Sword ban and stipend conversion for samurai in Japan

Background. The Meiji Restoration in 1868 restored imperial rule and led to Westernization. Extensive reforms in 1871 abolished the han system, ending feudalism and the class system. The Dampatsurei Edict of 1871 allowed samurai to cut their top-knots. Universal military conscription in 1873 removed the samurai's monopoly on military service. Hereditary stipends were abolished in 1873, and samurai were given the option to convert stipends into government bonds in 1874.

The Haitōrei Edict. The Sword Abolishment Edict was issued on March 28, 1876, by the Daijō-kan. It prohibited people, except former lords, the military, and law enforcement, from carrying weapons in public. This was seen as an embodiment of a sword hunt. The first Haitōrei of 1870 had already prohibited farmers or merchants from wearing swords and dressing like samurai.

Stipend Conversion. Hereditary stipends provided to samurai by their feudal lords were abolished in 1873. In 1874, samurai were given the option to convert their stipends into government bonds. Earlier, the 1869 regulations on the allocation of domain revenues and the position of the samurai class had aimed to universalise the restructuring of the political and bureaucratic systems governing the domains.