The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the
history
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...
of
Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the
Tokugawa shogunate
The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia ...
and the country's 300 regional ''
daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the
Sengoku period
The was a period in History of Japan, Japanese history of near-constant civil war and social upheaval from 1467 to 1615.
The Sengoku period was initiated by the Ōnin War in 1467 which collapsed the Feudalism, feudal system of Japan under the ...
, the Edo period was characterized by economic growth, strict social order,
isolationist
Isolationism is a political philosophy advocating a national foreign policy that opposes involvement in the political affairs, and especially the wars, of other countries. Thus, isolationism fundamentally advocates neutrality and opposes entan ...
foreign policies, a stable population, perpetual peace, and popular enjoyment of
arts
The arts are a very wide range of human practices of creative expression, storytelling and cultural participation. They encompass multiple diverse and plural modes of thinking, doing and being, in an extremely broad range of media. Both ...
and
culture
Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups ...
. The period derives its name from
Edo (now
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...
), where on March 24, 1603, the shogunate was officially established by
Tokugawa Ieyasu
was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan, which ruled Japan from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was one of the three "Great Unifiers" of Japan, along with his former lord Oda Nobunaga and fello ...
. The period came to an end with the
Meiji Restoration
The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...
and the
Boshin War, which restored imperial rule to Japan.
Consolidation of the shogunate
![Tokugawa Ieyasu2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/11/Tokugawa_Ieyasu2.JPG)
The Edo period or Tokugawa period is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the
history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the
Tokugawa shogunate
The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia ...
and the country's regional ''
daimyo''.
A
revolution
In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...
took place from the time of the
Kamakura shogunate
The was the feudal military government of Japan during the Kamakura period from 1185 to 1333. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Kamakura-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 459.
The Kamakura shogunate was established by Minamoto no ...
, which existed with the
Tennō's court, to the
Tokugawa, when the ''
samurai
were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They h ...
'' became the unchallenged rulers in what historian
Edwin O. Reischauer called a "centralized
feudal" form of shogunate. Instrumental in the rise of the new
bakufu
, officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamakura ...
was
Tokugawa Ieyasu
was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan, which ruled Japan from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was one of the three "Great Unifiers" of Japan, along with his former lord Oda Nobunaga and fello ...
, the main beneficiary of the achievements of
Oda Nobunaga and
Toyotomi Hideyoshi
, otherwise known as and , was a Japanese samurai and ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of the late Sengoku period regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan.Richard Holmes, The World Atlas of Warfare: Military Innovations that Changed the Cour ...
.
Already a powerful ''
daimyo'' (feudal lord), Ieyasu profited by his transfer to the rich
Kantō area. He maintained two million ''
koku'' of land, a new headquarters at
Edo, a strategically situated castle town (the future
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...
), and also had an additional two million ''koku'' of land and thirty-eight
vassal
A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain ...
s under his control. After Hideyoshi's death, Ieyasu moved quickly to seize control from the
Toyotomi clan
The was a Japanese clan that ruled over the Japanese before the Edo period.
Unity and conflict
The most influential figure within the Toyotomi was Toyotomi Hideyoshi, one of the three "unifiers of Japan". Oda Nobunaga was another primary ...
.
Ieyasu's victory over the western ''daimyo'' at the
Battle of Sekigahara (October 21, 1600, or in the Japanese calendar on the 15th day of the ninth month of the fifth year of the
Keichō
was a after ''Bunroku'' and before ''Genna''. This period spanned from October 1596 to July 1615. The reigning emperors were and .
Change of era
* 1596 : The era name was changed to ''Keichō'' to mark the passing of various natural disasters ...
era) gave him control of all Japan. He rapidly abolished numerous enemy ''daimyo'' houses, reduced others, such as that of the Toyotomi, and redistributed the spoils of war to his family and allies. Ieyasu still failed to achieve complete control of the western ''daimyo'', but his assumption of the title of ''
shōgun
, officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamak ...
'' helped consolidate the alliance system. After further strengthening his power base, Ieyasu installed his son
Hidetada
was the second ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa dynasty, who ruled from 1605 until his abdication in 1623. He was the third son of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate.
Early life (1579–1593)
Tokugawa Hidetada was bo ...
(1579–1632) as ''shōgun'' and himself as retired ''shōgun'' in 1605. The Toyotomi were still a significant threat, and Ieyasu devoted the next decade to their eradication. In 1615, the Tokugawa army destroyed the Toyotomi stronghold at
Osaka
is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...
.
The Tokugawa (or Edo) period brought 250 years of stability to Japan. The political system evolved into what historians call ''bakuhan'', a combination of the terms ''bakufu'' and ''
han
Han may refer to:
Ethnic groups
* Han Chinese, or Han People (): the name for the largest ethnic group in China, which also constitutes the world's largest ethnic group.
** Han Taiwanese (): the name for the ethnic group of the Taiwanese p ...
'' (domains) to describe the government and society of the period. In the ''bakuhan'', the ''shōgun'' had national authority and the ''daimyo'' had regional authority. This represented a new unity in the feudal structure, which featured an increasingly large bureaucracy to administer the mixture of
centralized and decentralized authorities. The Tokugawa became more powerful during their first century of rule: land redistribution gave them nearly seven million ''koku'', control of the most important cities, and a land assessment system reaping great revenues.
The feudal hierarchy was completed by the various classes of ''daimyo''. Closest to the Tokugawa house were the ''
shinpan'', or "related houses". They were twenty-three ''daimyo'' on the borders of Tokugawa lands, all directly related to Ieyasu. The shinpan held mostly honorary titles and advisory posts in the bakufu. The second class of the hierarchy were the ''
fudai'', or "house ''daimyo''", rewarded with lands close to the Tokugawa holdings for their faithful service. By the 18th century, 145 ''fudai'' controlled much smaller ''han'', the greatest assessed at 250,000 ''koku''. Members of the ''fudai'' class staffed most of the major bakufu offices. Ninety-seven ''han'' formed the third group, the ''
tozama'' (outside vassals), former opponents or new allies. The ''tozama'' were located mostly on the peripheries of the archipelago and collectively controlled nearly ten million ''koku'' of productive land. Because the ''tozama'' were least trusted of the ''daimyo'', they were the most cautiously managed and generously treated, although they were excluded from central
government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is ...
positions.
The Tokugawa shogunate not only consolidated their control over a reunified Japan, they also had unprecedented power over the
emperor
An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...
, the court, all ''daimyo'' and the religious orders. The emperor was held up as the ultimate source of political sanction for the ''shōgun'', who ostensibly was the vassal of the imperial family. The Tokugawa helped the imperial family recapture its old glory by rebuilding its palaces and granting it new lands. To ensure a close tie between the imperial clan and the Tokugawa family, Ieyasu's granddaughter was made an imperial consort in 1619.
A code of laws was established to regulate the ''daimyo'' houses. The code encompassed private conduct, marriage, dress, types of weapons and numbers of troops allowed; required feudal lords to reside in Edo every other year (the ''
sankin-kōtai
''Sankin-kōtai'' ( ja, 参覲交代/参覲交替, now commonly written as ja, 参勤交代/参勤交替, lit=alternate attendance, label=none) was a policy of the Tokugawa shogunate during most of the Edo period of Japanese history.Jansen, M ...
