The name Munetsugu encompasses two distinct lineages of distinguished swordsmiths. The first-generation Iyo no Jo Munetsugu of Province, known as Sakai San'emon, came from a family of priests at the Tenmangu shrine in Nagase village, the birthplace of . He received the court title Iyo no Jo in Keicho 11 (1606) and stands alongside the first-generation as "a true pioneer among the swordsmiths of early-modern ." The second lineage is Katayama Munetsugu, born in Kyowa 3 (1803) in Shirakawa, Oshu, who served as a retained smith for the Matsudaira house and later the Kuwana domain, residing at Azabu Nagasaka in . He received the title no in Koka 2 (1845), and his prolific career extended from the late Bunsei era through early Meiji. Both are united by the Munetsugu name but represent fundamentally different traditions: the smith worked in the - manner, while the Katayama master devoted himself entirely to the tradition.
The Munetsugu is characterized as "an anomalous presence within the group of smiths." Both and are richly covered with ; he tempered exuberant mixing pointed elements, applying and in a manner "revealing a - sphere, especially reminiscent of style." His overwhelmingly enters in with vigorous , departing from the straight-into- convention of other work, and his takes on a form with distinctive signature placement. The third-generation Munetsugu inherited these methods, forging -like works with the taken "so high it reaches the ." By contrast, Katayama Munetsugu's style is "consistently within the tradition," succeeding with "a tightly forged and beautiful together with -dominant ." His characteristically features - with long entering well, a bright , and a that enters in with . Early-career pieces from the Tenpo era show a standing grain and stronger than his later, more polished production, where "the shoulders are lined up and tempered in an orderly fashion." Distinctive "fist-shaped" () appear in his later Keio-era works, and the narrowing at the tip in a Jizo-like manner is a hallmark unique to his hand.
The consistently acclaims the Munetsugu's pieces as representing "Munetsugu's finest achievement across his lifetime," with activities in and that are "abundant" and "filled with dynamism." For Katayama Munetsugu, examiners praise the "bright " as a recurring point of excellence and note that even among his very numerous surviving works, pieces displaying "a conspicuously lively effect" with height variation in the temper and diverse intermixed elements are singled out as superior. His large-scale with wide , thick , and extended produce "a bold and imposing presence," and the occurrence of cutting-test inscriptions and commissioner's names on many tangs adds significant documentary value to an already distinguished body of work.