The Tokugawa shogunate organized Japanese society under the strictTokugawa class system and banned the entry of most foreigners under the isolationist policies ofSakoku to promote political stability. Japanese subjects were also barred from leaving the country. The Tokugawa shoguns governed Japan in a feudal system, with eachdaimyō administering ahan (feudal domain), although the country was still nominally organized asimperial provinces. Under the Tokugawa shogunate, Japan experienced rapid economic growth and urbanization, which led to the rise of the merchant class andUkiyo culture.
Following the Sengoku period ("Warring States period"), the central government had been largely re-established byOda Nobunaga during theAzuchi–Momoyama period. After the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, central authority fell to Tokugawa Ieyasu.[20] While manydaimyos who fought against him were extinguished or had their holdings reduced, Ieyasu was committed to retaining thedaimyos and thehan (domains) as components under his new shogunate.[25]Daimyos who sided with Ieyasu were rewarded, and some of Ieyasu's former vassals were madedaimyos and were located strategically throughout the country.[25] Thesankin-kotai policy, in an effort to constrain rebellions by the daimyos, mandated the housing of wives and children of thedaimyos in the capital as hostages.[26]
A long period of peace occurred between theSiege of Osaka in 1615 and theKeian Uprising in 1651. This period saw thebakufu (shogunate's administration) prioritise civil administration, while civil society witnessed a surge in trade and industrial activities. Trade under the reign of Ieyasu saw much new wealth created by mining and goods manufacturing, which resulted in a rural population flow to urban areas.[29] By theGenroku period (1688–1704) Japan saw a period of material prosperity and the blossoming of the arts, such as the early development ofukiyo-e byMoronobu. The reign ofTokugawa Yoshimune (1716–1745) saw poor harvests and a fall in tax revenue in the early 1720s, as a result he pushed for theKyoho reforms to repair the finances of the bakufu as he believed the military aristocracy was losing its power against the rich merchants and landowners.[29]
Society in the Tokugawa period, unlike in previous shogunates, was supposedly based on the strict class hierarchy originally established byToyotomi Hideyoshi. Thedaimyō (lords) were at the top, followed by the warrior-caste of samurai, with the farmers, artisans, and traders ranking below. In some parts of the country, particularly smaller regions,daimyō, and samurai were more or less identical, sincedaimyō might be trained as samurai, and samurai might act as local rulers.[citation needed]
The largely inflexible nature of this social stratification system unleashed disruptive forces over time. Taxes on the peasantry were set at fixed amounts that did not account for inflation or other changes in monetary value. As a result, the tax revenues collected by the samurai landowners increasingly declined over time. A 2017 study found that peasant rebellions and desertion lowered tax rates and inhibited state growth in the Tokugawa shogunate.[26] By the mid-18th century, both theshogun anddaimyos were hampered by financial difficulties, whereas more wealth flowed to the merchant class. Peasant uprisings and samurai discontent became increasingly prevalent. Some reforms were enacted to attend to these issues such as theKansei reform (1787–1793) byMatsudaira Sadanobu.[30] He bolstered the bakufu's rice stockpiles and mandateddaimyos to follow suit. He cut down urban spending, allocated reserves for potential famines, and urged city-dwelling peasants to return to rural areas.[31]
By 1800, Japan included five cities with over 100,000 residents, and three among the world's twenty cities that had more than 300,000 inhabitants. Edo likely claimed the title of the world's most populous city, housing over one million people.[32]
Followers ofCatholic Christians first began appearing in Japan during the 16th century.Oda Nobunaga embraced Christianity and the Western technology that was imported with it, such as the musket. He also saw it as a tool he could use to suppress Buddhist forces.[33] TheShimabara Rebellion occurred due to policies that prohibited Christianity, among other issues.