'' system); prohibited the construction of ocean-going ships; proscribed Christianity; restricted castles to one per domain (''han'') and stipulated that bakufu regulations were the national law. Although the ''daimyo'' were not taxed per se, they were regularly levied for contributions for
military
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...
and logistical support and for such public works projects as castles, roads, bridges and palaces. The various regulations and levies not only strengthened the Tokugawa but also depleted the wealth of the ''daimyo'', thus weakening their threat to the central administration. The ''han'', once military-centered domains, became mere local
administrative
Administration may refer to:
Management of organizations
* Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal
** Administrative Assistant, traditionally known as a Secretary, or also known as an administrative officer, administ ...
units. The ''daimyo'' did have full administrative control over their territory and their complex systems of retainers,
bureaucrat
A bureaucrat is a member of a bureaucracy and can compose the administration of any organization of any size, although the term usually connotes someone within an institution of government.
The term ''bureaucrat'' derives from "bureaucracy", w ...
s and commoners. Loyalty was exacted from religious foundations, already greatly weakened by Nobunaga and Hideyoshi, through a variety of control mechanisms.
Foreign trade relations
![HasekuraWithShipDetail](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/88/HasekuraWithShipDetail.jpg)
Like Hideyoshi, Ieyasu encouraged foreign trade but also was suspicious of outsiders. He wanted to make Edo a major port, but once he learned that the Europeans favored ports in
Kyūshū and that China had rejected his plans for official trade, he moved to control existing trade and allowed only certain ports to handle specific kinds of commodities.
![Nagasaki Harbour (c1833-6), by Kawahara Keiga](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f8/Nagasaki_Harbour_%28c1833-6%29%2C_by_Kawahara_Keiga.jpg)
The beginning of the Edo period coincides with the last decades of the
Nanban trade period during which intense interaction with European powers, on the economic and religious plane, took place. It is at the beginning of the Edo period that Japan built its first ocean-going
warships
A warship or combatant ship is a naval ship that is built and primarily intended for naval warfare. Usually they belong to the armed forces of a state. As well as being armed, warships are designed to withstand damage and are usually faster an ...
, such as the
''San Juan Bautista'', a 500-
ton
Ton is the name of any one of several units of measure. It has a long history and has acquired several meanings and uses.
Mainly it describes units of weight. Confusion can arise because ''ton'' can mean
* the long ton, which is 2,240 pounds
...
galleon
Galleons were large, multi-decked sailing ships first used as armed cargo carriers by European states from the 16th to 18th centuries during the age of sail and were the principal vessels drafted for use as warships until the Anglo-Dutch W ...
-type ship that transported a Japanese embassy headed by
Hasekura Tsunenaga
was a kirishitan Japanese samurai and retainer of Date Masamune, the daimyō of Sendai. He was of Japanese imperial descent with ancestral ties to Emperor Kanmu. Other names include Philip Francis Faxicura, Felipe Francisco Faxicura, and Phi ...
to the Americas and then to Europe. Also during that period, the ''bakufu'' commissioned around 720
Red Seal Ships
were Japanese armed merchant sailing ships bound for Southeast Asian ports with red-sealed letters patent issued by the early Tokugawa shogunate in the first half of the 17th century. Between 1600 and 1635, more than 350 Japanese ships went ...
, three-masted and armed trade ships, for intra-Asian commerce. Japanese adventurers, such as
Yamada Nagamasa
was a Japanese adventurer who gained considerable influence in the Ayutthaya Kingdom at the beginning of the 17th century and became the governor of Nakhon Si Thammarat province, which is on the Malay Peninsula in present-day Southern Thailand. ...
, used those ships throughout Asia.
![Hasekura Travels](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/61/Hasekura_Travels.jpg)
The "Christian problem" was, in effect, a problem of controlling both the Christian ''daimyo'' in Kyūshū and their trade with the
Europeans. By 1612, the ''shōgun''s retainers and residents of Tokugawa lands had been ordered to forswear Christianity. More restrictions came in 1616 (the restriction of foreign trade to Nagasaki and Hirado, an island northwest of Kyūshū), 1622 (the execution of 120 missionaries and converts), 1624 (the expulsion of the Spanish), and 1629 (the execution of thousands of Christians). Finally, the
Closed Country Edict of 1635 prohibited any Japanese from traveling outside Japan or, if someone left, from ever returning. In 1636, the Dutch were restricted to
Dejima
, in the 17th century also called Tsukishima ( 築島, "built island"), was an artificial island off Nagasaki, Japan that served as a trading post for the Portuguese (1570–1639) and subsequently the Dutch (1641–1854). For 220 years, i ...
, a small
artificial island
An artificial island is an island that has been constructed by people rather than formed by natural means. Artificial islands may vary in size from small islets reclaimed solely to support a single pillar of a building or structure to those th ...
—and thus, not true Japanese soil—in Nagasaki's harbor.
The shogunate perceived Christianity to be an extremely destabilizing factor, and so decided to target it. The
Shimabara Rebellion of 1637–1638, in which discontented Catholic samurai and peasants rebelled against the bakufu—and Edo called in Dutch ships to bombard the rebel stronghold—marked the end of the Christian movement. During the Shimabara Rebellion an estimated 37,000 people (mostly Christians) were massacred.
In 50 years, the Tokugawa shoguns reduced the amount of Christians to near zero in Japan.
However, some Christians survived by going underground, the so-called
Kakure Kirishitan. Soon thereafter, the Portuguese were permanently expelled, members of the Portuguese diplomatic mission were executed, all subjects were ordered to register at a Buddhist or Shinto temple, and the Dutch and Chinese were restricted, respectively, to Dejima and to a special quarter in
Nagasaki
is the capital and the largest Cities of Japan, city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan.
It became the sole Nanban trade, port used for trade with the Portuguese and Dutch during the 16th through 19th centuries. The Hi ...
. Besides small trade of some outer ''daimyo'' with
Korea
Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...
and the
Ryukyu Islands
The , also known as the or the , are a chain of Japanese islands that stretch southwest from Kyushu to Taiwan: the Ōsumi, Tokara, Amami, Okinawa, and Sakishima Islands (further divided into the Miyako and Yaeyama Islands), with Yona ...
, to the southwest of Japan's main islands, by 1641, foreign contacts were limited by the policy of ''
sakoku'' to Nagasaki.
The last Jesuit was either killed or reconverted by 1644 and by the 1660s, Christianity was almost completely eradicated, and its external political, economic, and religious influence on Japan became quite limited. Only China, the
Dutch East India Company
The United East India Company ( nl, Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, the VOC) was a chartered company established on the 20th March 1602 by the States General of the Netherlands amalgamating existing companies into the first joint-stock ...
, and for a short period, the English, enjoyed the right to visit Japan during this period, for commercial purposes only, and they were restricted to the
Dejima
, in the 17th century also called Tsukishima ( 築島, "built island"), was an artificial island off Nagasaki, Japan that served as a trading post for the Portuguese (1570–1639) and subsequently the Dutch (1641–1854). For 220 years, i ...
port in Nagasaki. Other Europeans who landed on Japanese shores were put to death without trial.
