Meireki Era

The Great Fire of Meireki and the Loss of Swords

Meireki was an era that lasted from 1655 (Meireki 1) to 1658 (Meireki 4), corresponding to the reign of the fourth shogun Tokugawa Ietsuna. Central to this period is the Great Fire of Meireki (Furisode Fire) that broke out in the first month of Meireki 3 (1657). This fire, which consumed most of Edo, destroyed the keep of Edo Castle as well as daimyo residences, hatamoto residences and townhouses, and is said to have left tens of thousands dead.

The fire also reached the swords of the shogunal house. The Hōchō Tōshirō, said to have been formerly owned by Taga Takatada and handed down to the Tokugawa shogunal house, is recorded as lost in the fire and no longer survives. The Honekui Tōshirō, also handed down in the Tokugawa house, was damaged and burned, and was later re-tempered (saiba) by the third-generation Echizen Yasutsugu. The loss of the shogunate's tools and swords is also recorded in the Meireki Taika Shōshitsu Ryūei Gotōgu Tōken Mokuroku (Inventory of Tools and Swords of the Shogunate Lost in the Meireki Fire).

Preparing the Ground for Kanbun Shintō

To make up for the large number of lost blades, demand for swords rose sharply in Edo. The need for daimyo and hatamoto households that had lost their armaments to re-equip themselves is considered to have prepared the demand for the Kanbun Shintō that flourished in the Kanbun era (1661-1673). Kanbun Shintō blades are characterized by shallow curvature and points that do not extend, with a form suited to thrusting in actual combat. This was closely tied to the social circumstances after the Great Fire of Meireki: the spread of swordsmanship training with shinai, and the replacement demand for swords destroyed by fire.

A Representative Smith

Nagasone Kotetsu, who moved from armor-making into swordsmithing and worked in Edo, is said to have begun forging blades around the Meireki to Manji years. He later matured, during the Kanbun period, into a master counted among the finest Shintō smiths. This was also a time when Edo smiths such as Kotetsu honed their craft amid the surge in demand following the fire.

Social Context

The Great Fire of Meireki prompted a major rethinking of Edo's urban planning, and a shift toward a disaster-resistant city was pursued, including the establishment of firebreak zones (hiyokechi) and wide avenues (hirokōji). In samurai society as well, many daimyo and hatamoto households lost heirloom swords handed down for generations, so re-acquiring swords symbolizing rank and lineage became an urgent task. The Meireki era is positioned as one of the turning points at which, in an age of peace, the sword increasingly took on the character of a family treasure embodying rank and tradition rather than purely a practical weapon.