Page 119 - Edo: Art in Japan, 1615–1868

n8 R E G U L A T I O N S Sections of the Laws for Military Houses defined the etiquette of dress and weaponry for the samurai. cat. 65
Pair of sword mountings,
F O R S W O R D In 1623 commoners were prohibited from bearing arms. In 1640 the servants of samurai were restricted wood, lacquer with makie,
M O U N T I N G S to carrying only short swords. In 1645 outlandish dress and conduct were prohibited, and the standard ray skin, and silk,
lengths of short scabbard
waistcoat (kataginu), worn over a jacket (noshime) and pleated trousers (hakama), was prescribed as for- 76(29 /8),
7
mal wear for samurai in service. This formal attire (kamishimo, literally "top and bottom") had to be of long scabbard 99.5 (39 Ys);
Hikone Castle Museum,
a quiet color — specifically, shades of brown and indigo from the eighteenth century on — and was to Shiga
bear the crest of the clan to which the samurai belonged.
When in attendance at the imperial court and during public ceremonies, the shogun and the
daimyo wore court garments derived from the clothing of Heian-period nobility. The chonmage hairstyle,

with the hair tied back in a pigtail and the front of the head shaved, was made compulsory. The vermil-
ion scabbards that had been all the rage since Toyotomi Hideyoshi's time were banned. Large square
tsuba, or sword guards, were also banned, since it was believed they could be used as steps for climbing
walls. The length of a sword's cutting edge was strictly limited. In 1683 Tokugawa Tsunatoshi prohibited
certain persons, including artists and musicians, from carrying swords. Later, in 1798, the length of the
luakizashi or companion sword, was restricted. To comply with the law, many wakizashi were cut down
to just a few centimeters in length.
Different mountings were used for different occasions, so more than one set of mounts might
be held for each blade. When the samurai was on horseback and wearing armor, the long sword (tachi)
was loosely suspended by cords and carried with the cutting edge down; the sword and the mounting
were bound with braid on both the hilt and the upper scabbard to avoid abrasion from the wearer's
armor. On duty in the capital, high-ranking warriors wore a special sword mounting (efu dachi) that
lacked braid bindings and had a sword guard of a particular archaic shape. When on foot, the warrior
was expected to carry a pair of swords: the shorter shotó or wakizashi was worn at all times, indoors
and out, and the longer daitô was carried out of doors. The longer sword would be placed on a special
stand by the entrances of buildings.
The matching pair of swords, or daishô (literally "large and small"), might be highly decorative
in the provinces, but rules had to be observed in Edo. One matched pair (cat. 65) illustrates the lavish-
ness available to wealthy samurai. The lacquer of the scabbard is embedded with polished sections of
walnut shell. The metal fittings are of colored alloys and solid gold. The scabbards had to be lacquered
black with Gotô-style fittings of a black-patinated alloy of copper (shakudô), although black-patinated
iron sword guards were acceptable. The pommel (kashira) at the end of the hilt could be of black-lacquered
horn, although black buffalo horn was preferable. The silk braid that bound the hilt had to be black or
a subdued color. Clan crests might be inlaid on the sword guard of either the ancillary kogatana (utility