Society
![Edo social structure](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/05/Edo_social_structure.svg)
During the Tokugawa period, the social order, based on inherited position rather than personal merits, was rigid and highly formalized. At the top were the emperor and court nobles (''
kuge''), together with the ''shōgun'' and ''daimyo''. Below them the population was divided into
four classes in a system known as ''mibunsei'' (身分制): the samurai on top (about 5% of the population) and the peasants (more than 80% of the population) on the second level. Below the peasants were the craftsmen, and even below them, on the fourth level, were the merchants. Only the peasants lived in the rural areas. Samurai, craftsmen and merchants lived in the
cities
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
that were built around ''daimyo''
castles
A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified ...
, each restricted to their own quarter. Edo society had an elaborate social structure, in which every family knew its place and level of prestige.
At the top were the Emperor and the court nobility, invincible in prestige but weak in power. Next came the shōgun, ''daimyo'' and layers of feudal lords whose rank was indicated by their closeness to the Tokugawa. They had power. The ''daimyo'' comprised about 250 local lords of local "han" with annual outputs of 50,000 or more bushels of rice. The upper strata was much given to elaborate and expensive rituals, including elegant architecture, landscaped gardens, Noh drama, patronage of the arts, and the tea ceremony.
Then came the 400,000 warriors, called "samurai", in numerous grades and degrees. A few upper samurai were eligible for high office; most were foot soldiers. Since there was very little fighting, they became civil servants paid by the daimyo, with minor duties. The samurai were affiliated with senior lords in a well-established chain of command. The shogun had 17,000 samurai retainers; the daimyo each had hundreds. Most lived in modest homes near their lord's headquarters, and lived off of hereditary rights and stipends. Together these high status groups comprised Japan's ruling class making up about 6% of the total population.
After a long period of inner conflict, the first goal of the newly established Tokugawa government was to pacify the country. It created a balance of power that remained (fairly) stable for the next 250 years, influenced by
Confucian
Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, a way of governing, or ...
principles of
social order
The term social order can be used in two senses: In the first sense, it refers to a particular system of social structures and institutions. Examples are the ancient, the feudal, and the capitalist social order. In the second sense, social order ...
. Most samurai lost their direct possession of the land: the ''daimyo'' took over their land. The samurai had a choice: give up their sword and become peasants, or move to the city of their feudal lord and become a paid retainer. Only a few land samurai remained in the border provinces of the north, or as direct vassals of the ''shōgun'', the 5,000 so-called ''
hatamoto
A was a high ranking samurai in the direct service of the Tokugawa shogunate of feudal Japan. While all three of the shogunates in Japanese history had official retainers, in the two preceding ones, they were referred to as '' gokenin.'' Howev ...
''. The ''daimyo'' were put under tight control of the shogunate. Their families had to reside in Edo; the ''daimyo'' themselves had to reside in Edo for one year and in their province (''han'') for the next. This system was called ''
sankin-kōtai
''Sankin-kōtai'' ( ja, 参覲交代/参覲交替, now commonly written as ja, 参勤交代/参勤交替, lit=alternate attendance, label=none) was a policy of the Tokugawa shogunate during most of the Edo period of Japanese history.Jansen, M ...
''.
Lower orders divided into two main segments—the peasants—80% of the population—whose high prestige as producers was undercut by their burden as the chief source of taxes. They were illiterate and lived in villages controlled by appointed officials who kept the peace and collected taxes.
The family was the smallest legal entity, and the maintenance of family status and privileges was of great importance at all levels of society. The individual had no separate legal rights. The 1711 ''Gotōke reijō'' was compiled from over 600 statutes promulgated between 1597 and 1696.
Outside the four classes were the so-called ''
eta
Eta (uppercase , lowercase ; grc, ἦτα ''ē̂ta'' or ell, ήτα ''ita'' ) is the seventh letter of the Greek alphabet, representing the close front unrounded vowel . Originally denoting the voiceless glottal fricative in most dialects, ...
'' and ''hinin'', those whose professions broke the taboos of Buddhism. ''Eta'' were butchers, tanners and undertakers. ''Hinin'' served as town guards, street cleaners, and executioners. Other outsiders included the beggars, entertainers, and prostitutes. The word ''eta'' literally translates to "filthy" and ''hinin'' to "non-humans", a thorough reflection of the attitude held by other classes that the ''eta'' and ''hinin'' were not even people.
''Hinin'' were only allowed inside a special quarter of the city. Other persecution of the hinin included disallowing them from wearing robes longer than knee-length and the wearing of hats.
Sometimes ''eta'' villages were not even printed on official maps. A sub-class of hinin who were born into their social class had no option of mobility to a different social class whereas the other class of hinin who had lost their previous class status could be reinstated in Japanese society.
In the 19th century the umbrella term ''burakumin'' was coined to name the ''eta'' and ''hinin'' because both classes were forced to live in separate village neighborhoods.
The ''eta'', ''hinin'' and ''burakumin'' classes were officially abolished in 1871.
However, their cultural and societal impact, including some forms of discrimination, continues into modern times.
Economic development
![Plan of edo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/51/Plan_of_edo.jpeg/1200px-Plan_of_edo.jpeg)
The Edo period passed on a vital commercial sector to be in flourishing urban centers, a relatively well-educated elite, a sophisticated government bureaucracy, productive agriculture, a closely unified nation with highly developed financial and marketing systems, and a national infrastructure of roads. Economic development during the Tokugawa period included
urbanization
Urbanization (or urbanisation) refers to the population shift from rural to urban areas, the corresponding decrease in the proportion of people living in rural areas, and the ways in which societies adapt to this change. It is predominantly t ...
, increased shipping of commodities, a significant expansion of domestic and, initially, foreign commerce, and a diffusion of trade and
handicraft
A handicraft, sometimes more precisely expressed as artisanal handicraft or handmade, is any of a wide variety of types of work where useful and decorative objects are made completely by one’s hand or by using only simple, non-automated re ...
industries. The construction trades flourished, along with banking facilities and merchant associations. Increasingly, ''han'' authorities oversaw the rising agricultural production and the spread of rural handicrafts.
Population
By the mid-18th century, Edo had a population of more than one million, likely the biggest city in the world at the time.
Osaka
is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...
and
Kyoto
Kyoto (; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin, Keihanshin metropolitan area along wi ...
each had more than 400,000 inhabitants. Many other
castle town
A castle town is a settlement built adjacent to or surrounding a castle. Castle towns were common in Medieval Europe. Some examples include small towns like Alnwick and Arundel, which are still dominated by their castles. In Western Europe, a ...
s grew as well. Osaka and Kyoto became busy trading and handicraft production centers, while Edo was the center for the supply of food and essential urban consumer goods. Around the year 1700, Japan was perhaps the most urbanized country in the world, at a rate of around 10–12%.
Half of that figure would be samurai, while the other half, consisting of merchants and artisans, would be known as ''chōnin''.
In the first part of the Edo period, Japan experienced rapid demographic growth, before leveling off at around 30 million.
[Hanley, S. B. (1968). Population trends and economic development in Tokugawa Japan: the case of Bizen province in Okayama. ''Daedalus'', 622-635.] Between the 1720s and 1820s, Japan had almost
zero population growth
Zero population growth, sometimes abbreviated ZPG, is a condition of demographic balance where the number of people in a specified population neither grows nor declines; that is, the number of births plus in-migrants equals the number of death ...
