The Yokoya school emerged in Edo during the early eighteenth century under the foundational leadership of Yokoya Sōmin, who established a workshop tradition distinguished by technical versatility and refined execution. His adopted son and successor Sōkō (1700–1767) inherited the headship in 1733 and carried forward this legacy, training subsequent generations including Sōyo IV and pupils such as Miyake Eikō. The school maintained a distinctive position within Edo tōsōgu production through its dual mastery of contrasting technical approaches—both the restrained linearity of katakiribori on polished shibuichi grounds and the opulent volumetric presence of takabori with polychrome inlay on shakudō nanako-ji.

Works attributed to the school collectively exhibit meticulous attention to surface preparation, whether employing the mirror-like finish of polished shibuichi or the densely worked texture of nanako-ji. Compositional strategies frequently favor dynamic asymmetry and careful exploitation of negative space, as seen in auspicious subjects—Fortune Deities, phoenixes amid clouds, mythical kirin—rendered with anatomical precision and gestural naturalism. The katakiribori technique demonstrates remarkable control in the articulation of fine detail, from facial wrinkles to garment folds, while takabori works achieve sculptural depth through layered inlay of gold, silver, shakudō, and suaka. Reverse treatments often incorporate complementary designs executed in contrasting techniques, suggesting a conscious aesthetic of unified variation within individual pieces.

The Yokoya approach synthesized technical ambition with compositional intelligence, producing fittings that conveyed both virtuosity and restrained dignity appropriate to elite patronage. The school's influence extended through direct pupils and affiliated artisans such as Katsura Eiju and Miyake Eikō, who maintained recognizable stylistic continuities while developing individual expressions. This combination of rigorous technical inheritance and felicitous subject matter established parameters for Edo-period tōsōgu production that valued both visible craftsmanship and understated refinement, qualities that sustained the school's standing across successive generations of workshop practice.