Meiji-Taishō

The Sword Abolishment Edict and Its Impact

The "Sword Abolishment Edict" (formal title: "Prohibition of Sword-Wearing Except for Military Personnel, Police Officials, and Those in Ceremonial Dress"), promulgated on March 28, Meiji 9 (1876), marked the greatest turning point in a thousand years of Japanese sword history. With the prohibition of sword-wearing by all save military officers, police officials, and those in formal attire, the sword's social significance as the soul of the samurai vanished overnight. Sword smiths went out of business in succession, and related craftsmen—polishers, scabbard makers, and guard-fitters—suffered devastating losses. The number of sword smiths, which had reached hundreds nationwide during the Edo period, reportedly plummeted to merely dozens by the mid-Meiji era.

The Crisis of the Sword

Yet even as Japanese swords faced this existential crisis, the efforts of those seeking to preserve the tradition never ceased. Within the Meiji government itself, there were those who recognized the need to protect Japan's traditional crafts. In Meiji 23 (1890), the Imperial Art Craftsman (Teishitsu Gigeiin) system was established. This system honored and protected outstanding artists and craftsmen under imperial patronage; as sword smiths, Gassan Sadakazu I and Miyamoto Kanenori were appointed.

Efforts at Preservation

Gassan Sadakazu was a master smith who preserved the distinctive "ayasugi-hada" (Gassan-hada)—a unique forging pattern transmitted from the foothills of Mount Gassan in Dewa Province (present-day Yamagata Prefecture). The ayasugi-hada technique achieves its beautiful wood-grain-like pattern by repeatedly folding and forging steel in a special manner, creating on the blade surface a distinctive texture unique to the Gassan school and found in no other tradition. Beyond mastering this ayasugi-hada, Sadakazu also excelled at carving on blades, displaying exquisite skill in intricate carvings of the Immovable One (Fudō Myōō), dragons, and Sanskrit characters. As a comprehensive smith excelling in both blade-forging and carving at the highest level, Sadakazu exerted overwhelming influence on the Meiji sword world.

New Philosophy

Miyamoto Kanenori was a master smith from Hōki Province (present-day Tottori Prefecture), characterized by an elegant style based on the Bizen tradition. As an Imperial Art Craftsman, he bore the honor of forging tachi for the Imperial Household, and is said to have crafted tachi related to the enthronement of Emperor Meiji. Kanenori's works possess graceful forms with refined hamon executed in the gentle "nioi-dekae" style, serving as an important link connecting the spirit of reviving classical swords to the modern age.

Cultural Inheritance

Sakurai Masatsugu was an Imperial Household Ministry sword smith who forged tachi for Emperor Meiji, symbolizing the relationship between the modern imperial family and the Japanese sword. Masatsugu specialized in the "chōji-midare" pattern of the Bizen tradition, investing the highest level of skill in blades presented to the imperial court. Kasama Ikkansai Shigetsugu was active from the late Meiji through the Shōwa period, serving as a precious bridge transmitting the Shinshintō tradition into the modern age.

Recognition as Art

The First Sino-Japanese War (Meiji 27, 1894) and the Russo-Japanese War (Meiji 37, 1904) temporarily revived demand for military swords. Since officers were required to procure swords at their own expense, the production of swords for military personnel became active, providing sword smiths with vital livelihood. Yet this demand was primarily for mass-produced goods and did not necessarily promote the revitalization of traditional blade-forging techniques.

With the advent of the Taishō era, Kurihara Hikosakurō Akihide pursued the revival of blade-forging in the line of Suishinshi Masahide, while Horii Toshihide continued sword production at the Japan Steel Works in Muroran, Hokkaido. During this period, systematic efforts at sword preservation and research began, with organizations that would become the predecessor of the Society for Preservation of Japanese Art Swords (NBTHK) being established. The academic study of classical and new swords progressed on a sound scholarly foundation, and the modernization of sword appraisal was achieved—developments that became the cornerstones of contemporary sword culture. The works of sword smiths who preserved tradition through the difficult post-Abolishment era are being rapidly re-evaluated in recent years as precious witnesses to modern Japanese sword history. The works of Imperial Art Craftsmen are particularly distinguished and are attracting the attention of collectors as museum-quality pieces.