Kuniyoshi belongs to the lineage of Province, a group that flourished greatly from the late period through the period in the Kumafu area of Kikuchi District. The school's founder is traditionally held to have been Taro Kunimura, who is described as the son of Yamato Senjuin Hiromura and a maternal grandson of Kuniyuki of Yamashiro. Some sources alternatively identify Kunimura as a student of Kunitoshi. From this lineage emerged many highly skilled smiths, including Kuniyoshi, Kunitoki, Kuniyasu, Kunitomo, Kunisuke, Kuninobu, and Kunitsuna. The school is famed as having served as retained smiths of the Kikuchi family, loyalists of the Southern Court. Kuniyoshi is variously transmitted as either the son, younger brother, or student of Kunimura, and he is regarded as one of the representative smiths of the group. It appears that the name Kuniyoshi was inherited across several generations. A distinctive calligraphic trait of the school, shared by Kuniyoshi, is that the right-hand component within the enclosure of the character is cut in a form resembling an ear; this feature does not become confused with other schools.
The workmanship of the group broadly resembles that of the school of Yamashiro Province, yet the individual smiths tend not to exhibit strongly differentiated personal mannerisms. Compared with works, blades are known for certain distinguishing qualities: in the forging, a tendency toward is conspicuous, and the carries a whitish cast with -like standing out; the tends somewhat toward — a subdued quality — and the internal activities within the become calmer, resulting in a and that can appear somewhat quieter than those of . In the , the roundedness at the tip tends to be somewhat larger, and the is characteristically shallow. Kuniyoshi's works typically exhibit or flowing as with mixed , and a -based in with entering. The tends toward tightness, and the temper frequently shows , , and a conspicuous — features that clearly express the distinctive traits of the school. carved through on both sides are commonly encountered among his blades.
Kuniyoshi is recognized as one of the noted masters representing the school, and his works serve as exemplars through which the characteristics of the lineage as a whole may be clearly observed. The finest examples transcend the tendencies sometimes associated with the group — such as a whitish, weak-looking or a subdued — and instead present a bright and clear appearance in both and , with finely and thickly adhering and delicately entering that reward close appreciation. His blades manifest a flavor and depth well worth savoring, and the Yamato-inflected character discernible in the height of the and the presence of speaks to the deep roots of the school's Yamashiro-Yamato heritage. Dated works of the school are exceedingly rare, yet the body of Kuniyoshi's extant blades — spanning , , and — provides essential reference material for understanding this important lineage.