廃刀令
廃刀令は、1876年に発令された軍人，警察官，官吏等や大礼服着用者以外の帯刀を禁じた太政官布告である。1876年は明治8年であり、西南戦争が明治10年なので、士族の不満が鬱積していた時期ではなかろうか？
ある時に知った事だが、夫が断髪する事を妻が嫌がり、断髪するなら離婚すると言ったという。ましてや、苗字と帯刀を許されていた武士の特権を剥奪するというこの廃刀令は、多くの武士にとって耐え難いことだったであろう。
刀は士族の証であり、先祖代々受け継がれてきた物である。士族が反発する事は必然であった。この廃刀令が布告された後、神風連の乱、秋月の乱、萩の乱と士族の反乱が相次ぎ、最後に最大の西南戦争へと続いていく。
明治維新という政体の大変革を西南戦争で区切るとするなら、ペリーの来航から僅か２４年で行った事になる。
このような短期間で政体の大変革をした事例は、世界の歴史において他に無いのではなかろうか。
廃刀令は、国民から武器を取り上げる代わりに、治安は政府が保証する事も意味している。銃の乱射事件で米国は苦しんでいるが、米国民は政府を信用出来ないのであろうか？
Sword Prohibition
The Sword Ban Order was issued in 1876, prohibiting the wearing of swords by persons out of military personnel, police officers, government officials, and those who wear formal uniforms. 1876 was the 8th year of the Meiji era, and the Seinan War was in the 10th year of the Meiji era, so it must have been a time when the dissatisfaction of the samurai class was accumulating.
At one point, I found out that the wife didn't like her husband cutting his hair, and said that if he cut his hair, he would get a divorce. Moreover, the ban on swords, which stripped samurai of their privileges, which allowed them to wear their surnames and wield a sword, must have been unbearable for many samurai.
The sword is a proof of the samurai class, and is an item that has been handed down from generation to generation. It was inevitable that the samurai would protest. After the ban on swords was promulgated, the Shimpuren Rebellion, Akizuki Rebellion, Hagi Rebellion, and rebellions of the samurai class followed one after another, and finally the Seinan War continued.
If the Meiji Restoration, a major change in the political system, was to be marked by the Seinan War, it would have happened only 24 years after Perry's arrival.
I think there is no other example in the history of the world of such a drastic change of government in such a short period of time.
The sword ban order also means that the government will guarantee public order in exchange for taking away weapons from the people. Mass shootings harass America, but can Americans not trust their government?