, often attributed to lower birth rates in response to widespread famine (
Great Tenmei famine
The Great Tenmei famine (天明の大飢饉, ''Tenmei no daikikin'') was a famine which affected Japan during the Edo period. It is considered to have begun in 1782, and lasted until 1788. It was named after the Tenmei era (1781–1789), during th ...
1782-1788), but some historians have presented different theories, such as a high rate of infanticide artificially controlling population. At around 1721, the population of Japan was close to 30 million and the figure was only around 32 million around the Meiji Restoration around 150 years later.
From 1721, there were regular national surveys of the population until the end of the Tokugawa Shogunate.
In addition, regional surveys, as well as religious records initially compiled to eradicate Christianity, also provide valuable demographic data.
Economy and financial services
![Nihonbashi-Fish-Market-Prosperity-Ukiyoe-Utagawa-Kuniyasu](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/42/Nihonbashi-Fish-Market-Prosperity-Ukiyoe-Utagawa-Kuniyasu.png)
The Tokugawa era brought peace, and that brought prosperity to a nation of 31 million, 80% of them rice farmers. Rice production increased steadily, but population remained stable. Rice paddies grew from 1.6 million
chō
is a Japanese actor and narrator from Kōnosu, Saitama. His former stage name was . He is a graduate of the Nishogakusha University Department of Literature and received training at Bungakuza's research establishment and the Seinenza Theater C ...
in 1600 to 3 million by 1720.
[One chō, or chobu, equals 2.45 acres.] Improved technology helped farmers control the all-important flow of water to their paddies. The daimyos operated several hundred castle towns, which became loci of domestic trade.
The system of ''sankin kōtai'' meant that daimyos and their families often resided in Edo or travelled back to their domains, giving demand to an enormous consumer market in Edo and trade throughout the country.
Samurai and daimyos, after prolonged peace, are accustomed to more elaborate lifestyles.
To keep up with growing expenditures, the ''bakufu'' and daimyos often encouraged commercial crops and artifacts within their domains, from textiles to tea.
The concentration of wealth also led to the development of financial markets.
As the shogunate only allowed ''daimyos'' to sell surplus rice in Edo and Osaka, large-scale rice markets developed there.
Each daimyo also had a capital city, located near the one castle they were allowed to maintain.
Daimyos would have agents in various commercial centers, selling rice and cash crops, often exchanged for paper credit to be redeemed elsewhere.
Merchants invented credit instruments to transfer money, and currency came into common use. In the cities and towns, guilds of merchants and artisans met the growing demand for goods and services.
![Keicho gold coinage Oban Koban Ichibuban 1601 1695](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/85/Keicho_gold_coinage_Oban_Koban_Ichibuban_1601_1695.jpg)
The merchants benefited enormously, especially those with official patronage. However, the
Neo-Confucian ideology of the shogunate focused the virtues of frugality and hard work; it had a rigid class system, which emphasized agriculture and despised commerce and merchants.
A century after the Shogunate's establishment, problems began to emerge.
The samurai, forbidden to engage in farming or business but allowed to borrow money, borrowed too much, some taking up side jobs as bodyguards for merchants, debt collectors, or artisans.
The ''bakufu'' and ''daimyos'' raised taxes on farmers, but did not tax business, so they too fell into debt, with some merchants specializing in loaning to daimyos.
Yet it was inconceivable to systematically tax commerce, as it would make money off "parasitic" activities, raise the prestige of merchants, and lower the status of government.
As they paid no regular taxes, the forced financial contributions to the daimyos were seen by some merchants as a cost of doing business.
The wealth of merchants gave them a degree of prestige and even power over the daimyos.
By 1750, rising taxes incited peasant unrest and even revolt. The nation had to deal somehow with samurai impoverishment and treasury deficits. The financial troubles of the samurai undermined their loyalties to the system, and the empty treasury threatened the whole system of government. One solution was reactionary—cutting samurai salaries and prohibiting spending for luxuries.
Other solutions were modernizing, with the goal of increasing agrarian productivity.
The eighth Tokugawa shogun,
Yoshimune (in office 1716–1745) had considerable success, though much of his work had to be done again between 1787 and 1793 by the shogun's chief councilor
Matsudaira Sadanobu
was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the mid-Edo period, famous for his financial reforms which saved the Shirakawa Domain, and the similar reforms he undertook during his tenure as chief of the Tokugawa shogunate, from 1787 to 1793.
Early life
Mat ...
(1759–1829).
Other shoguns debased the coinage to pay debts, which caused inflation.
Overall, while commerce (domestic and international) was vibrant and sophisticated financial services had developed in the Edo period, the shogunate remained ideologically focused on honest agricultural work as the basis of society and never sought to develop a mercantile or capitalistic country.
By 1800, the commercialization of the economy grew rapidly, bringing more and more remote villages into the national economy. Rich farmers appeared who switched from rice to high-profit commercial crops and engaged in local money-lending, trade, and small-scale manufacturing. Wealthy merchants were often forced to "lend" money to the shogunate or daimyos (often never returned).
They often had to hide their wealth, and some sought higher social status by using money to marry into the samurai class.
There is some evidence that as merchants gained greater political influence in the late Edo period, the rigid
class division
Class or The Class may refer to:
Common uses not otherwise categorized
* Class (biology), a taxonomic rank
* Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects
* Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used differently ...
between samurai and merchants began to break down.
A few domains, notably Chōsū and Satsuma, used innovative methods to restore their finances, but most sunk further into debt. The financial crisis provoked a reactionary solution near the end of the "Tempo era" (1830-1843) promulgated by the chief counselor Mizuno Tadakuni. He raised taxes, denounced luxuries and tried to impede the growth of business; he failed and it appeared to many that the continued existence of the entire Tokugawa system was in jeopardy.
Agriculture
Rice
Rice is the seed of the grass species '' Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera '' Zizania'' and '' Porteresia'', both wild and domesticat ...
was the base of the economy. About 80% of the people were rice farmers. Rice production increased steadily, but population remained stable, so prosperity increased. Rice paddies grew from 1.6 million chō in 1600 to 3 million by 1720.
Improved technology helped farmers control the all-important flow of irrigation to their paddies. The ''daimyo'' operated several hundred castle towns, which became loci of domestic trade.
Large-scale rice markets developed, centered on Edo and Ōsaka. In the cities and towns, guilds of merchants and artisans met the growing demand for goods and services. The merchants, while low in status, prospered, especially those with official patronage.
Merchants invented credit instruments to transfer money, currency came into common use, and the strengthening credit market encouraged entrepreneurship. The ''daimyo'' collected the taxes from the peasants in the form of rice. Taxes were high, often at around 40%-50% of the harvest.
The rice was sold at the ''
fudasashi
Rice brokers, which rose to power and significance in Osaka and Edo in the Edo period (1603-1867) of Japanese history, were the forerunners to Japan's banking system. The concept actually originally arose in Kyoto several hundred years earlier; ...
'' market in Edo. To raise money, the ''daimyo'' used
forward contract
In finance, a forward contract or simply a forward is a non-standardized contract between two parties to buy or sell an asset at a specified future time at a price agreed on at the time of conclusion of the contract, making it a type of derivat ...
s to sell rice that was not even harvested yet. These contracts were similar to modern
futures trading.
