Young Brunette Girl With A Japanese Katana Sword Reveals In The Traditional Washitsu Room With Tatami Flooring

During the Meiji period the samurai class was gradually disbanded, the Haitōrei Edict in 1876 forbid the carrying of swords in public except for certain individuals such as former samurai lords (daimyo), the military and police. Skilled swordsmiths had trouble making a living during this period as Japan modernized its military and many swordsmiths started making other items such as farm equipment, tools, and cutlery. Military action by Japan in China and Russia during the meiji period helped revive interest in swords but it was not until the showa period that swords were produced on a large scale again.Japanese military swords produced between 1875 and 1945 are referred to as guntō (military swords).
During the pre World War II military buildup and throughout the war, all Japanese officers were required to wear a sword. Traditionally made swords were produced during this period but in order to supply such large amounts of swords blacksmiths with little or no knowledge of traditional Japanese sword manufacture were recruited, in addition supplies of the type of Japanese steel (tamahagane) used for sword making was limited so several other types of steel was substituted. Short cuts in forging were also taken such as the use of power hammers and tempering the blade in oil rather than hand forging and water tempering, this created swords without the usual characteristics associated with true Japanese swords. The non traditionally made swords from this period are called "showato" and in 1937 the Japanese government started requiring the use of special stamps on the tang (nakago) to distinguish these swords from traditionally made swords. During this wartime period antique swords from older time periods were remounted for use in military mounts. Presently in Japan showato are not considered to be true Japanese swords and they can be confiscated, outside of Japan they are collected as historical artifacts.
- Post World War II
In Japan from 1945 to 1953 sword manufacture and sword related martial arts were banned, many swords were confiscated and destroyed, swordsmiths were not able to make a living. Since 1953 Japanese swordsmiths have been allowed to work but with severe restrictions; swordsmiths must be licensed and serve a five year apprenticeship and only licensed swordsmiths are allowed to produce Japanese swords (nihonto), only two long swords per month are allowed to be produced by each swordsmith, all swords must be registered by the government.