Development of Commoner Sword Culture in Mid-Edo Period

The Shift from Tsunayoshi's Ban to the Mid-Period Era

Under Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, the fifth shogun (1680–1709), strict policies prohibited sword-bearing by non-samurai. However, after Tsunayoshi's death and into the Kyōhō era (1716–1736), shogunal economic policy underwent dramatic change. The Kyōhō Reforms enacted by the eighth shogun, Tokugawa Yoshimune, stimulated economic growth and urban development.

Commoner Sword-Bearing in Mid-Edo

During this period, urban areas conditionally permitted commoners of certain social standing and economic means to carry wakizashi (short swords) or tantō (daggers). The following groups were able to bear blades:

- **Wealthy merchants and major traders** — backed by capital, they wore swords tacitly for self-defense and as symbols of social status - **Village headmen, local administrators, and yeoman farmers** — recognized as rural leaders, they received official permission for surname-and-sword-bearing (myōji-taitō) - **Physicians, scholars of Dutch learning, and literati** — granted limited sword privileges based on their knowledge and cultural standing rather than formal rank - **Kabuki actors and ukiyo-e artists** — recognized as practitioners of cultural professions

The Popularity of Wakizashi and Daggers

While swords longer than two shaku were strictly regulated in mid-Edo, restrictions on wakizashi and tantō were relatively lenient. This made blade-bearing a form of fashion and cultural expression among commoners. Edo and Osaka craftsmen produced lavishly decorated sword mountings (tsuka and tsuba) for the merchant class, a phenomenon that became emblematic of Edo culture.

The Flourishing of Commoner Culture and Interest in Blades

From the Genroku through Kyōhō eras, commoner culture—including kabuki, ukiyo-e, and haiku—blossomed. Within this cultural renaissance, commoner interest in blades grew, and swords, long symbols of the samurai class, became objects of cultural fascination for townspeople.

As samurai aesthetics were celebrated in martial fiction and oral storytelling, merchants developed an appreciation for blades, driving demand for wakizashi and tantō. This created a unique mid-Edo phenomenon of urban commoner sword culture.