Swords and Court Ritual in the Late Nara to Early Heian Period: How the Capital Transfers Transformed Japanese Sword Culture

Political Turmoil in Late Nara Period and Positioning of Swords

The late Nara period (770s) was a time of turmoil in imperial court politics, epitomized by the problem of Dōkyō, and also an era of political reform under Emperors Kōnin and Kanmu. What is important in discussing sword culture of this period is the fact that the "official government-controlled management system" for swords, which had been prescribed under the ritsuryō legal system, was beginning to waver.

Under the ritsuryō system, bows and arrows, swords, and armor were placed under the jurisdiction of provincial governors (kokuši) as state-controlled weapons, and the social ranks permitted to wear swords freely were clearly limited. In the late Nara period, militarization by regional clans advanced, and the central management system was becoming increasingly hollow. This divergence between institution and reality led to the emergence of samurai culture in the early Heian period.

The swords of that time were still predominantly straight swords (chokutō) that retained strong stylistic influences from continental powers (Tang and Silla), and the swords worn by nobility and court officials basically belonged to this lineage. It is important not to overlook that the management of weapons by provincial governors was a system integrated with taxation and military organization, and swords themselves were treated as assets that should be accounted for by the state. Under this management system, there was little room for individuals to exercise discretion over the production, possession, or wearing of swords, and the later culture of individual ownership and appreciation of a single sword had not yet developed.

Sword Culture During the Nagaoka-kyo Transfer Period (784-794)

The year 784, when Emperor Kanmu decided to relocate the capital to Nagaoka-kyo, marks the eve of a turning point in the history of Japanese swords. Although the imperial court at Nagaoka-kyo (in present-day Mukō and Nagaokakyo) lasted only about a decade, signs of change in the relationship between court ritual and weaponry emerged during this brief period.

Of particular note is the intensification of campaigns against the Emishi. The forces of Ki Kosami, defeated by Aterui in the Battle of Isawa in 789 (Enryaku 8), were criticized for problems in their equipment. This prompted discussion of military reforms, and interest in the shape and quality of swords increased. It is also said that the need for lighter and more manageable swords than heavy straight swords (chokutō) in prolonged expeditions was one of the distant causes of the curving of blades.

It is believed that this struggle on the anti-Emishi front was not merely a military failure, but became an opportunity for the court to become aware of the practical combat suitability of swords themselves. The straight swords until then had a strong character as symbols of ritual and authority, and practical maneuverability and durability in combat were not the primary design considerations. Through the turmoil of the Nagaoka-kyo period, the question of what makes an effective sword in combat led to the later exploration of curved swords. Behind the court's repeated relocations of the capital in a short period were military tensions and financial burdens, and sword culture was not unrelated to this political instability.

Heian-kyo Transfer (794) and Reorganization of Sword Ritual

After the transfer of the capital to Heian-kyo in 794, the Kanmu court advanced the systematization of court rituals. Swords were positioned as important tools in rituals, and this was also the period when the forms of ritual swords such as "otatewaiki" (imperial sword) and "naishidokoro no ken" (sword of the Naishidokoro) were standardized.

Ritual swords developed along a separate line from practical swords, and decorative qualities were emphasized. Among the Nara period swords preserved in the Shosoin, there are gold and silver-decorated "decorated tachi (kazaritachi)" and "black lacquered tachi (kuro-urushi tachi)," which have a strong character as refined craftworks influenced by continental powers (Tang and Silla). This lineage of ritual swords became the foundation of "tachi" culture in the Heian court.

Ritual swords also functioned as devices for making imperial authority visible and were worn in important state ceremonies related to imperial succession. Such swords required high standards of artistic craftsmanship, and continent-derived techniques were often used in the decoration of the scabbard and hilt. Whereas practical swords were instruments of martial power, ritual swords were symbols of authority—this dual character was a distinctive feature of sword culture in this era. Although the two were initially clearly separated, in later periods practical combat swords also became objects of pursuit for aesthetic refinement, and the source of the values unique to the Japanese sword—the fusion of function and beauty—can be found in this period.

Eve of Transition from Straight Swords to Curved Swords

The early Heian period (early 9th century) was still dominated by straight swords (jōkotō), but it is believed that the transition to curved swords began in this period. There are various theories about the causes of this transition; the following points are among them:

• The need for a shape suited to cutting in mounted combat
• Contact with continental curved swords (influenced by Bohai and Tang)
• Improvement in steel quality due to the development of tatara iron-smelting technology

Of note among artifacts from the early Heian period is the "warabittetō" (fern-hand sword). This sword, whose hilt curves back like the frond of a fern, has been excavated in large numbers from archaeological sites in the Northeastern region, and the theory that it was an early form of curved sword that emerged from contact with the Emishi is widely supported. Whether the warabittetō was a direct ancestor of the later tachi is debated, but it is evidence that diverse sword forms coexisted in the early Heian period.

This transition did not happen overnight but is seen as a gradual process in which straight and curved swords coexisted over a long period. Because the character of swords required varied by region and use, there is believed to have been a difference in the speed at which the form changed between central ritual swords and regional practical combat swords. The integrated design of hilt and blade as seen in the warabittetō was not unrelated to the development of nakago (tang) and blade joining technology in later Japanese swords, and we should understand that the trial and error of this age formed the technical foundation for later periods.

Sword Smiths and Manufacturing System of This Period

Sword smiths of the Nagaoka-kyo and Heian-kyo periods were incorporated into an officially-designated group of blade craftsmen called the "tōbe" (刀部), and production was carried out under state management. The system allowing individual sword smiths to freely create and sell swords was established somewhat later, and swords of this period were fundamentally characterized as products of state production.

In the regions, tatara iron-smelting was carried out under the control of various clans, and the foundation for the emergence of independent blade smiths in the regions was being formed, not just by the central official blade workshops. The development of these regional blade smiths became the foundation for the later Five Great Sword-Making Schools (Yamashiro, Yamato, Sōshū, Bizen, and Mino). The state-managed production system by the tōbe promoted uniformity in technique and style but also hindered the emergence of regional innovation.

It is believed that the gradual loosening of the centralized production system from the late Nara to early Heian period, along with the increasing examples of regional clans and temples taking in their own blade smith groups, led to the later diversification of sword schools. The structure of this period, in which two production axes—central and regional—coexisted, prepared the preconditions for the systematization of sword smith lineages and schools that became full-fledged from the middle Heian period onward.

The sword culture of the Heian transfer period represents a transitional phase between "continental straight sword culture" and "uniquely Japanese curved sword culture," and though it is often overlooked as an important inflection point in the history of the Japanese sword, it is a crucial period to understand.

Extant Artifacts and Considerations in Appreciation and Collection

The surviving examples of swords themselves from the late Nara period through the Heian transfer period are extremely limited, and apart from ritual swords that have been preserved like the treasures of the Shosoin, most can only be identified in the form of archaeological artifacts such as excavated warabittetō. Therefore, the opportunity for individuals to possess and appreciate a representative sword from this era is practically nonexistent, and the basic approach is to deepen understanding through museum and repository exhibitions or through research reports.

When collecting and appreciating swords, it is helpful to have a genealogical perspective on how this transitional period's sword culture connected to later eras. The changes of this era—the transition from straight to curved swords, the differentiation of ritual and combat swords, and the spread from official workshops to regional smiths—all form the foundation for understanding later sword culture. When evaluating a sword, a deeper appreciation becomes possible by understanding what era and what institutional and cultural background it emerged from.