* Image is for illustrative purposes only.The Meiji Sword Ban and the Beginnings of Sword Preservation
明治の廃刀令と刀剣保存の始まり
On March 28, 1876 (Meiji 9), the Council of State (Dajōkan) issued the edict banning the wearing of swords (Haitōrei); swords could be worn only with full ceremonial dress or with the uniforms of soldiers, police and officials. While many swordsmiths left their trade, the state built up measures to protect cultural treasures, beginning with the Kokikyūbutsu Hozonkata decree of 1871 (Meiji 4) and continuing with the Provisional National Treasures Investigation Bureau of 1888 (Meiji 21) and the Ancient Shrines and Temples Preservation Law of 1897 (Meiji 30). In 1906 (Meiji 39), the swordsmiths Gassan Sadakazu I and Miyamoto Kanenori were appointed Imperial Household Artists (Teishitsu Gigei-in).
Description
The Sword Ban and Swordsmiths Leaving the Trade
On March 28, 1876 (Meiji 9), the Council of State (Dajōkan) issued the edict banning the wearing of swords (Haitōrei). Except with full ceremonial dress, or for soldiers, police officers, officials and others wearing their uniforms, wearing swords was forbidden.
The ban led many swordsmiths to abandon their trade. Some, however, continued to forge blades, among them Gassan Sadakazu I of Osaka.
Surveys of Treasures and the Ancient Shrines and Temples Preservation Law
State measures to protect cultural properties began with the Dajōkan decree Kokikyūbutsu Hozonkata (Regulations for the Preservation of Antiquities) of 1871 (Meiji 4). In 1888 (Meiji 21), the Imperial Household Ministry set up the Provisional National Treasures Investigation Bureau (Rinji Zenkoku Hōmotsu Torishirabe-kyoku). Through the prefectures, the bureau collected inventories of treasures held by shrines, temples and private owners, and recorded the results of on-site appraisals by grade. When the bureau was abolished in 1897 (Meiji 30), its work was transferred to the Imperial Museum (today's Tokyo National Museum), whose first director-general was Kuki Ryūichi.
In 1897 (Meiji 30), the Ancient Shrines and Temples Preservation Law (Koshaji Hozon-hō) was enacted. It allowed buildings and treasures of shrines and temples that served as historical evidence or as models of artistic excellence to be designated as "Specially Protected Buildings" or "National Treasures"; this was the first time the term "National Treasure" (kokuhō) was applied to treasures. Tachi handed down at shrines and temples were also designated under this law.
Imperial Household Artists and the Study of Swords
In 1906 (Meiji 39), Gassan Sadakazu I and Miyamoto Kanenori were appointed Imperial Household Artists (Teishitsu Gigei-in). The Tokyo National Museum holds a kantō tachi (ring-pommel sword, replica) by Miyamoto Kanenori dated 1915 (Taishō 4), whose inscription names him as an Imperial Household Artist and former Noto no Kami, aged 86.
The study of swords also advanced. From May 1898 (Meiji 31) to April 1903 (Meiji 36), Betsueki Nariyoshi and Imamura Chōga gave lectures on swords at the Yūshūkan, and the records were compiled as Tōken Kōwa (Lectures on Swords).
From the National Treasures Preservation Law to the NBTHK
The National Treasures Preservation Law of 1929 (Shōwa 4) made it possible to designate as National Treasures not only objects owned by shrines and temples but also those owned by the state, public bodies and private individuals. Under the Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties of 1950 (Shōwa 25), all earlier National Treasures (the so-called old National Treasures) were deemed Important Cultural Properties.
After the Second World War, Japanese swords were regarded as weapons and became targets of confiscation by the occupation forces. Through the efforts of Honma Junji, Satō Kan'ichi and others, the Society for the Preservation of Japanese Art Swords (Nihon Bijutsu Tōken Hozon Kyōkai, NBTHK) was founded in 1948 (Shōwa 23) to preserve, appreciate, study and pass on the tradition of the Japanese sword as a work of art and craft.
Characteristics of This Era
- The edict banning the wearing of swords (Haitōrei) of March 28, 1876 (Meiji 9) forbade wearing swords except with full ceremonial dress or with the uniforms of soldiers, police and officials
- The ban led many swordsmiths to leave their trade, though some, such as Gassan Sadakazu I of Osaka, continued to forge
- The Dajōkan decree Kokikyūbutsu Hozonkata of 1871 (Meiji 4) marked the beginning of state protection of cultural properties
- In 1888 (Meiji 21) the Imperial Household Ministry set up the Provisional National Treasures Investigation Bureau, which surveyed treasures of shrines, temples and private owners and recorded them by grade (abolished in 1897, its work passed to the Imperial Museum)
- The Ancient Shrines and Temples Preservation Law of 1897 (Meiji 30) first applied the term "National Treasure" to treasures, and tachi handed down at shrines and temples were also designated
- In 1906 (Meiji 39) the swordsmiths Gassan Sadakazu I and Miyamoto Kanenori were appointed Imperial Household Artists (Teishitsu Gigei-in)
- After the Second World War, in 1948 (Shōwa 23), the Society for the Preservation of Japanese Art Swords (NBTHK) was founded to protect the Japanese sword as a work of art and craft