Late Edo Period Shinshinto (New New Swords) — The Revival Movement Beginning with Suishinshi Masahide and the Sword Flourishing of the Bunka-Bunsei Era

What Period Does Shinshinto Refer To?

In the historical periodization of Japanese swords, "Shinshinto" refers to sword blades created from the Kansei era (1789) through the early Meiji period (1876 Haitorei edict). It is the period following Shinto (Keicho to Kansei), reaching its peak during the late Edo period, centered on the Bunka (1804-1818), Bunsei (1818-1830), and Tenpo (1830-1844) eras.

Despite being a peaceful era when the practical utility of swords greatly declined, sword culture paradoxically flourished greatly. Sword appreciation, collecting, and swordplay research became fashionable pursuits among the samurai class, while swordsmiths themselves underwent a transition in social status from mere utilitarian craftspeople to fine artists.

Suishinshi Masahide's Restorationist Philosophy—The Standard-Bearer of Koto Revival

The most important figure who opened the Shinshinto era was Suishinshi Masahide (c. 1750-1825). Born in Dewa Province (present-day Nanyo City area, Yonezawa Domain), he moved to Edo to become a swordsmith, and served as the intellectual pillar of the Shinshinto movement as both a theorist and practitioner.

His major work 'Tōken Jitsuyōron' (Practical Treatise on Swords) criticized the excessive quenching and decorative blade patterns practiced during the contemporary Shinto period, advocating that one should learn from the material selection, forging technique, and quenching temperature of koto swords (particularly from the Heian and Kamakura periods). Specifically, he emphasized the following points.

• Tamahagane Purity and Selection—He recommended using high-quality Izumo tamahagane (from tatara iron smelting) rather than cheap iron or foreign iron. Masahide argued empirically that steel purity directly determined the quality of the blade pattern and steel texture—a seemingly obvious claim he nonetheless demonstrated rigorously.
• Restoration of Forging Technique—To recreate the fine jikei and utsuri characteristic of koto blades, he attempted to bring the number of folds in the folding-and-welding process and temperature control closer to classical techniques. This research was passed on to his students and contributed to raising the overall technical standard of Shinshinto swords.
• Return to Classical Blade Pattern Standards—Rather than the excessively ornate blade patterns (randie and showy gunome) seen in late Edo period Shinto swords, he idealized suguha and classical-style chooji patterns. This direction was strongly passed on to students such as Taikei Naotane.

Masahide also wrote 'Tōken Bengi' (Sword Distinctions Clarified), which critically examined the excessive quenching and material degradation that had become prevalent during the Shinto period (Keicho to Kansei). If the 'Tōken Jitsuyōron' provided constructive guidelines for restoration, the 'Tōken Bengi' served as its counterpart, recording in writing the technical decline of the contemporary period. Reading both works together reveals that Masahide was not merely an idealist but also had the aspect of a practical technical critic.

In Masahide's own blades, the steel texture was characterized by ko-itamehada with uniform jinie coating, and the blade pattern featured gunome, notare, and chooji as the main elements while showcasing the larger nie characteristic of Soshu school tradition. The forms of his blades were mostly uchigatana and wakizashi with classical proportions in mind, and he consistently prioritized functional beauty and dignity over ornamental elements. Masahide's greatest legacy was systematizing through writing and theory the techniques that had been passed orally from master to student. The assessment that he "elevated craftsmen's empirical techniques into theoretical culture" derives from this accomplishment.

The Bunka-Bunsei Sword Boom and Its Background

Behind the wide acceptance of Suishinshi Masahide's ideas lay the intellectual climate of the Bunka-Bunsei period. This was an era when kokugaku (national learning) and textual criticism flourished, with rising interest among the educated classes in ancient Japanese culture and techniques. In the field of swords, this momentum toward "restoration" provided support, and active attempts were made to research and imitate koto blades.

A patron culture had been established in which daimyo and hatamoto-class samurai commissioned works from prominent swordsmiths, allowing leading Edo swordsmiths to pursue research and production with stable income. In particular, swordsmiths in Masahide's lineage dispersed throughout the provinces as "house swordsmiths" for various daimyo families, promoting the spread of Shinshinto swords in regional areas.

Representative Shinshinto Swordsmiths—The Masahide School and Parallel Currents

The most famous direct student of Suishinshi Masahide was Taikei Naotane (1778-1857). While inheriting his teacher's restorationist philosophy, Naotane carved out his own distinctive path and became the representative swordsmith of Edo Shinshinto through the beauty of his steel texture and the elegance of his blade patterns.

On the other hand, there was Minamoto Kiyomaro (1813-1854), a swordsmith who worked in his own independent line contemporaneously with Masahide. Though Kiyomaro had a short life, his blade patterns possessed a distinctive power unique within Shinshinto, and they continue to receive high evaluation in modern times. In modern sword scholarship from the Meiji period onward, Kiyomaro is regarded as a "genius of unusual power."

Furthermore, swordsmiths such as Hosokawa Masayoshi of Dewa Province and Hizen-school smiths also left important marks in various regions during the Shinshinto period, and Shinshinto was by no means a monolithic Edo-centered movement but rather a geographically diverse phenomenon throughout the country.

Appreciation Points for Shinshinto—How They Differ from Koto

There are several points for distinguishing Shinshinto from koto and Shinto blades.

• Regarding jihada, many Shinshinto blades were forged with conscious attention to itamehada and mokumehada patterns out of admiration for koto swords, but the deep nyuu characteristic of koto blades rarely appears. The fineness of jikei was a beauty that master Suishinshi Masahide aimed for, but in practice many elements proved difficult to recreate.
• Regarding hamon, suguha-style blades are relatively common except in the Kiyomaro school, reflecting the teacher's influence. However, swordsmiths who specialized in randie and gunome also existed, so generalizations cannot be made.
• In the finishing of the nakago, temporal characteristics appear in the fineness of the rasp marks and the shape of the rasp. The tang with the careful finish called kesho-yasuri (cosmetic rasping) unique to Shinshinto indicates the high consciousness of contemporary swordsmiths.

The Haitorei (1876) and the End of Shinshinto

The 1876 (Meiji 9) Haitorei edict prohibited sword wearing, and swords lost their social utility entirely. This edict marked a historical turning point that defined the end of the Shinshinto period, forcing many swordsmiths into retirement from their craft.

However, the Haitorei did not mean the extinction of Japanese swords but rather prompted their redefinition as "art swords." The Meiji government displayed Japanese swords as important crafts in exhibitions and introduced them to foreign countries. This momentum led to the revival of contemporary swordsmithing (gendai-to) in the later Showa period.

The legacy of Shinshinto lies in the restorationist spirit and methodology of technical research passed down to contemporary swordsmiths. The stance of "learning from koto blades" that Suishinshi Masahide advocated continues to live on today as a fundamental philosophy of Japanese sword making.