Though Christianity was allowed to grow until the 1610s,Tokugawa Ieyasu soon began to see it as a growing threat to the stability of the shogunate. AsŌgosho ("CloisteredShōgun"),[34] he influenced the implementation of laws that banned the practice of Christianity. His successors followed suit, compounding upon Ieyasu's laws. The ban of Christianity is often linked with the creation of the Seclusion laws, orSakoku, in the 1630s.[35]
The late Tokugawa shogunate (Japanese:幕末Bakumatsu) was the period between 1853 and 1867, during which Japan ended itsisolationist foreign policy calledsakoku and modernized from afeudal shogunate to theMeiji government. The 1850s saw growing resentment by thetozama daimyōs andanti-Western sentiment following the arrival of aU.S. Navy fleet under the command ofMatthew C. Perry (which led to the forced opening of Japan). The major ideological and political factions during this period were divided into the pro-imperialistIshin Shishi (nationalistpatriots) and the shogunate forces; aside from the dominant two groups, other factions attempted to use the chaos of the Bakumatsu era to seize personal power.[36]
An alliance ofdaimyos and the emperor succeeded in overthrowing the shogunate, which came to an official end in 1868 with the resignation of the 15th Tokugawa shogun,Tokugawa Yoshinobu, leading to the "restoration" (王政復古,Ōsei fukko) of imperial rule. Some loyal retainers of the shogun continued to fight during theBoshin War that followed but were eventually defeated in the notableBattle of Toba–Fushimi.[37]
Thebakuhan system (bakuhan taisei幕藩体制) was thefeudal political system in the Edo period of Japan.[7]Baku is an abbreviation ofbakufu, meaning "military government"—that is, the shogunate. Thehan were the domains headed bydaimyō.[7] Beginning from Ieyasu's appointment as shogun in 1603, but especially after the Tokugawavictory in Osaka in 1615, various policies were implemented to assert the shogunate's control, which severely curtailed thedaimyos' independence.[25] The number ofdaimyos varied but stabilized at around 270.[25]
Thebakuhan system split feudal power between the shogunate in Edo and thedaimyōs with domains throughout Japan.[38] Theshōgun and lords were alldaimyōs: feudal lords with their own bureaucracies, policies, and territories.[38] Provinces had a degree of sovereignty and were allowed an independent administration of thehan in exchange for loyalty to theshōgun, who was responsible for foreign relations, national security,[38] coinage, weights, measures, and transportation.[25]
Theshōgun also administered the most powerfulhan, the hereditary fief of the House of Tokugawa, which also included many gold and silver mines.[38] Towards the end of the shogunate, the Tokugawa clan held around 7 millionkoku of land (天領 tenryō), including 2.6–2.7 millionkoku held by direct vassals, out of 30 million in the country.[31] The other 23 millionkoku were held by other daimyos.[31]
The number ofhan (roughly 270) fluctuated throughout the Edo period.[28] They were ranked by size, which was measured as the number ofkoku of rice that the domain produced each year.[31] Onekoku was the amount of rice necessary to feed one adult male for one year. The minimum number for adaimyō was ten thousandkoku;[28] the largest, apart from theshōgun, was more than a millionkoku.[31]
The main policies of the shogunate on thedaimyos included:
The principle was that eachdaimyo (including those who were previously independent of the Tokugawa family) submitted to the shogunate, and eachhan required the shogunate's recognition and was subject to its land redistributions.[25]: 192–93 Daimyos swore allegiance to each shogun and acknowledged the Laws for Warrior Houses orbuke shohatto.[31]
Thesankin-kōtai (参勤交代 "alternate attendance") system, requireddaimyos to travel to and reside in Edo every other year, and for their families to remain in Edo during their absence.
