Chikatsugu was a swordsmith of the Aoe group (Aoe-ha) in Bitchu Province. Sword reference compendia (meikan) record smiths bearing the name Chikatsugu in both Bizen — at Osafune and in Nitta Manor (Nitta-sho) — as well as in Bitchu Aoe, and the name is further associated with a founder of the Hokke Ichijo lineage in Bingo Province. The Chikatsugu most prominently represented among designated works is recorded as the son of Sa-hyoe no Jo Chikatsugu, affiliated with the Kichiji group (Kichiji-mon), with dated works under the era names Genko and Ryakuo placing his activity in the late Kamakura to early Nanbokucho period, around Kagen (1303-1306). An earlier generation, attributed to the mid-Kamakura period around Koan (1278-1288), is associated with Ko-Aoe work and identified as the son of Aoe Suketsugu.

The forging of Chikatsugu's blades displays the Aoe school's distinctive traits in pronounced clarity. The jigane characteristically develops a chirimen-hada — the fine, crepe-like standing grain that is a hallmark of the group — while ji-nie adheres and jifu appears throughout. Midare-utsuri is observed on works of broader proportions. The hamon is fundamentally suguha-cho, a straight temper base into which small-pattern elements such as ko-gunome, ko-choji, and ko-midare are mixed, with ko-ashi, yo, saka-ashi, and nezumi-ashi entering the temper. The nioiguchi tends toward tightness with ko-nie, and on larger works the ko-nie deepens above the monouchi. Blades of the later generation present a commanding, dignified shape (te-gara) with wide mihaba, funbari, and chu-kissaki, while shortened earlier-generation works retain orthodox proportions and well-balanced form.

Chikatsugu's oeuvre illustrates the breadth of the Aoe tradition across the mid- to late Kamakura period and into the Nanbokucho era. The NBTHK examiners note that even where a blade shows a slight tsukare-gokoro — a somewhat fatigued tendency — the essential tachi shape of the Kamakura period has not collapsed, affirming these as good works. Works of the later generation are distinguished by their martial character; kirikomi on the mune stand as evidence of a blade's battlefield exploits. The transmission of individual pieces through eminent households, including the Kan'in-no-miya and the Sano Art Museum, attests to the enduring regard in which Aoe Chikatsugu's work has been held within the canon of Bitchu swordsmithing.