It was during the Edo period that Japan developed an advanced
forest management Forest management is a branch of forestry concerned with overall administrative, legal, economic, and social aspects, as well as scientific and technical aspects, such as silviculture, protection, and forest regulation. This includes management fo ...
policy. Increased demand for timber resources for construction, shipbuilding and fuel had led to widespread deforestation, which resulted in forest fires, floods and soil erosion. In response the ''shōgun'', beginning around 1666, instituted a policy to reduce logging and increase the planting of trees. The policy mandated that only the ''shōgun'' and ''daimyo'' could authorize the use of wood. By the 18th century, Japan had developed detailed scientific knowledge about
silviculture
Silviculture is the practice of controlling the growth, composition/structure, and quality of forests to meet values and needs, specifically timber production.
The name comes from the Latin ('forest') and ('growing'). The study of forests and wo ...
and plantation
forestry
Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. ...
.
Artistic and intellectual development
Education
![Bungaku-Bandai_no-Takara-Terakoya-School-by-Issunshi-Hanasato](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ce/Bungaku-Bandai_no-Takara-Terakoya-School-by-Issunshi-Hanasato.png)
The first shogun Ieyasu set up Confucian academies in his ''
shinpan'' domains and other ''daimyos'' followed suit in their own domains, establishing what's known as
''han'' schools (藩校, ''hankō'').
[Hane, Mikiso. ''Premodern Japan: A historical survey''. Routledge, 2018.] Within a generation, almost all samurai were literate, as their careers often required knowledge of literary arts.
These academies were staffed mostly with other samurai, along with some buddhist and shinto clergymen who were also learned in Neo-Confucianism and the works of
Zhu Xi
Zhu Xi (; ; October 18, 1130 – April 23, 1200), formerly romanized Chu Hsi, was a Chinese calligrapher, historian, philosopher, poet, and politician during the Song dynasty. Zhu was influential in the development of Neo-Confucianism. He con ...
.
Beyond
kanji
are the logographic Chinese characters taken from the Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script and used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese ...
(Chinese characters), the Confucian classics, calligraphy, basic arithmetics, and etiquette,
the samurai also learned various martial arts and military skills in schools.
The ''
chōnin'' (urban merchants and artisans) patronized neighborhood schools called ''
terakoya
were private educational institutions that taught reading and writing to the children of Japanese commoners during the Edo period.
History
The first ''terakoya'' made their appearance at the beginning of the 17th century, as a development from ...
'' (寺子屋, "temple schools").
Despite being located in temples, the ''terakoya'' curriculum consisted of basic literacy and arithmetic, instead of literary arts or philosophy.
High rates of urban literacy in Edo contributed to the prevalence of novels and other literary forms.
In urban areas, children are often taught by masterless samurai, while in rural areas priests from Buddhist temples or Shinto shrines often did the teaching.
Unlike in the cities, in rural Japan, only children of prominent farmers would receive education.
In Edo, the shogunate set up several schools under its direct patronage, the most important being the neo-Confucian acting as a de facto elite school for its bureaucracy but also creating a network of alumni from the whole country. Besides Shoheikō, other important directly-run schools at the end of the shogunate included the , specialized in Japanese domestic history and literature, influencing the rise of
kokugaku
''Kokugaku'' ( ja, 國學, label= Kyūjitai, ja, 国学, label=Shinjitai; literally "national study") was an academic movement, a school of Japanese philology and philosophy originating during the Tokugawa period. Kokugaku scholars worked to r ...
, and the , focusing on Chinese medicine.
One estimate of literacy in Edo suggest that up to a third of males could read, along with a sixth of women.
Another estimate states that 40% of men and 10% of women by the end of the Edo period were literate. According to another estimate, around 1800, almost 100% of the samurai class and about 50% to 60% of the ''
chōnin'' (craftsmen and merchants) class and ''nōmin'' (peasants) class were literate.
Some historians partially credited Japan's relatively high literacy rates for its fast development after the Meiji Restoration.
As the literacy rate was so high that many ordinary people could read books, books in various genres such as cooking, gardening, travel guides, art books, scripts of ''
bunraku
(also known as ) is a form of traditional Japanese puppet theatre, founded in Osaka in the beginning of the 17th century, which is still performed in the modern day. Three kinds of performers take part in a performance: the or (puppeteers ...
'' (puppet theatre), ''
kibyōshi
is a genre of produced during the middle of the Edo period (1603–1867), from 1775 to the early 19th century. Physically identifiable by their yellow-backed covers, were typically printed in 10 page volumes, many spanning two to three volumes ...
'' (satirical novels), ''
sharebon
which can be roughly translated as "book of manners", was a pre-modern Japanese literary genre, produced during the middle of the Edo period from the 1720's all the way to the end of the 18th century. Plots almost invariably took place in the Yos ...
'' (books on urban culture), ''
kokkeibon
The was a genre and type of early modern Japanese novel. It came into being late in the Edo period during the 19th century. As a genre, it depicted the comical behavior occurring in commoners' daily lives.
The ''kokkeibon'' genre is the successo ...
'' (comical books), ''
ninjōbon'' (romance novel), ''
yomihon
is a type of Japanese book from the Edo period (1603–1867). Unlike other Japanese books of the periods, such as kusazōshi, they had few illustrations, and the emphasis was on the text. In storylines, Buddhist ethics such as karma are often pre ...
'' and ''
kusazōshi
is a term that covers various genres of popular woodblock-printed illustrated literature during the Japanese Edo period (1600–1868) and early Meiji period. These works were published in the city of Edo (modern Tokyo).
In its widest sense, the ...
'' were published. There were 600 to 800 rental bookstores in Edo, and people borrowed or bought these
woodblock print
Woodblock printing or block printing is a technique for printing text, images or patterns used widely throughout East Asia and originating in China in antiquity as a method of printing on textiles and later paper. Each page or image is create ...
books. The best-selling books in this period were ''Kōshoku Ichidai Otoko'' (''Life of an Amorous Man'') by
Ihara Saikaku
was a Japanese poet and creator of the " floating world" genre of Japanese prose (''ukiyo-zōshi'').
Born as Hirayama Tōgo (平山藤五), the son of a wealthy merchant in Osaka, he first studied haikai poetry under Matsunaga Teitoku and later ...
, ''
Nansō Satomi Hakkenden
''Nansō Satomi Hakkenden'' ( ja, 南総里見八犬伝, label=shinjitai; ja, 南總里見八犬傳, label=kyūjitai) is a Japanese epic novel (''yomihon'') written and published over twenty-eight years (1814–42) in the Edo period, by Kyokute ...
'' by
Takizawa Bakin
(), a.k.a. (, 4 July 1767 – 1 December 1848), was a Japanese novelist of the Edo period. Born (), he wrote under the pen name (). Later in life he took the pen name (). Modern scholarship generally refers to him as , or just as n. He is ...
and ''
Tōkaidōchū Hizakurige
, abbreviated as ''Hizakurige'' and known in translation as ''Shank's Mare'', is a comic picaresque novel ( kokkeibon) written by Jippensha Ikku (十返舎一九, 1765–1831) about the misadventures of two travelers on the Tōkaidō, the main ...
