Tekkan

[2] Tekkan became very popular during the Edo period with wealthy merchants and farmers, since such people were forbidden by law from carrying or possessing swords or other edged weapons.

In 1876, the Meiji government of Japan passed the Haitōrei Edict, often called the "Sword Abolishment Act".

This law prohibited all Japanese people, including the former members of the knightly samurai class, from bearing weapons in public.

This prohibition led to a surge in popularity of a number of non-sword weapons, as well as disguised swords of various kinds.

[citation needed] After the Haitōrei Edict came into effect, members of the samurai class also began carrying tekkan as self-defence weapons.