Mid-Edo (Late Shintō)

A Stable Era

The mid-Edo period from the Genroku era (1688–1704) through the Tenmei era (1781–1789) was the period of greatest stability for the Tokugawa bakuhan system, and unprecedented peace continued for over a century. After the Shimabara Rebellion (1637), large-scale warfare ceased, and swords were rarely, if ever, used in actual combat. For samurai, the sword was a spiritual symbol as the "soul of the warrior," gradually transforming into a ceremonial object that displayed rank and status.

Cultural Flourishing

Against this historical backdrop, sword-blade manufacture gradually became formulaic and standardized. The creative passion that smiths such as Masakage, Sukehiro, and Toratsugi had displayed in the early shintō period waned, and technical stagnation—merely faithfully following inherited traditions—pervaded the sword world. Daimyō workshops across the country were obligated to forge presentation blades at regular intervals, but most remained within the bounds of conventional, mediocre works. As an exception, Hizen blades (in the Tadayoshi lineage) maintained stable quality across five generations, earning consistent appreciation for their disciplined style: small itame grain structure in the ground steel, with straight hardening lines. However, even in Hizen blades, the tension and refinement evident in the works of the first and second generations gradually became flat and uninspired with each succeeding generation.

Refined Craftsmanship

Meanwhile, the cultural environment surrounding the sword matured greatly. Foremost among this was the appraisal culture of the Hon'ami family. The Hon'ami family, an illustrious house engaged in sword polishing, wiping (nugui), and appraisal since the Muromachi period, established supreme authority as officially recognized appraisers to the shogunate during the Edo period. The "origami" (certificate) issued by the Hon'ami family was a document that publicly certified the authenticity and ranking of a sword, and the presence and evaluation of the origami greatly influenced the sword's economic value. Named blades received formal rankings such as "saiō taigyo-mono" (supreme masterwork), "taigyo-mono" (masterwork), "ryō gyō-mono" (fine work), and "gyō-mono" (work), classifications based primarily on cutting performance (test-cutting records). During marriages, inheritance ceremonies, and awards among the daimyō, the Hon'ami family's origami became essential, and the gifting of celebrated blades became an important means of diplomacy in samurai society.

Sword Fittings Artistry

Another highlight of this era was the dramatic artistic advancement of sword fittings (tōsōgu). Sword fittings comprise the metal components that form the external decoration of the sword—the tsuba (crossguard), menuki (ornamental grip inlays), kozuka (utility knife), kōgai (hair pin), and fuchi-kashira (ferrule and pommel)—and in this era reached the pinnacle of metalcraft worldwide.

Regional Innovation

The most revolutionary figure in the history of sword fittings was Yokoya Sōmin (1670–1733). Sōmin established a new current called "machi-bori" (town carving) in a world of sword-fitting manufacture previously monopolized by the Gotō family. The Gotō family, a privileged lineage that had created fittings for the shogunal and daimyō families since the Muromachi period, upheld a formally refined style called "ie-bori" (house carving), but its expression became formulaic and standardized. In contrast, Sōmin pioneered the technique of machi-bori, expressing natural plants, animals, and landscapes with realism and freedom, and by employing diverse techniques such as takaboro (high relief) and iro-e (inlay of contrasting metals), he dramatically expanded metalcraft's expressive capacity.

Pursuit of Artistry

Inspired by Sōmin's innovation, many accomplished groups of metalworkers emerged: the Nara school (the "Nara Sansaku" of Nara Toshihisa, Sugiura Jōi, and Tsuchiya Yasuchika), the Ishiguro school, the Iwamoto school, and the Hamano school. The works of these metalworkers possess independent aesthetic value as miniature sculptural works, and in the modern era are highly valued as Japanese metalcraft art in Western museums.

While innovation in the blade itself stagnated, the dramatic maturation of surrounding domains—appraisal culture, gifting culture, and sword-fitting artistry—meant that the form of the "Japanese sword as total art" was completed in this era. Blades of this period display wide variation in quality, and discrimination is required, but the sword fittings have established unshakeable recognition as masterworks of world metalcraft, and the world of sword-fitting collecting possesses a depth of appeal distinct from that of blade collecting.