The Kyōhō Reforms and Sword Policy: How Tokugawa Yoshimune Reshaped Samurai Sword Culture

The Era of Yoshimune and Sword Culture

In 1716 (Hōkoku 1), Tokugawa Yoshimune, who ascended to become the eighth shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate, implemented the "Hōkoku Reforms" under the banner of fiscal reconstruction and moral discipline. These reforms extended across broad domains of administration, finance, and social customs, profoundly affecting sword culture, a spiritual pillar of the samurai.

At that time, the shogunate suffered from chronic fiscal difficulties. After the collapse of the Genroku bubble, a culture of extravagant consumption spread from the samurai to commoners, and the excessive ornamentation of sword fittings (tsuba, menuki, fuchi-kashira, etc.) became regarded as contrary to the samurai's fundamental principles. Yoshimune's reforms directly confronted this situation.

Austerity Edicts and the Transformation of Sword Fitting Styles

At the core of the Hōkoku Reforms, austerity edicts imposed clear restrictions on the materials and design of sword fittings. Ornate sword fittings that made heavy use of gold leaf, silver, and mother-of-pearl inlay were prohibited as "extravagance contrary to the samurai's proper conduct," while austere, practical styles made of iron and magnolia wood were encouraged.

This policy particularly contributed to the spread of the Higo-koshirae style. Higo-koshirae is a practical sword fitting style devoid of decoration, characterized by a black lacquered saya, iron tsuba, and cotton tsuka wrapping. Yoshimune himself is said to have favored this style, and the shogun's preference influenced the sword fitting styles adopted by shogunal retainers and daimyo.

On the other hand, the austerity edicts generated a paradoxical phenomenon. While competing in outward simplicity, appreciation for the sword blade itself—its hamon, jihada, and nakago—deepened considerably. The spirit of "adorning the outside not, but polishing the inside" led to more sophisticated appreciation of sword blades.

Yoshimune's Collection of Fine Swords and the Redefinition of Samurai Culture

While preaching austerity, Yoshimune himself enthusiastically collected fine swords. This apparently contradictory action had clear political intent. For Yoshimune, fine swords were "symbols of samurai authority," and collecting them was not merely a hobby but a political act demonstrating the legitimacy of samurai rule.

Yoshimune particularly treasured masterpieces from the koto period (up to the Keichō era). Tachi from the Kamakura and Northern and Southern Courts periods, and masterworks of the Bizen and Sōshū traditions were collected as shogunal treasures, with the Hon'ami family, experts in sword appraisal, handling authentication and documentation. The certificates of authentication created during this work became the foundation for sword evaluation in later generations.

Additionally, Yoshimune devoted considerable effort to protecting the blade-smithing techniques that were declining. At that time, there was concern about a decline in blade-smiths' technical standards due to the complacency fostered by the peace of the Genroku era. Yoshimune established a policy encouraging shogunal hatamoto and gokenin to purchase high-quality shintos and set up a system to honor excellent blade-smiths.

Blade-Smiths of the Hōkoku Period and the "Eve of the Shinshintos"

The Hōkoku period (1716–1736) corresponded to a transitional era between the shinto period (Keichō–Hōreki) and the shinshinto period (An'ei–the end of the shogunate). Blade-smiths of this period lived in an era of technical exploration.

Blade-smiths who served as mentors to Suishinshi Masahide were active during this era, and movements attempting a return to koto-period techniques were beginning to emerge. Yoshimune's administration's encouragement of fine sword appreciation and support for the Hon'ami family's appraisal activities advanced research into the forms and hamon of koto blades. This became the soil for the later "koto revival movement" of the shinshinto period.

The Hōkoku period was also an era when blade-smiths throughout the country engaged in technical competition vying for appointment as official suppliers to the shogunate. In the vicinity of Edo, blade-smiths from Musashi Province rose to prominence, while in Osaka, blade-smiths from Settsu were actively engaged. This inter-regional competition became a factor generating the diversity of blades in the later shinto period.

Rural Policy and Relationships with Blacksmithing

The Hōkoku Reforms extended to agricultural policy. Under what appeared to be contradictory policies of "encouraging new field development" and "increasing the tribute tax," rural economic restructuring advanced. This policy indirectly affected blacksmithing.

Agricultural blacksmithing (the production of agricultural implements and carpentry tools) was directly tied to the rural economy, and fluctuations in Hōkoku-period agricultural policies affected the demand for agricultural blacksmithing. Meanwhile, blade-smithing depended on samurai demand, and to overcome demand fluctuations under the austerity edicts, some blade-smiths began producing non-sword metal products (agricultural implements and tools).

This era's dual structure of "samurai swords and rural agricultural implements" became a foreshadowing of the industrial transformation of blade-smithing during the later modernization period.

Summary: The Legacy of Sword Culture Left by the Hōkoku Reforms

Tokugawa Yoshimune's Hōkoku Reforms affected Japanese sword culture in three ways: the simplification of sword fitting styles, the deepening of koto sword appreciation, and the protection of blade-smithing techniques.

The austerity edicts restrained the "outward appearance" of swords, but paradoxically heightened interest in the "inner essence" of sword blades—their jihada, hamon, and kitae. Ironically, this had the effect of purifying the artistic value of Japanese swords.

And Yoshimune's passionate collection of fine swords, in cooperation with the Hon'ami family, contributed to the establishment of a scholarly system for evaluating Japanese swords. The Hōkoku period can be characterized as a paradoxical and enriching era that regulated "samurai aesthetics" from without while deepening it from within.