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

Tokugawa Yoshimune's Era and Sword Culture

In 1716 (Kyoho 1), Tokugawa Yoshimune, who became the eighth shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate, implemented the "Kyoho Reforms" under the banner of financial reconstruction and moral discipline. These reforms extended across wide-ranging areas of administration, finance, and social customs, but also had a serious impact on sword culture, the spiritual pillar of the samurai.

At the time, the shogunate suffered from chronic financial difficulties. After the collapse of the Genroku bubble, a culture of lavish consumption spread from the samurai class to commoners, and the excessive ornamentation of sword fittings (tsuba, menuki, fuchikashira, etc.) came to be seen as problematic because it contradicted the samurai's duty. Yoshimune's reforms directly addressed this situation.

How Austerity Edicts Changed Sword Fitting Styles

The austerity edicts at the core of the Kyoho Reforms imposed clear restrictions on the materials and designs of sword fittings. Ornate sword fittings that made extensive use of gold leaf, silver products, and mother-of-pearl inlay were prohibited as "luxury contrary to the samurai's duty," and austere, sturdy styles made of iron and magnolia wood were encouraged.

This policy particularly contributed to the spread of Higo-koshirae style. Higo-koshirae is practical, unadorned sword equipment with the following characteristics:

• Black lacquered scabbard
• Iron tsuba
• Cotton-wrapped handle

It is said that Yoshimune himself favored this style, and the shogun's preference influenced the sword fittings of his retainers and regional daimyo.

On the other hand, the austerity edicts produced a paradoxical phenomenon. While competing in outward simplicity, appreciation of the sword blade itself—its hamon, jihada, and nakago—deepened. "Not decorating the outside, but polishing the inside"—this spirit led to the advancement of sword blade appreciation.

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

While advocating for austerity, Yoshimune himself enthusiastically collected fine swords. This seemingly contradictory action had clear political intent. For Yoshimune, fine swords were "symbols of the samurai class," and their collection was not mere hobby but a political act demonstrating the legitimacy of samurai rule.

Yoshimune particularly treasured masterpieces from the ko-to period (up to the Keicho era). Tachi swords from the Kamakura and Nanboku-cho periods, and masterpieces of the Bizen and Soshu traditions, were collected as shogunal treasures, with the Honami family of sword connoisseurs and experts overseeing authentication and documentation. The authentication documents created through this process became the foundation for sword evaluation in later ages.

Yoshimune also devoted considerable effort to protecting declining sword-crafting techniques. At the time, there were concerns about the decline in sword-making techniques due to complacency during the peaceful Genroku period. Yoshimune instituted policies encouraging shogunal retainers and vassals to purchase high-quality new swords and established systems for recognizing excellent sword smiths.

Sword Smiths of the Kyoho Period and the "Eve of the Shinshintsuo"

The Kyoho period (1716–1736) represents a transitional era from the shin-to period (Keicho–Horeki) to the shinshintsuo period (An'ei–end of the shogunate). Sword smiths of this period lived in an era of technical exploration.

Movements attempting to return to ko-to techniques were already beginning to emerge during the Kyoho period, and this momentum became a distant precursor to the ko-to revival movement by shinshintsuo smiths such as Suishinshi Masahide generations later. The Yoshimune administration's encouragement of fine sword appreciation and support for the Honami family's authentication activities advanced research into ko-to forms and hamon. This became the fertile ground for the later "ko-to revival movement" of the shinshintsuo period.

The Kyoho period was also an era when sword smiths throughout the country engaged in technical competition for appointment as official shogunal sword makers. Sword smiths from Musashi Province rose to prominence near Edo, while smiths from Settsu were active in Osaka. This regional competition became a factor in creating diversity among late shin-to swords.

Rural Policy and the Blacksmithing Industry

The Kyoho Reforms extended to agricultural policy. Under seemingly contradictory policies of "encouraging new field development" and "increasing annual tributes," rural economic restructuring advanced. This policy had indirect effects on the blacksmithing industry.

Agricultural blacksmithing (the creation of farm tools and carpentry implements) was directly tied to the rural economy, so the fluctuations in agricultural policy during the Kyoho period affected demand for agricultural blacksmiths. Sword smiths, on the other hand, depended on samurai demand, and to overcome demand fluctuations under the austerity edicts, some sword smiths began producing non-blade metal products (farm tools and implements). This era's dual structure of "samurai swords and rural farm tools" became a precursor to the industrial transition of sword smithing during the later modernization period.

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

Tokugawa Yoshimune's Kyoho Reforms influenced Japanese sword culture in the following three ways:

• Simplification of sword fitting styles
• Deepening of ko-to appreciation
• Protection of sword-smithing techniques

The austerity edicts suppressed the sword's "external appearance," but paradoxically heightened interest in the sword blade's "internal essence"—its forging pattern, hamon, and jihada. Ironically, this worked to purify the artistic value of the Japanese sword. And Yoshimune's passionate collection of fine swords and cooperation with the Honami family contributed to the development of a scholarly evaluation system for Japanese swords. The Kyoho period can be described as a paradox-filled, rich era that regulated "samurai aesthetics" from the outside while deepening it from within.