During the Edo period, even townspeople were allowed to wear swords.

During the Edo period, ``traveling clothes and wakizashi'' were a common sight.In the early Edo period, even townspeople were free to carry swords (over 60 cm) and wakizashi (over 30 cm - under 60 cm). However, there were exceptions when people were allowed to carry swords, such as when traveling or in the event of a fire, and for senior citizens and other government officials who were responsible for the town. The former has a meaning of self-defense, and the latter has formal status.Although the relationship between wearing a sword and formal status is unclear, the sword was actually a weapon for self-defense, and at one time was also used as an accessory when wearing formal attire. I raised my sword to correct him.Townspeople stopped wearing swords after Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, the fifth shogun, prohibited it in 1683. Surprisingly, this ban was not made to maintain public order, but rather from the perspective of frugality and ``dressing befitting one's status.'' However, there were exceptions for those who had made special achievements even if they were townspeople and were recognized by the shogunate or domain as having a ``family name and sword''.Carrying a sword was prohibited, but wakizashi was allowed as a self-defense tool. Travelers' ``michiushashi'' are well known. Furthermore, merchants sometimes required their servants to wear wakizashi to protect themselves when they went out on business at night.