The Order to Cut Hair and Remove Swords: How Western-Style Military Reform Reshaped Samurai Sword-Carrying Before Japan's 1876 Sword Ban

The 1876 Edict on Abolition of Swords (Meiji 9) is widely known as a law prohibiting sword-wearing. However, the process by which samurai ceased wearing swords did not suddenly begin with this single proclamation. During the approximately ten years from the Meiji Restoration to the Edict on Abolition of Swords, the government gradually built a Western-style military system, and the practice of sword-wearing gradually changed shape in accordance with the progress of this military reform. In this article, we trace this ten-year journey from the establishment of the Imperial Guard and garrison stations through the Edict on Hair-Cutting and Sword Removal and the Conscription Edict to the Edict on Abolition of Swords, following the axis of military reform.

The Imperial Guard and Garrison Stations—Building the Framework of a Western-Style Military System

For the new Meiji government, one of the highest priorities was to dismantle the military forces of the various domains and build a unified military force under direct government control. In Meiji 4 (1871), the Imperial Guard was organized through contributions of soldiers from Satsuma, Choshu, and Tosa, and garrison stations were established throughout the country in the same year. Initially established as the Tosando garrison station and the Saikaidō garrison station, they were reorganized within that year into four garrison stations—Tōhoku (Sendai), Tokyo, Osaka, and Chinsei (Kumamoto)—and took on the appearance of a standing military controlled by the government rather than by the various domains.

This establishment of the garrison station system was the first step in replacing the military forces individually maintained by samurai in each domain with a Western-style army under direct central government control. The transition from a collection of individual sword-wearing samurai to an army with unified equipment, training, and chain of command began in earnest here. It is also noteworthy that the Abolition of Domains and Establishment of Prefectures was carried out in the same Meiji 4. With the dismantling of the domains as military and administrative units themselves, the old structure of samurai wearing swords for the sake of their lords was lost from the institutional foundation.

The Edict on Hair-Cutting and Sword Removal (1871)—A Voluntary "Do as You Will"

On the 9th day of the 8th month of Meiji 4 (September 23, 1871), the Daijōkan (Council of State) issued the Edict on Hair-Cutting and Sword Removal. "Hair-cutting, official dress, casual dress, and the wearing or non-wearing of swords may be done according to individual preference"—in other words, whether to cut one's hair, wear official or casual dress, or wear a sword or not was left entirely to the individual's choice.

What deserves attention is that this proclamation did not prohibit sword-wearing. The government had decided on a future policy of abolishing sword-wearing among the samurai class, but feared that suddenly enforcing this would provoke opposition from the samurai, so it chose instead a gradual step toward making it voluntary. The practice of sword-wearing gradually retreated through the following stages:

• 1870 (Meiji 3): A proclamation prohibiting commoners from wearing swords is issued (the sword-wearing of samurai and nobility was still taken for granted)
• 1871 (Meiji 4): Through the Edict on Hair-Cutting and Sword Removal, samurai and nobility could now choose whether or not to wear a sword
• 1873 (Meiji 6): Through the Conscription Edict, soldiers conscripted regardless of social status form a modern military equipped with modern weapons
• 1876 (Meiji 9): Through the Edict on Abolition of Swords, sword-wearing itself is prohibited except when military personnel and police officers are wearing their uniforms

The Conscription Edict (1873)—The Dismantling of the Samurai Class as a "Fighting Station"

In the first month of Meiji 6 (January 1873), the Conscription Edict was promulgated. This system, which required conscription examinations for all males who had reached the age of twenty and had them serve in the military regardless of social status, fundamentally undermined the privileged position of the samurai class, which had previously held "warfare" as their exclusive occupation. The very premise that wearing a sword and fighting was the role of the samurai became untenable with the emergence of a military of universal conscription armed with firearms.

Most of the soldiers assigned to the garrison stations were conscripted commoners under the Conscription Edict, and what they held in their hands was not the Japanese sword but a Western-style rifle. As the main force of military power shifted from swords to guns, sword-wearing was no longer a practical necessity in combat but had instead become a symbolic habit indicating the status of the samurai class.

The Ten Years Leading to the Edict on Abolition of Swords

The progress of military reform from the Edict on Hair-Cutting and Sword Removal through the Conscription Edict gradually stripped the samurai of the substantive reasons for wearing swords. Nevertheless, sword-wearing continued to be maintained as a symbol of samurai status, centered particularly among conservative samurai, and it is said that the removal of swords did not proceed easily. Through this impasse, on Meiji 9, the 28th of March, upon the recommendation of Army Minister Yamagata Aritomo, the Edict on Abolition of Swords was promulgated, and the wearing of swords was legally prohibited except when wearing formal dress or the uniforms of the military, police, and other such officials.

The ten years from the Edict on Hair-Cutting and Sword Removal to the Edict on Abolition of Swords was not merely a change in fashion regarding "whether or not to wear a sword" but rather a microcosm of the very military reform in which the bearers of military force shifted from individual samurai to the nation's standing military.

Conclusion—Japanese Sword History Viewed Through Institutional Change

When the history of Japanese swords is traced only from the perspectives of warlords and sword craftsmen, the Edict on Abolition of Swords is often told as the "event where sword-wearing was suddenly prohibited one day." However, in reality, the Edict on Abolition of Swords came at the end of a ten-year accumulation of institutional reforms: the centralization of military power through the establishment of the Imperial Guard and garrison stations, the making of sword-wearing voluntary through the Edict on Hair-Cutting and Sword Removal, and the realization of universal conscription through the Conscription Edict. It is also important to note that during this period, a considerable portion of the swords that were relinquished by samurai underwent a transition in their role from practical weapons to art objects and heirlooms—a significant moment in this historical narrative.