© Copyright Robert Cole 2015 - No copying or distributing
SWORD ERAS

Sword history has three eras:
          KOTO               |     SHINTO     |   SHIN-SHINTO
     "Five Schools"          |   New-swords   |  New New-swords
    800 AD - 1600 AD         |  1600 to 1781  |   1781 to 1868
                             |                |
                             |          - EDO PERIOD -
HEIAN                        |  KEI-CHO 1596  |  MASAHIDE SCHOOL
 Early    EN-RYAKU           |  Early SHINTO  |   TEN-MEI 1781
   (794-898)                 |                |
 Late     SHO-TAI            |                |
   (898-1184)                |                |
                  GEN-RYAKU  |                |
KAMAKURA             1184    |                |
 Early    BUN-JI             |                |
   (1185-1239)               |                |
 Mid      NIN-JI             |                |
   (1240-1278)               |                |
 Late     KO-AN              |  KAN-BUN 1661  |
   (1278-1336)      KEM-MU   |  Middle SHINTO |
                     1334    |                |
NAMBOKUCHO  Twin Kingdoms    |                |     
   EN-GEN (1336-1392)        |                |
                             |                |
MUROMACHI            O-EI    |                |
 Early    O-EI       1394    |                |
   (1392-1441)               |                |  
 Mid      KAN-SHO    SENGOKU |  GEN-ROKU 1688 |   MEI-JI 1868
   (1441-1492)       Hundred |   Late SHINTO  | MEIJI Restoration
 Later    MEI-O        Year  |                |
   (1492-1568)         Wars  |                | 
                 (1490-1600) |                |
MOMOYAMA  EI-ROKU 11         |                | SATSUMA Rebellion
   (1568-1603)               |                |
Each era saw a time of growth followed by decline.

1. The KOTO era is considered the great period. Its high point was KAMAKURA at the time of the second Mongolian Invasion.

2. The SHINTO period flowered from the successful unification effort at the hands of NOBUNAGA, HIDEYOSHI, and TOKUGAWA which brought an end to the hundred-year wars of succession. HIDEYOSHI died in 1598. The TOKUGAWA took power following SEKIGAHARA in 1600, receiving the SHOGUNATE in 1603. The SHINTO and SHIN-SHINTO eras span the 265 year TOKUGAWA SHOGUNATE. From the perspective of sword history, SHINTO begins during KEI-CHO (1596 to 1614).

3. SHIN-SHINTO ushered from the decline of SHINTO with the advent of SUISHINSHI MASAHIDE in 1781. Following the Restoration, in 1876, Imperial Edict outlawed the carrying of swords. The last battles of the SAMURAI were fought in the SATSUMA Rebellion which ended on Mount SHIRO-YAMA with the death of O-SAIGO, September 24, 1877.
 


Sho-shin
Glossary