明治軍刀期
Meiji Military Sword Era
From the Haitōrei (1876) through the end of the Meiji era, Japanese swords faced simultaneous existential crisis and modern redefinition. The attempt to reconcile Western military sabers with the native tradition, and the heroic struggle of individual smiths to preserve their craft, define this turbulent period.
Description
The Haitōrei (Sword Prohibition Edict) of 1876 dealt a near-fatal blow to the Japanese sword tradition: with the right to carry swords stripped from former samurai overnight, most sword craftsmen lost their livelihoods, countless blades were discarded, and an entire cultural ecosystem was thrown into crisis. The exception for military and police officers became the lifeline through which the sword survived into the modern age. The Meiji military sword era was defined by the tension between adopting Western-style cavalry sabers (mandated by military modernization) and the cultural imperative to preserve indigenous sword traditions. Hybrid forms — traditional Japanese blades housed in Western-style military mounts — became one resolution of this tension. Amidst the upheaval, individual smiths such as Gassan Sadakazu (1836–1918), appointed swordsmith to Emperor Meiji and later designated an Imperial Household Artist, became heroic symbols of technical continuity. The era also saw the emergence of the first systematic efforts to preserve swords as cultural heritage — museum collections began, and early legal frameworks for cultural property protection were established. For collectors, exceptional certified works by Meiji-era masters carry both historical significance and genuine technical achievement.
Caracteristiques de cette epoque
- Devastation of the Haitōrei (1876): the loss of carrying rights nearly destroyed the sword industry, forcing most smiths and craftsmen out of work; the exception for military and police personnel became the sole lifeline for the tradition
- Survival as military sword: traditional Japanese blades housed in Western-style military fittings (guntō koshirae) became the primary form in which Japanese swords continued to exist within modern state institutions
- Emergence of Imperial Household Artists: smiths such as Gassan Sadakazu and Miyamoto Kanenori were appointed to the highest public honor available to craftsmen, demonstrating that the state could protect and valorize traditional craftsmanship even in the age of modernization
- Advancing 'art object' status: museum collections and exhibitions began, and the reframing of swords from weapons to Japanese art cultural heritage spread among the educated class
- Preservation of signature techniques (e.g., ayasugi-hada of the Gassan school) by individual masters — technical continuity in this era depended on personal devotion against the odds
- Early legal frameworks for cultural property protection: the Law for the Preservation of Ancient Shrines and Temples (1909) and related developments laid the groundwork for the NBTHK establishment and the postwar sword preservation movement