The Hojoji school takes its name from a place in Tajima Province where the -period founder Kunimitsu resided during the period. Traditional accounts counted Kunimitsu among the "Three Tetsu" -- eminent disciples of Sadamune -- though the has consistently noted that this lineage claim "lacks validity" and that the influence of workmanship is far stronger than any connection. Celebrated above all as a master maker of , Kunimitsu established a tradition that would be revived in the era when the Takigawa family, claiming descent from the Hojoji, established themselves in . There, under the leadership of Masahiro -- who bore the court title Omi no Kami across two generations -- the school "flourished greatly," producing accomplished smiths including Sadakuni, Yoshitsugu, Masateru, and Kunimasa. The group maintained what the describes as "a fairly close relationship with the Kotetsu lineage," evidenced by the frequent presence of gold-inlaid cutting-test inscriptions by the Yamano family and a workmanship that "closely resembles that of Nagasone Kotetsu."
The Hojoji technical identity spans two distinct but connected idioms. The -period works attributed to Kunimitsu -- typically and -- display flamboyant "so much so that at a glance they can be mistaken for ," with markedly strong in both and , large-pattern forging with , vigorous standing grain, and frequent and throughout the tempered area. The characteristically enters as with strong and finishes in , while the often shows a darkened tone with a -tending . Kunimitsu's rare signed pieces -- limited to and -- reveal a quieter mode employing and sanjuba effects to produce "a calm workmanship of deep, subdued flavor." The -era Hojoji synthesized these ancestral threads into a distinctive -period style anchored in a -based temper into which and run together. A characteristic manner "frequently seen" across the group is the appearance at the of small -like forms and intermingled . The forging is typically dense or mixed with , with fine adhering thickly and entering. Structurally, the Hojoji manner is distinguished by a conspicuous difference between base and tip widths, shallow , compact , low , and thick with abundant -- traits the identifies as diagnostic of the group even within the broader context of -era conventions.
Within this collective framework, individual members carved distinctive identities. Masahiro's first generation is praised for pieces in which adheres "evenly and without irregularity" and enter with abundance, demonstrating "Masahiro's true strengths without reserve." Yoshitsugu developed the most conspicuous within the lineage, at times displaying a -like manner approaching the intensity of Kotetsu or Kazusa no Kaneshige; his sojourn in Kagoshima serving the Shimazu house exerted influence upon Satsuma smiths before his return to . Masateru's greatest strength lay in , executed with a so bright and a so deep that certain works are "so reminiscent of Kotetsu that one might feel as though viewing Kotetsu himself." The darkened steel tone and -tending serve as continuous threads linking the and periods despite the acknowledged "stylistic gap" between them. From Kunimitsu's flamboyant through Masahiro's disciplined -era refinement, the Hojoji school occupies a distinctive position within the Japanese sword tradition: closely allied to the Nagasone Kotetsu lineage yet possessing a recognizable individuality through its structural conventions and the quiet drama of and within a fundamentally -based aesthetic.