User blog comment:Silver-Haired Seireitou/Fanon Canon Part 2/@comment-18812574-20141121052517/@comment-2089817-20141121143809

There is no real canon proof, but there is enough reasoning to believe that following Japanese history, a sword ban could have been put into play. That is why in more recent Soul Society history, you hear them speak about rebels in the Rukongai and stuff. Prior to this, given the fact that the land was wartorn until Yamamoto, as Yhwach said, "won themselves a world of peace", it is safe to assume other factions were vying for control. And I'm sure they did not just vanish even after being pushed back from Soul Society's territory.