In Province at the close of the period, the Mizuta group emerged at the village of that name, and successive generations took the name Kunishige. The trace their work across Matsuyama, Toribe, Ihara, Ebara, and Niimi, with their vitality carrying into the era. The smiths the records cover form a recognizable line: Ko-Mizuta Kunishige, whose dated blade reaches Tenshō 20 (1592); the Niimi Saburōzaemon no Jō Kunishige, said by signature references () to have come from Bingo into the Niimi estate and afterward to have served the Mimura family, lords of Matsuyama Castle; Kunishige of Ihara, who signed " no Ihara-jū Kunishige "; Kunishige styled Ōtsukiyo Goemon, recorded as forging also at Fukuyama in Bingo and at Kawanami; and Ōtsuki Yogorō Kunishige, abbreviated "Daiyogo," son of Ōtsuki Saburōbei Kunishige, who came after the old Mizuta period and worked from the 'ei years. So many smiths bore the name Kunishige that the call the group's reliance on it overwhelming.
The shared vocabulary is consistent across the entries. The is , sometimes flowing and sometimes standing out, with adhering and entering; is visible on the older pieces. The of the hand rests on a or base mixed with , deep in , with forming vigorously and at times breaking into coarse ; and run through, and recurs frequently. On the Daiyogo the temper rises until the upper half is nearly , an in style with the burning down long toward the . The elsewhere goes with , taking a flame-like () cast or becoming -like. The Niimi blade adds composition with angular and -like elements. These are the marks of the hand: a strong -laden bearing on a serviceable, build, the signatures cut long toward the .
For the records single out the foundation worked with and intense , the shapes and ichimai bōshi the name as "the highlights of the Mizuta manner," and the tang that rises markedly toward the edge. The smiths are read by their pronounced emphasis, the -period Ko-Mizuta by a busier (kosekose) carrying and a tight . The describe these as cutting, utilitarian blades, and the Ihara carries elaborate carving, including , "," and the Nine Syllables. Named pieces anchor the line: the Niimi Kunishige is published in the Kōzan and, by the record on its old scabbard, once served as the camp sword (jin-tō) of Bunjō-in, Tokugawa Ienobu, the sixth shōgun. Of Daiyogo the say few signed works survive, the loss attributed to being removed or blades shortened and reworked, yet they name him the leading master of the group and credit the school's spread through the period to smiths of his ability.