Genroku Culture and Swords: The Aesthetic of Ornamental Blades and the Flourishing Sword Fittings Industry

Society and Japanese Swords in the Genroku Era

The Genroku period (1688–1704) was an era of prosperity that coincided with the reign of Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, the fifth shogun of the Edo Bakufu. Under prolonged peace, commerce flourished and the culture of townspeople blossomed. Genroku culture, which originated in the Kansai region, nurtured diverse arts including ukiyo-e, kabuki, haikai, and puppet theater, and also brought significant changes to the world of Japanese swords and sword fittings.

As swords transitioned from "practical implements of war" to "ceremonial ornaments signifying status" in this conflict-free era, the aesthetic value of the koshirae (sword fittings as a whole) came to the fore, rather than the form of the blade itself. For samurai of the Genroku period, the sword was both a weapon and a symbol of fashion.

The Shift Toward "Ornamental Swords"

During the Genroku period, emphasis was placed more on the refinement of sword fittings than on blade forging. Sword fittings such as tsuba, menuki, fuchigashira, kozuka, and kogai were meticulously crafted by numerous metal craftsmen, with the Gotō family leading the way. In particular, the Gotō family's technique of carving on a fish-roe textured ground called "ishimoji-ji" was widely sought after by the upper classes of this era.

On the other hand, among the merchant class, the Genroku's affinity for extravagance gave rise to ostentatious sword fittings designed to show off. Flashy wakizashi with lacquered sheaths decorated with maki-e and gold dust became fashionable, contributing to the stricter enforcement of sumptuary laws in the later Kyōho period.

Higo Koshirae and the Taste of the Samurai Class in the Genroku Period

Changes also occurred in the aesthetic sensibilities of the samurai class. The higo koshirae, which developed centered around the Hosokawa family (Higo), pursued rather an unpretentious and austere beauty. A simple composition of a rounded tsuba on an iron ground, a hilt wrapped in rattan, and a plain lacquered sheath was favored by the samurai class as a reaction against excessive ornamentation. Higo koshirae became established as a counter-style expressing samurai dignity within the splendid Genroku culture.

Sword Smiths and the Development of the Shintō Period

In terms of sword-smithing technology, the Genroku period corresponds to the later phase of the shintō (new swords) period. Sword smiths in the lineage of Tsuda Echizen no Kami Sukehiro of Osaka were prominent as representative craftsmen of this period. While blades employing techniques that inherited Sukehiro's "tōran midare" were sought by the wealthy in the Kansai region, in Edo, master smiths following Nagasone Kotetsu continued to forge blades combining practicality and beauty.

By the Genroku period, the master Echizen no Kami Sukehiro (the second generation), who could be said to represent the pinnacle of the shintō period, had already passed away (died 1682), and the Genroku years that followed marked a period when the techniques inherited by his disciples spread throughout the regions.

The Flourishing of the Sword Fittings Industry

The economic prosperity of the Genroku period directly benefited the sword fittings industry. The workload of craftsmen such as metal workers, sheath makers, hilt makers, and polishers increased, and specialized workshops became concentrated in craftsmen's quarters, particularly in Osaka and Kyoto. Metal craftsmen produced large quantities of sword fittings with precise carvings, employing alloys such as gold, silver, red copper, and shakudō.

On the other hand, concerns about quality decline due to mass production began to emerge. When Tokugawa Yoshimune later regulated extravagance through the "Kyōho Reforms" in the Kyōho period (1716–1736), demand for excessively ornamental fittings subsided, but the technological foundation developed during the Genroku period was passed on to sword fittings culture in later generations.

What Genroku Culture Left in the History of Japanese Swords

The Genroku era was a turning point when Japanese swords shed their identity as "weapons" and established their status as "artworks and cultural properties." The precise metal-carving techniques of tsuba and menuki, the maki-e decoration of lacquered sheaths, the establishment of a koshirae industry in which sheath makers, hilt makers, and metal craftsmen collaborated—all of these were products of the Genroku period's economic prosperity and cultural flourishing. The origins of contemporary sword fitting appreciation and collecting are precisely rooted in this era.