Theikkoku ichijyō rei (一国一城令), allowed each daimyo'shan to retain only one fortification, at thedaimyo's residence.[25]: 194
TheLaws for the Military Houses (武家諸法度,buke shohatto), the first of which in 1615 forbade the building of new fortifications or repairing existing ones withoutbakufu approval, admitting fugitives of the shogunate, and arranging marriages of the daimyos' families without official permission.[25] Additional rules on the samurai were issued over the years.[25][31]
Although the shogun issued certain laws, such as thebuke shohatto on thedaimyōs and the rest of the samurai class, eachhan administered its autonomous system of laws andtaxation.[38] Theshōgun did not interfere in ahan's governance unless major incompetence (such as large rebellions) was shown, nor were central taxes issued.[38] Instead, eachhan provided feudal duties, such as maintaining roads and official courier stations, building canals and harbors, providing troops, and relieving famines.[38]Daimyōs were strategically placed to check each other, and thesankin-kōtai system ensured thatdaimyōs or their family were always in Edo, observed by the shogun.[38]
The shogunate had the power to discard, annex, and transform domains, although they were rarely and carefully exercised after the early years of the shogunate, to preventdaimyōs from banding together.[38] Thesankin-kōtai system of alternative residence required eachdaimyō to reside in alternate years between thehan and the court in Edo.[38] During their absences from Edo, it was also required that they leave their family as hostages until their return. The hostages and the huge expendituresankin-kōtai imposed on eachhan helped to ensure loyalty to theshōgun.[38] By the 1690s, the vast majority of daimyos would be born in Edo, and most would consider it their homes.[25] Some daimyos had little interest in their domains and needed to be begged to return "home".[25]
In return for the centralization, peace among the daimyos was maintained; unlike in theSengoku period, daimyos no longer worried about conflicts with one another.[25] In addition, hereditary succession was guaranteed as internal usurpations within domains were not recognized by the shogunate.[25]
The Tokugawa clan further ensured loyalty by maintaining a dogmatic insistence on loyalty to theshōgun. Daimyos were classified into three main categories:[31]
Shinpan ("relatives" 親藩) were six clans established by sons of Ieyasu, as well as certain sons of the 8th and 9th shoguns, who were made daimyos.[31] They would provide an heir to the shogunate if the shogun did not have an heir.[31]
Fudai ("hereditary" 譜代) were mostly vassals of Ieyasu and the Tokugawa clan before theBattle of Sekigahara.[31] They ruled theirhan (estate) and served as high officials in the shogunate, although theirhan tended to be smaller compared to thetozama domains.[31]
Tozama ("outsiders" 外様) were around 100 daimyos, most of whom became vassals of the Tokugawa clan after the Battle of Sekigahara. Some fought against Tokugawa forces, although some were neutral or even fought on the side of the Tokugawa clan, as allies rather than vassals.[31] Thetozama daimyos tend to have the largesthan, with 11 of the 16 largest daimyos in this category.[31]
Thetozama daimyos who fought against the Tokugawa clan in the Battle of Sekigahara had their estate reduced substantially.[31] They were often placed in mountainous or far away areas, or placed between most trusted daimyos.[31] Early in the Edo period, the shogunate viewed thetozama as the least likely to be loyal; over time, strategic marriages and the entrenchment of the system made thetozama less likely to rebel. In the end, however, it was still the greattozama ofSatsuma,Chōshū andTosa, and to a lesser extentSaga, that brought down the shogunate. These four states are called the Four Western Clans, orSatchotohi for short.[39]
Regardless of the political title of the Emperor, theshōguns of the Tokugawa family controlled Japan.[40] The shogunate secured a nominal grant of administration (体制,taisei) by theImperial Court in Kyoto to the Tokugawa family.[28] While the Emperor officially had the prerogative of appointing theshōgun and received generous subsidies, he had virtually no say in state affairs.[38] The shogunate issued theLaws for the Imperial and Court Officials (kinchu narabini kuge shohatto 禁中並公家諸法度) to set out its relationship with theImperial family and thekuge (imperial court officials), and specified that the Emperor should dedicate to scholarship and poetry.[41] The shogunate also appointed a liaison, theKyoto Shoshidai (Shogun's Representative in Kyoto), to deal with the Emperor, court and nobility.
Towards the end of the shogunate, however, after centuries of the Emperor having very little say in state affairs and being secluded in hisKyoto palace, and in the wake of the reigningshōgun,Tokugawa Iemochi, marrying the sister ofEmperor Kōmei (r. 1846–1867), in 1862, the Imperial Court in Kyoto began to enjoy increased political influence.[42] The Emperor would occasionally be consulted on various policies and the shogun even made a visit to Kyoto to visit the Emperor.[citation needed] Government administration would be formally returned from theshogun to the Emperor during theMeiji Restoration in 1868.