'' by
Jippensha Ikku
was the pen name of Shigeta Sadakazu (重田 貞一), a Japanese writer active during the late Edo period of Japan. He was among the most prolific writers of the late Edo period — between 1795 and 1801 he wrote a minimum of twenty novels ...
and these books were reprinted many times.
[Edo Picture Books and the Edo Period.](_blank)
National Diet Library.[''第6回 和本の楽しみ方4 江戸の草紙'' p.3.](_blank)
Konosuke Hashiguchi. (2013) Seikei University.
Philosophy and religion
The flourishing of Neo-Confucianism was the major intellectual development of the Tokugawa period.
Confucian studies had long been kept active in Japan by
Buddhist
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
clerics, but during the Tokugawa period, Confucianism emerged from Buddhist religious control. This system of thought increased attention to a secular view of man and society. The ethical
humanism
Humanism is a philosophy, philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and Agency (philosophy), agency of Human, human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical in ...
,
rationalism
In philosophy, rationalism is the epistemological view that "regards reason as the chief source and test of knowledge" or "any view appealing to reason as a source of knowledge or justification".Lacey, A.R. (1996), ''A Dictionary of Philosophy ...
, and historical perspective of neo-Confucian doctrine appealed to the official class. By the mid-17th century, neo-Confucianism was Japan's dominant legal philosophy and contributed directly to the development of the ''
kokugaku
''Kokugaku'' ( ja, 國學, label= Kyūjitai, ja, 国学, label=Shinjitai; literally "national study") was an academic movement, a school of Japanese philology and philosophy originating during the Tokugawa period. Kokugaku scholars worked to r ...
'' (national learning) school of thought.
![文字書き人形](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/45/%E6%96%87%E5%AD%97%E6%9B%B8%E3%81%8D%E4%BA%BA%E5%BD%A2.jpg)
Advanced studies and growing applications of neo-Confucianism contributed to the transition of the social and political order from feudal norms to class- and large-group-oriented practices. The rule of the people or Confucian man was gradually replaced by the
rule of law. New laws were developed, and new administrative devices were instituted. A new theory of government and a new vision of society emerged as a means of justifying more comprehensive governance by the bakufu. Each person had a distinct place in society and was expected to work to fulfill his or her mission in life. The people were to be ruled with benevolence by those whose assigned duty it was to rule. Government was all-powerful but responsible and humane. Although the class system was influenced by neo-Confucianism, it was not identical to it. Whereas soldiers and clergy were at the bottom of the hierarchy in the Chinese model, in Japan, some members of these classes constituted the ruling elite.
Members of the samurai class adhered to bushi traditions with a renewed interest in Japanese history and cultivation of the ways of Confucian scholar-administrators. A distinct culture known as ''
chōnindō'' ("the way of the townspeople") emerged in cities such as Osaka, Kyoto, and Edo. It encouraged aspiration to bushido qualities—diligence, honesty, honor, loyalty, and frugality—while blending
Shinto
Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shintois ...
, neo-Confucian, and Buddhist beliefs. Study of mathematics, astronomy, cartography, engineering, and medicine were also encouraged. Emphasis was placed on quality of workmanship, especially in the arts.
![First Japanese treatise on Western anatomy](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/85/First_Japanese_treatise_on_Western_anatomy.jpg)
Buddhism and Shinto were both still important in Tokugawa Japan. Buddhism, together with neo-Confucianism, provided standards of social behavior. Although Buddhism was not as politically powerful as it had been in the past, Buddhism continued to be espoused by the upper classes. Proscriptions against Christianity benefited Buddhism in 1640 when the bakufu ordered everyone to register at a temple. The rigid separation of Tokugawa society into han, villages, wards, and households helped reaffirm local Shinto attachments. Shinto provided spiritual support to the political order and was an important tie between the individual and the community. Shinto also helped preserve a sense of national identity.
Shinto eventually assumed an intellectual form as shaped by neo-Confucian rationalism and materialism. The kokugaku movement emerged from the interactions of these two belief systems. Kokugaku contributed to the emperor-centered nationalism of modern Japan and the revival of Shinto as a national creed in the 18th and 19th centuries. The
Kojiki,
Nihon Shoki, and
Man'yōshū were all studied anew in the search for the Japanese spirit. Some purists in the kokugaku movement, such as
Motoori Norinaga
was a Japanese scholar of ''Kokugaku'' active during the Edo period. He is conventionally ranked as one of the Four Great Men of Kokugaku (nativist) studies.
Life
Norinaga was born in what is now Matsusaka in Ise Province (now part of Mie ...
, even criticized the Confucian and Buddhist influences—in effect, foreign influences—for contaminating Japan's ancient ways. Japan was the land of the
kami
are the deities, divinities, spirits, phenomena or "holy powers", that are venerated in the Shinto religion. They can be elements of the landscape, forces of nature, or beings and the qualities that these beings express; they can also be the sp ...
and, as such, had a special destiny.
During the period, Japan studied Western sciences and techniques (called ''
rangaku
''Rangaku'' (Kyūjitai: /Shinjitai: , literally "Dutch learning", and by extension "Western learning") is a body of knowledge developed by Japan through its contacts with the Dutch enclave of Dejima, which allowed Japan to keep abreast of West ...
'', "Dutch studies") through the information and books received through the Dutch traders in Dejima. The main areas that were studied included geography, medicine, natural sciences, astronomy, art, languages, physical sciences such as the study of electrical phenomena, and mechanical sciences as exemplified by the development of Japanese clockwatches, or
wadokei
A is a mechanical clock that has been made to tell traditional Japanese time, a system in which daytime and nighttime are always divided into six periods whose lengths consequently change with the season. Mechanical clocks were introduced into ...
, inspired by Western techniques. Among those who studied mechanical science at that time,
Tanaka Hisashige
was a Japanese rangaku scholar, engineer and inventor during the Bakumatsu and early Meiji period in Japan. In 1875, he founded what became the Toshiba Corporation. He has been called the "Thomas Edison of Japan" or "Karakuri Giemon."
Biograp ...
, the founder of
Toshiba
, commonly known as Toshiba and stylized as TOSHIBA, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Its diversified products and services include power, industrial and social infrastructure systems, ...
, is worthy of special mention. Because of the technical originality and sophistication of his
Myriad year clock
The , was a universal clock designed by the Japanese inventor Hisashige Tanaka in 1851. It belongs to the category of Japanese clocks called ''Wadokei''. This clock is designated as an Important Cultural Property and a Mechanical Engineering ...
and
''karakuri'' puppet, they are difficult to restore even today, and are considered to be a highly mechanical heritage prior to Japan's modernization.
Art, culture and entertainment
![Red and White Plum Blossoms](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4f/Red_and_White_Plum_Blossoms.jpg)
In the field of art, the
Rinpa school
is one of the major historical schools of Japanese painting. It was created in 17th century Kyoto by Hon'ami Kōetsu (1558–1637) and Tawaraya Sōtatsu (d. c.1643). Roughly fifty years later, the style was consolidated by brothers Ogata Kōrin ...
became popular. The paintings and crafts of the Rinpa school are characterized by highly decorative and showy designs using
gold and silver leaves, bold compositions with simplified objects to be drawn, repeated patterns, and a playful spirit. Important figures in the Rinpa school include
Hon'ami Kōetsu,
Tawaraya Sōtatsu
was a Japanese furniture designer and painter of the Rinpa school.
