Aritsuna is a smith of Hoki Province, active during the late to early period. He is traditionally said to have been the son of Yasutsuna, though certain signature compendia record him as the son of Moritsuna. When viewed in terms of workmanship, however, he is confirmed -- together with Yasuie and Sanemori -- as belonging to the line of Yasutsuna. Only a very small number of extant works bear his two-character signature, typically inscribed on the . The majority of blades attributed to him survive as works, transmitted through traditional attribution. His production is situated at the very origins of the Japanese sword tradition, in the formative period of the San'in region.
Aritsuna's forging is an with a tendency toward standing grain (), sometimes mixed with a inclination. Fine adheres abundantly, with entering the ground steel. His centers on small , mixing , , and small , with entering well. and run frequently, and the is deep with adhering. In some works the temper around the settles into a tight, slender tone. The is characteristically with a small turnback.
Aritsuna's significance rests in his position at the wellspring of Japanese swordsmithing. The state explicitly that smiths such as Masamune and Norishige took the manner of work exemplified by this Hoki group as their ideal and, on that basis, established the tradition. The archaic flavor imparted by the interplay of standing , abundant , and freely running and defines the aesthetic that later smiths would refine into one of the most celebrated traditions in Japanese sword history. Signed works by Aritsuna, though exceedingly rare, provide invaluable reference material for this foundational school.