Foreign affairs and trade were monopolized by the shogunate, yielding a huge profit. Foreign trade was also permitted for theSatsuma and theTsushima domains.Rice was the main trading product of Japan during this time.Isolationism was the foreign policy of Japan and trade was strictly controlled. Merchants were outsiders to thesocial hierarchy of Japan and were thought to be greedy.
The visits of theNanban ships from Portugal were at first the main vector of trade exchanges, followed by the addition of Dutch, English, and sometimes Spanish ships.
From 1603 onward, Japan started to participate actively in foreign trade. In 1615, an embassy and trade mission underHasekura Tsunenaga was sent across the Pacific toNueva España (New Spain) on the Japanese-built galleonSan Juan Bautista. Until 1635, the Shogun issued numerous permits for the so-called "red seal ships" destined for the Asian trade.
The primary source of the shogunate's income was the tax (around 40%) levied on harvests in the Tokugawa clan's personal domains (tenryō).[31] No taxes were levied on domains of daimyos, who instead provided military duty, public works andcorvee.[31] The shogunate obtained loans from merchants, which were sometimes seen as forced donations, although commerce was often not taxed.[31] Special levies were also imposed for infrastructure-building.[31]
During the earliest years of the Tokugawa shogunate institution, when Tokugawa Hidetada coronated as the second shogun and Ieyasu retired, they formed dual governments, where Hidetada controlled the official court with the government central located in Edo city, Ieyasu, who now became theŌgosho (retired shogun), also controlled his own informal shadow government which called "Sunpu government" with its center atSunpu Castle. The membership of the Sunpu government's cabinet was consisted of trusted vassals of Ieyasu which was not included in Hidetada's cabinet. includingWilliam Adams (samurai) andJan Joosten van Lodensteijn, which Ieyasu entrusted with foreign affairs and diplomacy.[43][44]
Therōjū (老中) were normally the most senior members of the shogunate.[31] Normally, four or five men held the office, and one was on duty for a month at a time on a rotating basis.[31] They supervised theōmetsuke (who checked on the daimyos),machi-bugyō (commissioners of administrative and judicial functions in major cities, especially Edo),ongoku bugyō [ja] (遠国奉行, the commissioners of other major cities and shogunate domains) and other officials, oversaw relations with theImperial Court in Kyoto,kuge (members of the nobility), daimyō,Buddhist temples andShinto shrines, and attended to matters like divisions offiefs. Otherbugyō (commissioners) in charge of finances, monasteries and shrines also reported to the rōjū.[31] The roju conferred on especially important matters. In the administrative reforms of 1867 (Keiō Reforms), the office was eliminated in favor of a bureaucratic system with ministers for the interior, finance, foreign relations, army, and navy.
In principle, the requirements for appointment to the office of rōjū were to be afudai daimyō and to have a fief assessed at50000koku or more.[31] However, there were exceptions to both criteria. Many appointees came from the offices close to theshōgun, such assoba yōnin [ja] (側用人),Kyoto Shoshidai, andOsaka-jō dai.
Three to five men titled thewakadoshiyori (若年寄) were next in status below the rōjū.[31] An outgrowth of the early six-manrokuninshū (六人衆, 1633–1649), the office took its name and final form in 1662. Their primary responsibility was management of the affairs of thehatamoto andgokenin, the direct vassals of theshōgun.[31] Under thewakadoshiyori were themetsuke.
Someshōguns appointed asoba yōnin. This person acted as a liaison between theshōgun and therōjū. Thesoba yōnin increased in importance during the time of the fifthshōgunTokugawa Tsunayoshi, when a wakadoshiyori,Inaba Masayasu, assassinatedHotta Masatoshi, thetairō. Fearing for his personal safety, Tsunayoshi moved therōjū to a more distant part of the castle. Some of the most famoussoba yōnin wereYanagisawa Yoshiyasu andTanuma Okitsugu.
