The Meiji Revival of Sword-Carrying and the Late Shinshinton Era: Nationalism and the Reappraisal of Sword Culture

The Impact of the Haitorei and the Crisis in the Sword Industry

The Haitorei (Sword Abolishment Edict) issued in Meiji 9 (1876) completely banned the wearing of swords by the samurai class and dealt a devastating blow to the Japanese sword industry. The production system of sword smiths, scabbard makers, metal workers, and polishers that had been established on the basis of samurai demand throughout the Edo period lost its demand base overnight. In the decade following the Haitorei, an estimated hundreds of sword smiths closed their shops nationwide, and sword-making centers in urban areas such as Edo (Tokyo), Osaka, and Kyoto were devastated.

However, the Haitorei could not eliminate the cultural artifact that is the Japanese sword itself. Rather, Japanese swords underwent a semantic transformation from "the soul of the samurai" to "a symbol of Japanese culture," acquiring new value as antiques and artworks. In the process of this transformation, a modern cultural practice of sword appreciation was born.

Nationalism and Debates on the Revival of Sword Wearing—Discussions in the Meiji 20s

The Meiji 20s (1887-1897) was a period when Japan's nationalist movement reached its height. Centered around the magazine "Nihonjin" founded by the Society for Politics and Religion, intellectuals appeared who opposed wholesale Westernization and advocated for the protection of Japan's unique culture and spirit. Within this context, a debate arose in some circles that "the freedom to wear swords should be restored."

However, these discussions did not result in actual policy changes. The ban on sword wearing was fundamental to the Meiji government's modernization policy, and the restoration of samurai privileges was unacceptable to the government. However, the discourse that "Japanese swords embody Japanese spirit" began to take hold, and a direction toward protecting and promoting swords as "artworks" and "cultural properties" was being formed.

At the decorative arts exhibition held at the Imperial Museum (now Tokyo National Museum) in Meiji 29 (1896), swords were displayed as an important category of artworks, which served as one catalyst for the popularization of sword appreciation.

The First Sino-Japanese War, the Russo-Japanese War, and Military Sword Demand—Partial Revival of the Sword-Making Industry

The First Sino-Japanese War of Meiji 27 (1894) and the Russo-Japanese War of Meiji 37 (1904) brought new demand to the sword industry. Military swords (guntou) worn by military officers in formal dress partially revived the demand for swords that had disappeared after the Haitorei.

There were two types of military swords that coexisted.

To meet the demand for Japanese sword-style military swords, some previously inactive sword smiths resumed their work, and sword-making workshops in Tokyo and Osaka began accepting orders from the military.

This military sword demand became an important pillar of sword-smith activity during a period called the "late Shinshin period." Sword smiths who technically followed the lineage of late Edo period Shinshin swords while creating for the military as a new patron were active in various regions from the late Meiji period through the Taisho period.

Late Shinshin Period Sword Smiths—The Struggle to Preserve Tradition

After the Haitorei, sword smiths who continued to preserve traditional sword-forging techniques were forced to operate in a harsh economic environment. Sword smiths who inherited the tradition remained relatively numerous in the Chugoku region, including Okayama, Hiroshima, Shimane, and Tottori, and in the Kyushu regions of Hizen (Saga) and Satsuma (Kagoshima).

Gassan Sadakatsu (1836-1918), one of the representative sword smiths of the Meiji period, was a master craftsman of the late Shinshin period who was based in Osaka. While inheriting the traditional ayasugi jihada of the Gassan school, he created official swords for the Imperial Household Ministry (now the Imperial Household Agency) and masterpieces for exhibitions. At the Fourth National Industrial Exhibition held in Kyoto and Okazaki in Meiji 28 (1895), he won the second-class award of merit, pioneering the recognition of Japanese swords as a subject of evaluation in modern decorative arts exhibitions.

Gassan Sadakatsu's activities symbolize the nature of sword culture in the Meiji period. Rather than pursuing the mass demand for military swords, he pursued the creation of swords as refined artworks and developed new "patrons" in exhibitions and the Imperial Household Ministry. This approach anticipated the path to the "Living National Treasure" system (holders of intangible cultural property) in the later Showa period.

Modern Establishment of Sword Research—The Birth of Appraisal and Preservation Culture

From the late Meiji period through the Taisho period, scholarly research on swords and appraisal culture began to be systematically developed. While inheriting the sword appraisal tradition that the Honami family had carried since the Edo period, new forms of sword research were developed.

Beginning in Taisho 6 (1917), organizations that would become the forerunner of the "Society for the Preservation of the Japanese Art Sword (NBTHK)" were established, and the development of institutions to systematically conduct authentication, preservation, and promotion of swords progressed (NBTHK was formally established after the war). This laid the foundation for the transition of sword valuation from a stage dependent on the subjective judgment of individual appraisers to an organized and objective evaluation system.

Sword magazines were also founded in succession during this period, and the formation of a layer of enthusiasts and collectors advanced. The cultural practice of sword appreciation called toukenshuumi (sword appreciation hobby) spreading beyond the samurai and former warrior classes to merchants, literati, and entrepreneurs from the late Meiji period through the Taisho period was an important cultural change.

By the Taisho period, approximately 40 years after the Haitorei, Japanese swords were establishing themselves as "cultural properties and artworks" rather than "former weapons." This transformation led to sword preservation movements and the development of the intangible cultural property system in the Showa period, determining the nature of contemporary Japanese sword culture.