The Gojō school emerged in Yamashiro Province during the late Heian period, centered in the Gojō district of Kyoto. The tradition takes its name from Kanenaga, who is said to have been a disciple of Sanjō Munechika, and his son (or younger brother) Kuninaga. The lineage also includes smiths such as Kanetsugu, Kaneyasu, and Kanekuchi, though reliably signed works are rare outside those of Kanenaga and Kuninaga. These early masters produced tachi and ken that the NBTHK uniformly characterizes as "archaic in feeling and deeply evocative in taste," establishing a foundational style within the broader Yamashiro tradition that drew directly upon Munechika's legacy.

Gojō workmanship is distinguished by its meticulous forging and refined tempering patterns that exemplify early Kyoto craftsmanship. The jigane typically exhibits tightly packed ko-itame-hada, often with areas of nagare-hada or mokume, densely covered in extremely fine ji-nie that the NBTHK repeatedly describes as adhering "thickly in minute particles." Fine chikei appear throughout, and a standing nie-utsuri is characteristic—described as particularly dense near the base in some examples. The hamon is fundamentally suguha-based or wide suguha-chō, but the school's defining feature lies in its delicate intermixing of ko-midare, ko-chōji, and ko-gunome. Ashi and yō enter well, the nioiguchi is deep with well-adhering ko-nie, and fine sunagashi and kinsuji run through the tempered edge. In the lower half, the nioiguchi often shows an urumi (moist, soft) quality, and small yubashiri appear at the yakigashira. Some works develop into nijūba or even sanjūba, demonstrating the school's technical refinement.

The physical forms produced by Gojō smiths embody the elegant tachi sugata of the late Fujiwara through early Kamakura period: slender blades with pronounced funbari, clear taper from base to tip, high koshizori that becomes gentler or slightly lowered toward the point, and ko-kissaki. Unsigned ubu tangs often display kurijiri or ha-agari kurijiri endings with indistinct or katte-sagari file marks, while the surviving signatures show bold chisel work in large characters. The NBTHK's evaluative language for the school is consistent across sessions: these works "vividly manifest the characteristic features of old Kyoto-made works," "convey the old fragrance of early Kyoto workmanship," and "abundantly evoke an antique, classically fragrant atmosphere." The school's manner is described as "technically refined and brilliant," possessing qualities that "may reasonably be affirmed" as representing the finest achievements of ko-Kyō-mono—swords that merge archaic elegance with deeply resonant craftsmanship.