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The was an edict issued by the Meiji government of Japan on March 28, 1876 which prohibited people, with the exception of former lords (daimyo), the military and law enforcement officials, from carrying weapons in public.〔(''The Connoisseur's Book of Japanese Swords'', Author Kōkan Nagayama, Publisher Kodansha International, 1997 ISBN 4-7700-2071-6, ISBN 978-4-7700-2071-0 P.43 )〕 Violators would have their swords confiscated.〔Keene, Emperor Of Japan: Meiji And His World, 1852-1912〕 ==History== 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 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 led 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.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Haitōrei Edict」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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