Theōmetsuke andmetsuke were officials who reported to therōjū andwakadoshiyori.[31] The fiveōmetsuke were in charge of monitoring the affairs of thedaimyōs,kuge and imperial court. They were in charge of discovering any threat of rebellion. Early in the Edo period,daimyōs such asYagyū Munefuyu held the office. Soon, however, it fell tohatamoto with rankings of 5,000koku or more. To give them authority in their dealings withdaimyōs, they were often ranked at 10,000koku and given the title ofkami (an ancient title, typically signifying the governor of aprovince) such asBizen-no-kami.
As time progressed, the function of theōmetsuke evolved into one of passing orders from the shogunate to thedaimyōs, and of administering to ceremonies within Edo Castle. They also took on additional responsibilities such as supervising religious affairs and controlling firearms. Themetsuke, reporting to thewakadoshiyori, oversaw the affairs of the vassals of theshōgun.[31] They were the police force for the thousands of hatamoto andgokenin who were concentrated in Edo. Individualhan had their ownmetsuke who similarly policed their samurai.
Thesan-bugyō (三奉行 "three administrators") were thejisha,kanjō, andmachi-bugyō, which respectively oversawtemples andshrines, accounting, and the cities. Thejisha-bugyō had the highest status of the three. They oversaw the administration of Buddhist temples (ji) and Shinto shrines (sha), many of which held fiefs. Also, they heard lawsuits from several land holdings outside the eightKantō provinces. The appointments normally went todaimyōs;Ōoka Tadasuke was an exception, though he later became adaimyō.[citation needed]
Thekanjō-bugyō were next in status. The four holders of this office reported to therōjū. They were responsible for the finances of the shogunate.[47]
Themachi-bugyō were the chief city administrators of Edo and other cities. Their roles included mayor, chief of the police (and, later, also of the fire department), and judge in criminal and civil matters not involving samurai. Two (briefly, three) men, normally hatamoto, held the office, and alternated by month.[48]
Thesan-bugyō together sat on a council called thehyōjōsho (評定所). In this capacity, they were responsible for administering thetenryō (the shogun's estates), supervising thegundai (郡代), thedaikan (代官) and thekura bugyō (蔵奉行), as well as hearing cases involving samurai. Thegundai managed Tokugawa domains with incomes greater than 10,000 koku while thedaikan managed areas with incomes between 5,000 and 10,000 koku.
The shogun directly held lands in various parts of Japan. These were known asshihaisho (支配所); since the Meiji period, the termtenryō (天領, literally "Emperor's land") has become synonymous, because the shogun's lands were returned to the emperor.[49] In addition to the territory that Ieyasu held prior to the Battle of Sekigahara, this included lands he gained in that battle and lands gained as a result of theSummer and Winter Sieges of Osaka. Major cities as Nagasaki and Osaka, andmines, including theSadogold mine, also fell into this category.
Thegaikoku bugyō were administrators appointed between 1858 and 1868. They were charged with overseeing trade and diplomatic relations with foreign countries, and were based in thetreaty ports of Nagasaki and Kanagawa (Yokohama).[citation needed]
^Yamagishi, Keiko (2016). Ferrari, Silvio; Cristofori, Rinaldo (eds.).Law and Religion, An Overview. Vol. 1.Routledge. p. 458.ISBN978-1-4094-3600-3.Archived from the original on May 31, 2023. RetrievedMay 31, 2023.The Tokugawa Shogunate had sanctioned Buddhism as a state religion.
^abcCalabresi, Steven Gow (2021).The History and Growth of Judicial Review. Vol. 2.Oxford University Press. p. 116.ISBN9780190075750.Archived from the original on May 31, 2023. RetrievedMay 31, 2023.A dew sexteenth-century Chiristian missionaries left a small following in Japan, but from 1600 until 1853, the countory was governed by the Tokugawa Shogunate banned Christianity, forbade travel overseas, and only allowed foreign trade in the port of Nagasaki with the Netherlands and China. Confucianism, with its emphasis on harmony, was the prevailing "state religion", although it coexisted with Shintoism, a religion that worshipped nature gods and that was personified by the emperor.
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