Sōtatsu is best known for his decorations of calligraphic works by his partner Hon'ami Kōetsu (1558–1637), and his spectacular and highly influential ''byōbu'' folding s ...
,
Ogata Kōrin
Ogata Kōrin ( ja, 尾形光琳; 1658 – June 2, 1716) was a Japanese landscape illustrator, lacquerer, painter, and textile designer of the Rinpa School.
Kōrin is best known for his ''byōbu'' folding screens, such as '' Irises'' and ' ...
,
Sakai Hōitsu and
Suzuki Kiitsu. Other than the Rinpa school,
Maruyama Ōkyo
, born Maruyama Masataka, was a Japanese artist active in the late 18th century. He moved to Kyoto, during which he studied artworks from Chinese, Japanese and Western sources. A personal style of Western naturalism mixed with Eastern deco ...
and
Itō Jakuchū are famous for their realistic painting techniques. They produced their works under the patronage of wealthy merchants newly emerging from the economic development of this period. Following the
Azuchi-Momoyama period, the painters of the
Kano school drew pictures on the walls and
fusuma
In Japanese architecture, are vertical rectangular panels which can slide from side to side to redefine spaces within a room, or act as doors. They typically measure about wide by tall, the same size as a ''tatami'' mat, and are thick. The ...
s of
castles
A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified ...
and temples with the support of powerful people.
![Blade and Mounting for a Short Sword (Wakizashi)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4b/Blade_and_Mounting_for_a_Short_Sword_%28Wakizashi%29.jpg)
Due to the end of the period of civil war and the development of the economy, many crafts with high artistic value were produced. Among the samurai class, arms came to be treated like works of art, and
Japanese sword mountings
Japanese sword mountings are the various housings and associated fittings ('' tosogu'') that hold the blade of a Japanese sword when it is being worn or stored. refers to the ornate mountings of a Japanese sword (e.g. ''katana'') used when the ...
and
Japanese armour
Scholars agree that Japanese armour first appeared in the 4th century, with the discovery of the cuirass and basic helmets in graves. During the ''Heian period'' (794-1185), the unique Japanese samurai armour '' ō-yoroi'' and ''dō-maru'' appe ...
beautifully decorated with
lacquer of ''
maki-e
is a Japanese lacquer decoration technique in which pictures, patterns, and letters are drawn with lacquer on the surface of lacquerware, and then metal powder such as gold or silver is sprinkled and fixed on the surface of the lacquerware. The ...
'' technique and metal carvings became popular. Each ''
han
Han may refer to:
Ethnic groups
* Han Chinese, or Han People (): the name for the largest ethnic group in China, which also constitutes the world's largest ethnic group.
** Han Taiwanese (): the name for the ethnic group of the Taiwanese p ...
'' (
daimyo domain) encouraged the production of crafts to improve their finances, and crafts such as furnishings and ''
inro
An is a traditional Japanese case for holding small objects, suspended from the (sash) worn around the waist when wearing a kimono. They are often highly decorated with various materials such as lacquer and various techniques such as , and are ...
'' beautifully decorated with lacquer, metal or ivory became popular among rich people. The
Kaga Domain, which was ruled by the
Maeda clan
was a Japanese samurai clan who occupied most of the Hokuriku region of central Honshū from the end of the Sengoku period through the Meiji restoration of 1868. The Maeda claimed descent from the Sugawara clan of Sugawara no Kiyotomo and Sugaw ...
, was especially enthusiastic about promoting crafts, and the area still boasts a reputation that surpasses
Kyoto
Kyoto (; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin, Keihanshin metropolitan area along wi ...
in crafts even today.
[Masayuki Murata. ''明治工芸入門'' p.104. p.120. Me no Me, 2017 ]
For the first time, urban populations had the means and leisure time to support a new mass culture. Their search for enjoyment became known as ''
ukiyo
is the Japanese term used to describe the urban lifestyle and culture, especially the pleasure-seeking aspects, of Edo period Japan (1600–1867). culture developed in Yoshiwara, the licensed red-light district of Edo (modern-day Tokyo), ...
'' (the floating world), an ideal world of fashion, popular entertainment, and the discovery of aesthetic qualities in objects and actions of everyday life. This increasing interest in pursuing recreational activities helped to develop an array of new industries, many of which could be found in an area known as
Yoshiwara
was a famous (red-light district) in Edo, present-day Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1617, Yoshiwara was one of three licensed and well-known red-light districts created during the early 17th century by the Tokugawa shogunate, alongside Shimab ...
. The district was known for being the center of Edo's developing sense of elegance and refinement. Established in 1617 as the city's shogunate-sanctioned prostitution district, it kept this designation about 250 years. Yoshiwara was home to mostly women who, due to unfortunate circumstances, found themselves working in this secluded environment.
Professional female entertainers (''
geisha
{{Culture of Japan, Traditions, Geisha
{{nihongo, Geisha, 芸者 ({{IPAc-en, ˈ, ɡ, eɪ, ʃ, ə; {{IPA-ja, ɡeːɕa, lang), also known as {{nihongo, , 芸子, geiko (in Kyoto and Kanazawa) or {{nihongo, , 芸妓, geigi, are a class of female J ...
''), music, popular stories, ''
Kabuki
is a classical form of Japanese dance- drama. Kabuki theatre is known for its heavily-stylised performances, the often-glamorous costumes worn by performers, and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers.
Kabuki is though ...
'' (theater) and ''
bunraku
(also known as ) is a form of traditional Japanese puppet theatre, founded in Osaka in the beginning of the 17th century, which is still performed in the modern day. Three kinds of performers take part in a performance: the or (puppeteers ...
'' (puppet theater), poetry, a rich literature, and art, exemplified by beautiful woodblock prints (known as ''
ukiyo-e
Ukiyo-e is a genre of Japanese art which flourished from the 17th through 19th centuries. Its artists produced woodblock prints and paintings of such subjects as female beauties; kabuki actors and sumo wrestlers; scenes from history and folk t ...
''), were all part of this flowering of culture. Literature also flourished with the talented examples of the playwright
Chikamatsu Monzaemon
was a Japanese dramatist of jōruri, the form of puppet theater that later came to be known as bunraku, and the live-actor drama, kabuki. The ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' has written that he is "widely regarded as the greatest Japanese dramatis ...
(1653–1724) and the poet, essayist, and travel writer
Matsuo Bashō (1644–1694).
![Great Wave off Kanagawa2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0d/Great_Wave_off_Kanagawa2.jpg)
Ukiyo-e is a genre of painting and printmaking that developed in the late 17th century, at first depicting the entertainments of the
pleasure districts of Edo, such as courtesans and kabuki actors.
Harunobu produced the first full-colour ''
nishiki-e
is a type of Japanese multi-coloured woodblock printing; the technique is used primarily in ukiyo-e. It was invented in the 1760s, and perfected and popularized by the printmaker Suzuki Harunobu, who produced many ''nishiki-e'' prints between 17 ...
