Norifusa is traditionally regarded as the son of Sukefusa of the Fukuoka school, and alongside Yoshifusa and Sukezane stands as one of the representative smiths of the group in the mid- period. Because he later relocated to the area known as Katayama, he came to be called "Katayama ." The prevailing view formerly identified Katayama as a location in Province; however, in recent years a theory has emerged that it may instead refer to Katayama in the vicinity of Fukuoka in Province, "a matter that invites further study." Several different calligraphic styles are observed in Norifusa's signatures, and because "his workmanship also displays a certain breadth," it is thought that smiths bearing the name continued for multiple generations. Extant signed works are limited to ; yet from old times Norifusa has been transmitted as a master of , and many unsigned blades survive that are handed down as his work.
The consistently identifies a distinct cluster of technical traits that separate Norifusa from his Fukuoka peers. His is characterized as strong and clear — the steel described repeatedly as bright, with tightly forged (小板目肌), extremely fine (地沸), fine (地景), and prominent (乱映り). The (刃文) centers on (丁子乱れ) that, compared with Sukezane and Yoshifusa, "tends toward somewhat smaller patterning," with a characteristic reverse tendency — termed (逆がかり) or (逆心) — in which the undulations slant counter to the expected direction. Fine, intricate (足) within the temper are consistently noted as a hallmark. The tempering is typically -dominant with (小沸), and the (匂口) is described as "bright and clear." Internal activities include (金筋), (砂流し), and occasional (飛焼き) and (湯走り) in the upper portions. The also acknowledges a broader stylistic range than is sometimes appreciated: beyond flamboyant , there are works "in which dense, fine produces strong clarity while is less prominent," works where the reverse tendency is conspicuous, and — as demonstrated by a rare -based signed blade — pieces that are "somewhat apart from the typical manner," newly demonstrating the breadth of his working range.
Norifusa occupies a distinctive position within the lineage as the smith whose work is most consistently distinguished from the school's broader idiom by identifiable personal mannerisms. The 's evaluative language across multiple sessions returns to a stable core of praise: blades are "" (健全, sound and well-preserved), with "excellent " (肉置き, ample remaining flesh) and "outstanding workmanship." Provenance records repeatedly place his works among the highest echelons of Tokugawa-era collections — transmitted by the Yanagisawa, Ikeda, Takasu Matsudaira, and Mizuno houses, and bestowed by shoguns. Signed examples are valued not only for their workmanship but for "high documentary value as reference material," and the bold, thick-chiselled signatures themselves are studied for evidence of career periods. The recurring formulation that his is "somewhat smaller in pattern" with "fine " and a "reverse tendency," set against a of exceptional clarity, constitutes the canonical diagnostic framework by which the separates Norifusa's hand from the broader corpus — a framework that has remained remarkably stable across four decades of and deliberations.