swords are quenched, and has worked to reproduce the techniques of the time.

In 2007, he succeeded in reproducing his long-held dream of Utsuri for the first time, and his sword was awarded the Chairman's Prize, the highest prize at the Exhibition of New Swords. In 2017, he was granted MUKANSA in recognition of his past achievements.

Swordsmith name: Yoshihiro

Real name: Yoshihiro Kubo

Birthplace: Kagoshima Prefecture

Birth year: 1965

How did you become a swordsmith?
When I was in college, I saw a TV program called "Kiwameru" that inspired me to become a swordsmith. In that program, Sumitani Sensei, a living national treasure swordsmith, said that he could not reproduce the famous swords made in the Kamakura period even if he devoted his life to it. So I was moved by the fact that there are people who devote their lives to making swords, and furthermore, I was amazed that even in today's world of advanced science and technology, what was possible in ancient times is not possible today. My desire to make this possible made me decide to become a sword smith.

Personal Motto
It is a trial and error process of various ideas, learning and thinking with all five senses