The Hōshō school (Hōshō-ha) resided in Takaichi District of Yamato Province and flourished from the late period through the era. Among its representative makers, Sadamune and Sadayoshi are the most widely known; tradition holds that both styled themselves "Hōshō Gorō." Dated works by Sadayoshi survive bearing year inscriptions such as Bunpō, Genkō, and Karyaku. Additional accomplished smiths include Sadakiyo, Sadakō, Sadaoki, and Sadamitsu, all sharing the character (貞) as a common element in their names. The school's manner is among the most conspicuously distinctive within the five Yamato traditions (Yamato Go-).
The Hōshō school is particularly renowned for its mastery of forging, in which the prominently displays an overall straight-grain structure (sō-), often appearing well refined, tightly compacted, and exhibiting a bright, clear luster with thickly adhering and abundant . The typically follows a -based pattern, frequently rendered in dense with thick, beautifully lustrous . The edge line often shows fine , and vigorous activity is seen in , sanjūba, uchi-noke, , , , and . The characteristically terminates in with vigorous . Tang construction is equally distinctive: the is typically finished as bukiri (squared-off) or , and file marks are executed in .
Though individual smiths within the Hōshō line do not exhibit sharply differentiated personal styles, the collective output demonstrates a consistent command of Yamato forging techniques and aesthetic ideals. The school's works are distinguished by their orderly paired with tempers that display exquisite variations and tonal gradations along the and within the hardened area. Representative superior examples exhibit a bright, clear , keen surface definition with , and an overall boldness filled with commanding spirit that remains readily identifiable within the broader Yamato tradition.