Gendai-tō

Gendai-tō ( Japanese 現代刀 ) is the collective term for Japanese swords that have been made in the traditional way since the ban on carrying swords ( 廃刀令 , Haitōrei ) in 1876. Their forerunners were called Kotō ( 古刀 , "old swords"), from 1597 as Shintō ( 新刀 , "new swords") and from 1781 as Shinshintō ( 新々刀 or 新新刀 , "new new swords").