Man'en Era
万延（まんえん）
Man'en (1860-1861) was an extremely brief era of the late Edo period, lasting less than a year between the Ansei and Bunkyū eras. Just before the era change, on the third day of the third month of Ansei 7 (March 24, 1860), Great Elder Ii Naosuke was assassinated outside Sakurada Gate of Edo Castle by eighteen ronin from the Mito and Satsuma domains — the Sakuradamon Incident. The specific blades carried by the attackers, including their signatures and lengths, are recorded in surviving sources, offering a valuable record of the combat swords actually used at the close of the Edo period.
Description
A Very Short Era and the Sakuradamon Incident
Man'en (1860-1861) was an extremely brief era of the late Edo period. It began on the eighteenth day of the third month of Ansei 7 and was already superseded by the Bunkyū era in the second month of Man'en 2, lasting less than a year in total. Just before the change of era name, on the third day of the third month of Ansei 7 (March 24, 1860), Great Elder Ii Naosuke was assassinated outside Sakurada Gate of Edo Castle by eighteen ronin from the Mito and Satsuma domains — the Sakuradamon Incident. Because it occurred within the same year, the incident is widely discussed as part of the historical backdrop of the Man'en era.
The Blades Carried in the Attack
This incident left a notable record from the standpoint of sword history. The blade wielded by Satsuma-domain ronin Arimura Jizaemon, who took Ii Naosuke's head, is said to have been a nijaku-rokusun (roughly 79 cm) ōwazamono blade signed "Seki Magoroku Kanemoto," borrowed from fellow Satsuma man Narahara Kihachirō. Seki Tetsunosuke, who directed the attack, is recorded as carrying an Echizen Chiyozuru blade of nijaku-sansun; Hirooka Nenoji, an unsigned shintō blade of nijaku-gosun-rokubu; Inada Jūzō, a Bizen Osafune Eishō Sukesada; and Sano Takenosuke, a sanjaku blade by the first-generation Mito smith Katsumura Masakatsu. Many of the other Mito ronin are also said to have carried sturdy blades of nijaku-hassun to sanjaku length forged by Katsumura Masakatsu, reflecting the close ties between the Sonnō Jōi spirit of the Mito domain and its local swordsmiths.
Ties to the Shinshintō Style
Swords of the Man'en era belong to the latter half of the shinshintō period, during which the revivalist Sōshū- and Bizen-tradition styles established by the "three great Edo smiths" Suishinshi Masahide, Taikei Naotane, and Minamoto Kiyomaro were widely carried on through their schools. That most of the blades used in the Sakuradamon Incident fall in the long range of nijaku-rokusun to sanjaku — unusually long for the period — underscores that these were swords chosen as combat weapons rather than ornamental pieces.
Social Context
The unprecedented assassination of a Great Elder severely shook the authority of the shogunate and marked a turning point into an age of turmoil, in which activists from various domains carried swords into direct political action. The sword increasingly took on a symbolic character, embodying the Sonnō Jōi political ideology beyond its role as a mere weapon.
Characteristics of This Era
- Man'en (1860-1861) began on the 18th day of month 3 of Ansei 7 and lasted under a year before being replaced by Bunkyū
- Just before the era change, the Sakuradamon Incident saw Great Elder Ii Naosuke assassinated by Mito and Satsuma ronin outside Edo Castle
- The signatures and lengths of the blades carried by individual attackers, such as Arimura Jizaemon's nijaku-rokusun Seki Magoroku Kanemoto, are recorded in surviving sources
- Many Mito ronin carried sturdy nijaku-hassun to sanjaku blades forged by Mito smith Katsumura Masakatsu
- The era falls in the latter half of the shinshintō period, when the revivalist styles of the "three great Edo smiths" were carried on through their schools
- The assassination shook shogunal authority and reinforced the sword's role as a symbol of the Sonnō Jōi political movement