GM, COT❣️ Yuzunoko here.
If your character's big moment involves a sword or a gun, have you ever wondered how you're supposed to get that prop to the event?
Prop rules get a lot easier to sort out if you split them into two parts. One is the rules the event organizers set for bringing in and using props. The other is the law that applies while you're on your way to the venue.
In this article, I've summed up the official rules of Comic Market (Comiket, Japan's biggest doujinshi market) and the Ikebukuro Halloween Cosplay Fest (Ikeharo for short), and how the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department and the Nagano Prefectural Police (the police force of Nagano Prefecture) explain the Swords and Firearms Control Law and the Minor Offenses Act on their official sites. One thing up front: this article can't tell you whether any particular prop is OK.
Here are the two parts as a diagram.
Comiket: "things you can't bring" and "things you can use with limits"
On the Comic Market Preparatory Committee's cosplay support page (as of C108, the 108th Comiket), the first entry on the list of banned items, as things the law forbids you to possess or carry, is "guns and swords regulated under the Swords and Firearms Control Law (including replicas that may fall under it)." If you break this, you'll have to hand the item over.
Items that imitate weapons, on the other hand, aren't banned but come with limits. Three conditions are listed.
- Only items that aren't covered by the Swords and Firearms Control Law can be used
- Toy guns (air guns, gas guns, electric guns) must have pellets and gas taken out and batteries removed so they can't fire
- While you're moving around, keep them in a bag or something similar
There's a size rule too: items over either 2 m tall or 1 m wide (magic wands and staffs are given as examples) have to be taken apart to move. In cosplay areas, throwing, swinging or kicking things is banned.
Ikeharo: "only when you're posing for photos"
Ikeharo's 2026 participation rules (as of September 18, 2026) ban bringing dangerous props like real knives, real swords and model guns that can fire. Model guns must always have their BB pellets or other ammo taken out so they can't fire.
There are rules on how you use them, too. Replica swords, guns and anything made to look like something dangerous can't be used except for photo poses, and pointing them at people is banned. When you're moving around, the rules ask you to keep them in a bag or a case of some kind so they can't be seen from outside.
Some venues are even stricter. At the aquarium, you carry them in a case or bag and can't use them in photos. The observation deck is the same, and bags over 80 cm on any side aren't allowed in either.
A pose with your sword drawn is the character's big moment, so the idea is to go all out only in the photo areas (even though drawing the sword is the coolest moment of all❣️)
The laws that apply on the way, as the police explain them
From here on, it's about the trip to the venue.
In its page "About Bladed Tools," the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department explains that Article 22 of the Swords and Firearms Control Law says, for blades longer than 6 centimeters, "No person shall carry such a blade except for work or other legitimate reasons." Breaking it can mean imprisonment of up to 2 years or a fine of up to 300,000 yen.
As an example of a legitimate reason, the police give buying a blade at a store and taking it home. Carrying one for self-defense apparently doesn't count as a legitimate reason.
Even if the blade isn't longer than 6 centimeters, the Minor Offenses Act comes into play. According to the Tokyo police, Article 1, item 2 of the Minor Offenses Act makes it punishable to carry a blade or similar item concealed without a legitimate reason. Even stationery like scissors and box cutters can be subject to enforcement if you carry them without a legitimate reason, ready to use.
So it's worth being careful how you pack the sewing kit or tools you bring for costume repairs (I was a little shocked that even a box cutter can count).
Metal replica swords and metal replica handguns
The Nagano Prefectural Police's official page describes replica swords as things "made of metal and closely resembling a katana, sword, spear, naginata or aikuchi dagger in form," among others. Possessing replica swords isn't banned in itself, but carrying them anywhere other than your home is regulated. Examples of exceptions include an actor carrying one for work, or buying one at a store and taking it home.
The same page says possessing a replica handgun is banned outright. It applies to ones made of metal, closely resembling a handgun in form, that haven't had both of these done: the barrel plugged with metal, and the whole surface colored white or yellow (gold).
This ties into the "replicas that may fall under it" on Comiket's banned list, so it's reassuring to check whether a prop is made of metal back when you're choosing it.
When you're unsure, check with the organizers and the police
Ikeharo's participation rules say they don't answer questions like "Is this character's costume or prop OK?" Their policy is that you read the rules page and the FAQ and then decide for yourself.
Comiket, on the other hand, says that if you have any questions about costumes or cosplay items, feel free to ask the Preparatory Committee staff near the changing rooms.
So the way they handle questions differs from event to event.
If you're unsure whether something falls under the law, don't decide based on this article's explanation alone; ask your nearest police station. And for a prop you're not sure about bringing, leaving it at home is one answer too.
About this article
I put this article together from the Comic Market Preparatory Committee's cosplay support page, the Ikebukuro Halloween Cosplay Fest 2026 participation rules, and the official pages of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department and the Nagano Prefectural Police. How the law applies depends on the item and the situation, so for individual cases, check with the organizers and the police.
Event rules are updated for each edition, so reread the latest official pages before you take part.
Quotes from Japanese sources are our own translations.
Translated from the Japanese original.
See you next time on COT❣️