The school of Province traces its origin to Taro Kunimura, who is traditionally regarded as a grandson — or grandson-in-law — of Kuniyuki of Yamashiro. Relocating to the Kumafu area of Kikuchi District, Kunimura established a lineage that flourished greatly from the closing years of the period through the era. The migration is thought to have been not the action of a single individual but rather that of a larger -group or collective, as corroborated by the early dated works of pupils such as Kunitomo (Shochu era, 1324-1326) and Kunisuke (Kareki era, 1326-1329). From this line emerged many highly skilled smiths — Kuniyoshi, Kunitoki, Kunitai, Kunisuke, Kuninobu, Kunitsuna, and others — several of whom are known from blades bearing Southern Court era-name inscriptions, evidence that they served as retained smiths of the Kikuchi clan. A late offshoot, the Ishinuki group of Tamana in , carried the lineage into the early period.
In workmanship, the school is broadly in the manner of the tradition, and individual personalities within the group are not strongly differentiated — "apart from a small number of smiths, individual characteristics are difficult to single out." Nevertheless, the identifies several diagnostic features that distinguish from proper. The forging displays a conspicuous tendency toward -like structure mixed among the , and the takes on a characteristic whitish tone, with standing prominently. The tends toward — subdued in character — and the internal activities within the hardened edge are comparatively calm, producing a temper in which strong is not the dominant impression. The is centered on , often a with slight admixtures of or shallow ; along the , fine , , and a -like tendency are frequently encountered. In the , the rounded portion at the tip is somewhat large — characteristically — and the is tempered shallow, a hallmark that recurs across the school's production. At its finest, the forging yields a well-refined texture with finely spread and delicately entering , producing a surface of quiet beauty.
The consistently frames work within the aesthetic, observing that individual pieces "call to mind Kunimitsu," while also noting that compared with , the and may feel somewhat weaker in effect — "one senses a relative weakness in both and ." Works with a Yamato temperament are also encountered. Yet the school's collective identity is unmistakable: the whitish , the flowing grain, the subdued , and the distinctive together constitute a suite of features by which attribution to the group "can be accepted straightforwardly." Blades in sound condition — described as , with well-retained and thick — are singled out for particular commendation. Across nearly five decades of designations, the evaluative language remains remarkably stable: the school is praised not for dramatic virtuosity but for a refined, understated coherence that links every member of the group to its Yamashiro ancestry while marking it as the distinctive sword tradition of Province.