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Edo Shogunate Sword Control Orders

Type Object Region Japan Time 1615–1868

The Edo shogunate continued and institutionalized the spirit of Toyotomi Hideyoshi's sword hunts, building a system of sword carrying and ownership c…

Timeline

  1. 1615–1650Edo · JapanAfter Tokugawa Ieyasu promulgated the Buke Shohatto, the shogunate gradually made explicit by decree the samurai's exclusive privilege of carrying the long and short swords, while townspeople and peasants were forbidden from carrying long swords in public; swords became material symbols of status rank.
  2. 1660–1680All of Japan · JapanIn the 1670s, the shogunate further refined sword control regulations through the laws of each domain, imposing stricter limits on occasions when commoners could use short swords, while also establishing norms for samurai sword-wearing etiquette; the combination of sword control and the spirit of bushido reached institutional maturity.

Sources