The Tsuchiya school is a branch of the Nara kinkō tradition, established in ( Province) by Tsuchiya Yasuchika, counted among the Nara Sansaku (Three Great Masters of Nara). Six generations of main-line heads carried the name Yasuchika (安親), perpetuating a continuous workshop lineage from the Genroku era through the late period. The Shōnai Kinkō Meifu records Yasutsugu (安族) as a pupil of the first-generation Yasuchika who served as a cooperative assistant craftsman in before returning to Shōnai, where his descendants continued in metalwork. The sixth-generation head, Tsuchiya Masachika — also known as Hōgen Yasuchika — was the eldest son of Kunichika (the fifth-generation head), born in Shimotsuke Province at Shimodate. He "traveled widely to study and refine his skills," establishing himself at Shiba-Shinbashi in and serving as domain craftsman to the Satake family of Akita. He was granted the court title Hōgen, used the art names Sekienji and Tōsen, and died in Man'en 2 (1861). A further branch member, Tsuchiya Morichika I, signed under the extended form Tōensha Tsuchiya Kōsen Morichika.
The school's collective style is rooted in the Nara tradition's carving vocabulary, with (relief carving raised from the ground) as its foundational technique. Iron and are the primary ground metals, frequently worked in or (hammered ground), with rich in gold, silver, , and . The hallmark of the school is the range of carving modes deployed within single commissions: with , nikuai-bori (modeled carving), , , and kikkō (armor-plate chisel work) all appear in the designated corpus, each "clearly demonstrating a high level of technical accomplishment." The pictorial sensibility favors literary and allusive compositions; Morichika's Five Seasonal Festivals suite expresses each observance "through evocative images of associated objects and settings that allude to the observances" rather than depicting ceremonial scenes literally. Yasutsugu's iron of a ferocious horse in a landscape displays "nuanced variations imparted through chisel work and controlled corrosion effects" that are "thoroughly reminiscent of Yasuchika."
The consistently position the Tsuchiya school as a vehicle for the continuation of Nara-school principles across the mid- and late periods. The founder's towering workshop authority was such that Yasutsugu could be described as "a shadow presence behind Yasuchika." By the sixth generation, Masachika's fittings demonstrate sustained command of diverse carving modes, with "designs selected with deliberation" and a capacity to harmonize metal fittings, lacquer, and grip materials into "a single, elegant effect." Commissioned works for patrons — the Satake family of Akita and the Matsui family of Maebashi — attest to the enduring esteem in which the Tsuchiya line was held by the upper warrior class.