The Shinshinto Era: How the Tenpo Reforms and Revivalism Shaped a New Tradition of Sword Making

What Is the Shinshinto Era? The Late Edo Sword Renaissance

Japanese sword history is broadly divided into three eras: koto (old swords, up to approximately 1596), shinto (new swords, roughly 1596–1780), and shinshinto (new-new swords, roughly 1780–1876).

The defining characteristic of the shinshinto era is that, whereas the shinto era had pursued the aesthetic fashions of its own day, shinshinto swordsmiths consciously set out to return to the great swords of the past—particularly the masterworks of the Kamakura and Nanbokucho periods. This "revivalism" was not mere nostalgia; it was a deeply considered intellectual movement driven by the political and social anxieties of the age.

Historical Context: The Tenpo Reforms and an Age of Crisis

The shinshinto era coincides with a period of intense pressure on Japan from within and without.

External threats: From the late eighteenth century, Russian and British ships appeared with increasing frequency along Japan's coastlines. Incidents such as the Phaeton Affair of 1808—when a British warship entered Nagasaki harbor—drove home the urgency of coastal defense. The shogunate and individual domains were compelled to strengthen maritime defenses, and demand for functional swords began to rise again.

The Tenpo Reforms (1841–1843): Senior Councilor Mizuno Tadakuni's program of shogunal reform targeted sumptuary excess, social discipline, and fiscal reconstruction. In a social climate calling for austerity and a return to fundamentals, the sense among the samurai class that swords—as their spiritual pillar—deserved renewed reverence intensified.

The rise of sonnō-jōi thought: As Japan moved toward the upheavals of the late Edo period, the idea of returning to Japanese traditional values centered on the Emperor spread among warriors and intellectuals. Reverence for ancient swords resonated with this intellectual climate.

The Pioneer of Shinshinto: Suishinshi Masahide

The most important theoretical and practical pioneer of shinshinto revivalism was Suishinshi Masahide (1750–1825).

Masahide was born in Dewa Province (present-day Yamagata), moved to Edo, and after years of study published Tōken Bengi (Discourse on Swords, 1797), in which he criticized the aesthetic direction of the shinto era and called for a return to ancient methods. His central argument was that shinto smiths had sacrificed cutting performance and the quality of jigane in pursuit of decorative sophistication and visual flamboyance.

Masahide himself studied and practiced the various transmission styles of the koto period—Bizen-den, Soshu-den, and others—producing diverse works that reproduced the characteristics of each tradition. The many students he trained became the next generation of masters who defined the shinshinto era.

Taikei Naotane and the Summit of Shinshinto

Among Suishinshi Masahide's students, the most significant is Taikei Naotane (1778–1857).

Naotane was born in Mutsu Province (present-day Yamagata), studied under Masahide, then established his own forge in Edo. He excelled above all at reproducing the Bizen transmission, creating works whose jigane beauty and the dignity of whose hamon approach those of Kamakura-period Bizen originals. His swords are still described today as "the pinnacle of shinshinto," and several are designated as National Treasures or Important Cultural Properties.

Among his contemporaries, Minamoto Kiyomaro (1813–1851) is equally essential. Kiyomaro specialized in the Soshu transmission and achieved a unique artistic realm through the beauty of his nie and the powerful quality of his jigane. He died young, leaving relatively few works; every surviving piece is considered a masterpiece.

Stylistic Characteristics of Shinshinto Swords

Shinshinto swords differ from shinto swords in several characteristic ways.

Recovery of jigane quality: The overall quality of jigane had declined during the shinto era, but the shinshinto masters studied koto-period smelting and forging techniques and succeeded in recapturing the rich textured surfaces—mokume, itame, and other grain patterns—of the ancient blades.

Diversity of hamon: By consciously referencing the different transmission traditions (Bizen-den, Soshu-den, Yamato-den, etc.), a new diversity of hamon emerged. A single master practicing multiple traditions in the same period became common.

Return to classical proportions: The excessive wideness and tip-heavy proportions fashionable in the shinto era gave way to a return to the elegant, restrained blade geometry of the Kamakura-Nanbokucho period.

The shinshinto era came to an end with the Sword Abolition Edict of 1876, but the technical knowledge and aesthetic judgment accumulated during this period were inherited by the "modern swordsmiths" of the Meiji era and beyond—forming the direct ancestral tradition of the Japanese sword craft as it exists today.