Mototsune is classed among the smiths, the collective designation for Province swordsmiths active from the late period through the early period. Reference books of signatures and smith lineages () list him under both and Fukuoka , and surviving works are scarce. Among the few known examples, one blade is designated an Important Cultural Property and two are certified as Important Art Objects. The relationship between these works has long been a subject of scholarly discussion: one view holds that the blades in represent work while the blade in - is Fukuoka ; an alternative interpretation, attributed to Honma, suggests they are by the hand, with the representing an earlier phase and the flamboyant - a later phase of his career. Whether these swords are by the maker remains a question for further study.
The general style of , to which Mototsune's quieter works belong, is well defined: in original condition the form shows high with pronounced , settling toward the tip in a slightly drooping tendency and concluding in a . Mototsune's characteristic forging is tending toward standing grain, covered with thick and threaded with fine , with a faint appearing in the ground. The temper line is mixed with and , with brightening well into the interior of the ; and occur strongly and frequently, and along the appear mixed effects such as and intermittent . In the , the pattern enters in and returns with . The overall impression is one of restrained complexity rather than flamboyant display.
The consistently characterizes Mototsune's work as possessing an "archaic fragrance" (koko) and a richness of flavor that allows one to "fully savor the subtle fascination of ." His pieces clearly reveal a distinctive manner of execution within the idiom, where floridly chaotic patterns are few and the prevailing tone is -like or based on shallow . As a smith whose authenticated corpus is extremely limited yet includes works at the highest levels of cultural designation, Mototsune occupies a quietly distinguished position within the earliest stratum of the tradition.