Samurai Weapons. Don Cunningham

and is a common measurement system used for centuries in countries surrounding the Sea of Japan and the East China Sea. Designated Japan’s official measure in 701 by the Taiho Code, the length is made up of units called bu, sun, shaku, and ken. One bu is equal to 0.1193 inches (0.303 centimeters). Ten bu equal one sun, or 1.193 inches (3.03 centimeters). Ten sun equal one shaku, or 11.93 inches (30.3 centimeters). And six shaku equal one ken, or 71.58 inches (181.8 centimeters).

      In an effort to restore peace and order to their society, the Tokugawa shōgunate issued various orders prohibiting chōnin from carrying long swords. One such government order was the Daishō katana no sumpō oyobi touhatsu futsumōno sei (the order regarding daishō katana and hair style), issued in July 1645. This law specified the maximum blade length of katana as 2 shaku 8 or 9 sun, or roughly 34 inches (86 centimeters). The blade length of wakizashi was restricted to 1 shaku 8 or 9 sun or about 22 inches (56 centimeters).

      In March 1668, the Tokugawa shōgunate once again issued Mutorei (no sword order), an executive directive firmly prohibiting the chōnin class from carrying any swords longer than ko-wakizashi, a very short sword, without specific government permission. According to the edict, the ko-wakizashi blade length was defined as being no longer than 1 shaku 5 sun or approximately 17 inches (45 centimeters). The feudal government later revised this executive order, adding some specific exceptions to this prohibition, including the right for chōnin to carry regular-length wakizashi when traveling or during fires.

      Commoners were allowed to carry a wakizashi on trips to protect themselves and their valuables from brigands who often preyed on travelers. Since fires in the densely populated city of Edo occurred with such frequency, most chōnin would take their household possessions into the streets with them when evacuating their neighborhood. The government decree thus allowed them to arm themselves and protect their personal possessions during such chaotic events.

      Although not specifically prohibited from carrying ko-wakizashi, law-abiding chōnin during the Edo period typically did not wear any swords while conducting their day-to-day business within the city. Because of the risks of encountering bandits or worse, though, it was quite common for chōnin to openly wear a legal-length ko-wakizashi when traveling any significant distance from their homes.

      Kirisutegomen

      Popular fiction has often portrayed the samurai as extremely violent and quick to cut someone down at the slightest provocation. With a rigidly enforced and unquestioned social hierarchy, some samurai did tend to be rather dismissive, even arrogant and abusive toward the lower classes. It is a popular misconception, though, that most samurai swaggered about the streets of Edo or rural highways indiscriminately killing one another or some unfortunate chōnin and nōmin out of anger over the slightest perceived offense. Although this type of incident is a widespread occurrence in historical dramas and novels, the truth is actually much more mundane.

      It is true that the convention of kirisutegomen (“killing and going away”) was formally recognized under the Tokugawa shōgunate. According to this custom, samurai basically had the legally recognized right to kill any member of the common classes acting other than as expected. Unexpected behavior included surliness, discourtesy, and inappropriate conduct. This occasionally fostered the practice of tsuji-giri, testing a sword blade by cutting down a commoner.

      Any samurai involved in such a killing, however, would certainly have been held by officials while an investigation was conducted. The Tokugawa shōgunate published a series of guidelines, such as the Kujikata osadamegaki, that established strict penal codes and judicial procedures. Any samurai found guilty of inappropriate behavior was often subjected to severe penalties. The metsuke (watchers) served as the overseers and inspectors for retainers in the service of the various daimyō. Unemployed samurai or rōnin were considered under the jurisdiction of the respective machi-bugyō (town magistrate), though, and subject to many of the same penal codes as any chōnin.

      Wasteful actions such as kirisutegomen, and especially tsuji-giri, were generally frowned upon by all clan and government officials. Although it may have been allowed legally, such behavior was definitely considered intolerable according to commonly accepted religious, moral, and ethical values. The government, realizing it was dependent upon the common people for both produce and taxes, would not risk further alienation by allowing such excesses. Even if an investigation did fail to find any infraction of these guidelines, no samurai could afford a reputation for such needless killings.

      According to common law of this period, any citizen, regardless of class, was also allowed to defend himself from unprovoked attacks. Thus, a commoner was allowed to kill a samurai if assaulted. If successful, he was likely to be released from any murder charges by authorities if the killing was committed in self-defense. Obviously, samurai were not as prone to indulge in practices such as kirisutegomen and tsuji-giri when commoners were armed and capable of offering resistance.

      Fukushū and Ada-uchi

      Killing another samurai, even a lower-ranking bushi, might easily spark a fukushū (blood feud) with another clan, resulting in many other members of either house being killed. No self-respecting bushi would dare put his fellow clan members in such a dangerous position without considering these possible consequences.

      Slaying any individual, regardless of class, might also initiate an ada-uchi, a legal vendetta, by members of the victim’s family. (The colloquial term kataki-uchi is a less formal, common reference for such a quarrel.) According to the strict rules of ada-uchi, retaliation could be directed only against the murderer and then only by a person of equal or lower social status. An ada-uchi required registration with local officials. Once a permit was issued, the right or wrong of the original death was considered irrelevant. Anyone killing another without a properly registered ada-uchi, though, was subject to punishment for murder.

      Yamamoto Tsunetomo (1658–1719), a Buddhist priest and former retainer of Nabeshima Mitsushige, third daimyō of Saga, shared a series of anecdotes over several years with Tashiro Tsuramoto, a samurai from the Nabeshima fief in Kyushu. Recorded by the younger samurai and published as Hagakure [Hidden Leaves], these offer many insights into daily life and attitudes of his era. The following example illustrates how a samurai might be expected to commit seppuku (ritual suicide) to atone for brawling and murder:

      A certain son of Mori Monbei got into a fight and returned home wounded. Asked by Monbei, “What did you do to your opponent?” his son replied, “I cut him down.”

      When Monbei asked, “Did you deliver the coup de grace?” his son replied, “Indeed I did.” [This coup de grace was called todome and typically consisted of stabbing the wounded man through the neck.]

      Then Monbei said, “You have certainly done well, and there is nothing to regret. Now, even if you fled you would have to commit seppuku anyway. When your mood improves, commit seppuku, and rather than die by another’s hand, you can die by your father’s.” And soon after he performed kaishaku for his son. [The kaishaku serves as a second during seppuku. After the initial incisions are made in the abdomen, the kaishaku is expected to decapitate the subject with one swift sword stroke, thus sparing him from further suffering.]

      The Forty-seven Rōnin Incident

      It was such an impetuous and foolhardy act that resulted in one of the most famous of Japanese legends. The Forty-seven Rōnin incident is a story reflecting many of the ideals of Japan’s samurai. In 1701, Lord Asano Nagamori, a brash young daimyō from Ako, was ordered to commit seppuku and his clan was abolished, thus setting the stage for the bloodiest vendetta in Japan’s history. Asano’s offense was drawing his short sword and attacking the shōgun’s chief of protocol, Kira Yoshinaka, during preparations for an official reception of an imperial envoy from Kyōto.

      Various reasons are given for the shōgun’s harsh sentencing of Lord Asano. Most historians agree that it was for drawing his short sword and wounding Yoshinaka, although one account also records that after the initial attack failed, Lord Asano threw his wakizashi at the chief of protocol, damaging a lacquered screen. Ultimately, though, it was Lord Asano’s obvious disregard for prohibitions against drawing one’s sword within the palace grounds that sealed his fate.

      The shōgun’s failure to have Kira share in the