Haitōrei Edict

The nihongo|Sword Abolishment Edict|廃刀令|Haitōrei was an edict issued by the Meiji government of Japan on March 28, 1876 which prohibited people, with the exception of the military and law enforcement officials, from carrying weapons in public. Violators would have their swords confiscated. [Keene, Emperor Of Japan: Meiji And His World, 1852-1912]

The "Haitōrei" was one of a series of steps taken by the government to abolish the traditional privileges of the "samurai" class. The first "Haitōrei" of 1870 prohibited farmers or merchants from wearing swords and dressing like "samurai". [Kapp, Modern Japanese Swords pp.37] This measure was in part an effort to restore public safety and order during the tumultuous period immediately after the Meiji restoration and during the Boshin War.

In 1871, the government had issued the "Dampatsurei" Edict, forcing "samurai" to cut their top-knots and wear their hair in the Western manner. Universal military conscription was instituted in 1873, and with the creation of the Imperial Japanese Army, the "samurai" lost their monopoly on military service. The hereditary stipends provided to the "samurai" by their formal feudal lords (and assumed by the central government in 1871) were likewise abolished in 1873. The prohibition on wearing swords was controversial with the Meiji oligarchy, but the argument that it was an anachronism not in keeping with the westernization of Japan won out. [Keene, Emperor Of Japan: Meiji And His World, 1852-1912, pp 257]

These changes in Japanese society and in the social and economic status of the "samurai" were a major cause of discontent in early Meiji period Japan, and lead to a number of "samurai"-led insurrections, particularly in western Japan and Kyūshū.

Also as a result of the "Haitōrei", swords lost their utilitarian role, and many swordsmiths were forced to turn to the production of farming implements and kitchen cutlery to survive. [Kapp, Modern Japanese Swords pp.37]

ee also

*Saga Rebellion
*Akizuki Rebellion
*Hagi Rebellion
*Shimpuren Rebellion
*Satsuma Rebellion

References

*cite book
last = Kapp
first = Leon
coauthors = Hiroko Kapp
year = 2002
title = Modern Japanese Swords and Swordsmiths: From 1868 to the Present
publisher = Kodansha International
location =
id = ISBN 0-460-02474-4
*cite book
last = Keane
first = Donald
year = 2005
title = Emperor Of Japan: Meiji And His World, 1852-1912
publisher = Columbia University Press
location =
id = ISBN 0-231-12341-8

Notes