* Image is for illustrative purposes only.Kansei Reform Period
寛政改革期
Matsudaira Sadanobu's Kansei Reforms imposed rigorous sumptuary laws that curbed extravagance in sword fittings. While ornate tsuba and menuki were restricted, Suishinshi Masahide was formulating his classical revival doctrine — making this the ideological birthplace of the Shinshintō movement.
Description
Background and Overview of the Kansei Reforms
In the seventh year of Tenmei (1787), Matsudaira Sadanobu, appointed as Rōjū and daimyo of Shirakawa Domain, undertook sweeping bakufu reforms (the Kansei Reforms) against the backdrop of corruption and profligacy during the Tanuma era and social unease from the severe Tenmei Famines. The foundation of Sadanobu's reforms was "frugality and austerity." He imposed frugality on all classes from samurai through merchants and commoners. Concretely, edicts on sumptuary prohibition, moral policing, debt forgiveness (cancellation of loans to hatamoto and gokenin), rice-storage mandates, and others were issued in rapid succession, and all of Edo society was enveloped in an atmosphere of retrenchment. In contrast to the prosperity of the Tanuma era, this reform brought a sense of constriction, which also provoked resistance symbolized by the famous satirical poem: "In the clear waters of Shirakawa, even the fish cannot dwell; how I long for the murky waters of Tanuma."
Regulations on Sword Fittings and the Transformation of Craftsmen Culture
The frugality edicts of the Kansei Reforms imposed concrete restrictions on sword fittings (external decorations of swords). The elaborately chased tsuba, menuki, kozuka, and kōgai had become conspicuously extravagant during the Tanuma era. Along with palanquins and clothing, ornate sword fittings became targets of regulation, and excessive decoration and the use of expensive materials were prohibited. These restrictions dealt a severe blow to the work of renowned craftsmen of sword fittings, particularly those of the Gotō lineage of chasing masters. Yet paradoxically, in response to the restrictions, a new aesthetic of "refinement within simplicity" was born in the world of sword fittings, and artistic quality derived from inherent merit rather than formal extravagance came to be valued. This current led to the refinement of sword-fittings aesthetics in the later Bunka-Bunsei era.
Suishinshi Masahide and the Classical Revival Doctrine
The most historically significant event in the sword world during the Kansei period was Suishinshi Masahide (1750–1825) beginning to systematize a classical revival doctrine. Masahide was born in Dewa Province, trained in Edo, and eventually earned renown as one of the finest swordmakers of the age. He deepened his critique of the "shintō style" then prevalent in swordmaking circles—marked by off-center grooves and thin hardening—and gradually solidified his conviction that the technical and artistic standards of classical kotō from the Heian and Kamakura periods represented the true ideal of Japanese swordmaking. In the "Tōken Bengi" written during the Kansei period, he sharply pointed out the problems of shintō work and called for the revival of classical methods (the forging techniques of kotō). This intellectual framework became the point of departure for the concept and movement of "shinshintō," and formed the spiritual foundation that would later produce brilliant smiths such as Minamoto Kiyomaro and Taikei Naota.
Changes in the Sword Market After the Tenmei Famine
The great Tenmei Famine (1782–1788) inflicted severe economic damage on all of Japan and had a major impact on the sword market. From economic hardship caused by the famine, sales and pawning of swords increased, leading to celebrated blades flowing onto the market. Ironically, this created an opportunity for sword collectors to acquire celebrated blades, but on the other hand, it brought about a critical situation in samurai culture whereby many warrior families were forced to part with swords inherited from their ancestors. The confusion in the sword market during this era heightened the importance of sword authentication and valuation, and was also a time when the authority of origami (certificates of authentication) issued by the Honami family was further enhanced.
The Rise of Maritime Defense Theory and the Repositioning of Swords
The Kansei period was also the beginning of an age marked by "external pressure" (gaikoku no appaku), as symbolized by the approach of Russian ships to Ezo and Laxman's arrival in the fourth year of Kansei (1792). Matsudaira Sadanobu recognized the necessity of maritime defense and advocated strengthening of military preparations. This awareness of external crisis sparked discourse repositioning swords once again as "tools of actual combat," resonating with Suishinshi Masahide's classical revival doctrine and raising the question of "reviving Japanese swords capable of practical use." This trend became bound up with sonnō jōi (revere the emperor, expel the barbarians) ideology from the later Bunka-Bunsei era through the Tenpō and Kōka periods, and became the point of departure in a long intellectual chain leading to the intense practical-use orientation of shinshintō masters during the Bakumatsu period.
Characteristics of This Era
- Sumptuary restrictions on sword fittings curtailed Tanuma-era ornate extravagance, paradoxically catalyzing a new aesthetic of 'refined simplicity' in tsuba and metal fittings
- Suishinshi Masahide's systematic formulation of classical revival doctrine established the ideological foundation of the Shinshintō movement
- Post-Tenmei Famine sword market disruption: name swords flooding the market, intensified authentication concerns, and rising authority of Hon'ami appraisal certificates
- The Laxman mission inaugurated Japan's 'external pressure' era, stimulating sea-defense discourse and surfacing the proposition of reviving practically capable swords — the long prelude to Bakumatsu sword culture
- Aesthetic transition in sword fittings from lavish display toward inner artistic quality and wabi-inspired refinement, bridging toward the superb Bunka-Bunsei fittings era