'' prints in 1765, a form that has become synonymous to most with ukiyo-e. The genre reached a peak in technique towards the end of the century with the works of such artists as
Kiyonaga and
Utamaro
Kitagawa Utamaro ( ja, 喜多川 歌麿; – 31 October 1806) was a Japanese artist. He is one of the most highly regarded designers of ukiyo-e woodblock prints and paintings, and is best known for his '' bijin ōkubi-e'' "large-heade ...
. As the Edo period came to an end a great diversity of genres proliferated: warriors, nature, folklore, and the landscapes of
Hokusai and
Hiroshige
Utagawa Hiroshige (, also ; ja, 歌川 広重 ), born Andō Tokutarō (; 1797 – 12 October 1858), was a Japanese ''ukiyo-e'' artist, considered the last great master of that tradition.
Hiroshige is best known for his horizontal-format l ...
. The genre declined throughout the rest of the century in the face of modernization that saw ukiyo-e as both old-fashioned and laborious to produce compared to Western technologies. Ukiyo-e was a primary part of the wave of
Japonisme
''Japonisme'' is a French term that refers to the popularity and influence of Japanese art and design among a number of Western European artists in the nineteenth century following the forced reopening of foreign trade with Japan in 1858. Japo ...
that swept Western art in the late 19th century.
The Edo period was characterized by an unprecedented series of economic developments (despite termination of contact with the outside world) and cultural maturation, especially in terms of theater, music, and other entertainment. For example, a poetic meter for music called kinsei kouta-chō was invented during this time and is still used today in folk songs. Music and theater were influenced by the social gap between the noble and commoner classes, and different arts became more defined as this gap widened. Several different types of kabuki emerged. Some, such as
shibaraku
''Shibaraku'' (暫, しばらく) is a play in the Kabuki repertoire, and one of the celebrated ''Kabuki Jūhachiban'' ("Eighteen Great Plays"). The play is noted for its flamboyantly dramatic costumes and makeup (''kumadori''). {{citation need ...
, were only available at a certain time of year, while some companies only performed for nobles. Fashion trends, satirization of local news stories, and advertisements were often part of kabuki theater, as well. Along with kabuki, storytelling entertainments were popular among the common people, and people enjoyed
rakugo, a comical story, and
kōdan
is a style of traditional oral Japanese storytelling. The form evolved out of lectures on historical or literary topics given to high-ranking nobles of the Heian period, changing over the centuries to be adopted by the general samurai class and ...
, a historical story, in a dedicated theater called
yose
''Yose'' (Japanese: 寄席) is a form of spoken vaudeville theatre of Japan cultivated since the 18th century. The term also refers to the exclusive theater where ''yose'' is held.
History
The ''yose'' was a popular form of spoken theatre in ...
. The most popular sport was
sumo.
Eating out became popular due to urbanization. Particularly popular among ordinary people were
stalls serving fast food such as
soba,
sushi
is a Japanese dish of prepared , usually with some sugar and salt, accompanied by a variety of , such as seafood, often raw, and vegetables. Styles of sushi and its presentation vary widely, but the one key ingredient is "sushi rice," also ...
,
tempura
is a typical Japanese dish usually consisting of seafood, meat and vegetables that have been battered and deep fried. The dish was introduced by the Portuguese in Nagasaki through fritter-cooking techniques in the 16th century. The word ...
, and
unagi
is the Japanese word for freshwater eel, particularly the Japanese eel, . Unagi is a common ingredient in Japanese cooking, often as '' kabayaki''. It is not to be confused with saltwater eel, which is known as '' anago'' in Japanese. ...
,
tofu
Tofu (), also known as bean curd in English, is a food prepared by coagulating soy milk and then pressing the resulting curds into solid white blocks of varying softness; it can be ''silken'', ''soft'', ''firm'', ''extra firm'' or ''super f ...
restaurants, teahouses and
izakaya
An () is a type of informal Japanese bar that serves alcoholic drinks and snacks. are casual places for after-work drinking, similar to a pub, a Spanish tapas bar, or an American saloon or tavern.
Etymology
The word entered the English l ...
(Japanese-style pubs). A number of
ryotei also opened to serve high-class food. People enjoyed eating at restaurants by buying books that listed restaurant ratings that imitated sumo rankings.
Gardening were also popular pastimes for the people of the time. Especially in Edo, residences of daimyo (feudal lords) of each domain were gathered, and many gardeners existed to manage these gardens, which led to the development of horticultural techniques. Among people,
cherry blossoms
A cherry blossom, also known as Japanese cherry or sakura, is a flower of many trees of genus ''Prunus'' or ''Prunus'' subg. ''Cerasus''. They are common species in East Asia, including China, Korea and especially in Japan. They generall ...
,
morning glories
Morning glory (also written as morning-glory) is the common name for over 1,000 species of flowering plants in the family Convolvulaceae, whose current taxonomy and systematics are in flux. Morning glory species belong to many genera, some of ...
,
Japanese iris
The term "Japanese iris" encompasses three species of Irises cultivated in gardens or growing wild in Japan: ''hanashōbu'' ('' Iris ensata''), ''kakitsubata'' ('' Iris laevigata'') and ''ayame'' ('' Iris sanguinea''). Of these three species, ''I ...
es and
chrysanthemums were especially popular, and
bonsai using deep pots became popular. Not only did people buy plants and appreciate flowers, but they were also enthusiastic about improving the varieties of flowers, so specialized books were published one after another. For example, Matsudaira Sadatomo produced 300 varieties of iris and published a technical book.
Traveling became popular among people because of the improvement of roads and post towns. The main destinations were famous temples and
Shinto shrines around the country, and eating and drinking at the inns and prostitution were one of the main attractions. And what people admired most was the visit to
Ise Grand Shrine
The , located in Ise, Mie Prefecture of Japan, is a Shinto shrine dedicated to the sun goddess Amaterasu. Officially known simply as , Ise Jingū is a shrine complex composed of many Shinto shrines centered on two main shrines, and .
The Inner ...
and the summit of
Mount Fuji, which are considered the most sacred places in Japan. The Ise Grand Shrine in particular has been visited by an enormous number of visitors, and historical documents record that 3.62 million people visited the shrine in 50 days in 1625 and 1.18 million people visited it in three days in 1829 when the grand festival held every 20 years (''Shikinen Sengu'') was held. It was a once-in-a-lifetime event for people living in remote areas, so they set up a joint fund for each village, saved their travel expenses, and went on a group trip. Local residents of Ise Grand Shrine and Mount Fuji used to send specialized advertising personnel to various parts of Japan to solicit trips to local areas to make money from tourism.
File:Reading Stand with Mount Yoshino.jpg, Reading stand with Mt. Yoshino, decorated with lacquer of ''maki-e'' technique. 18th century
File:Kunimasa - taikan, The actor Ichikawa Ebizo in a shibaraku role, 1796.jpg, Ukiyo-e based on kabuki actors became popular. Ichikawa Danjūrō V in the popular kabuki play ''Shibaraku
''Shibaraku'' (暫, しばらく) is a play in the Kabuki repertoire, and one of the celebrated ''Kabuki Jūhachiban'' ("Eighteen Great Plays"). The play is noted for its flamboyantly dramatic costumes and makeup (''kumadori''). {{citation need ...
'', by Utagawa Kunimasa
was a Japanese ukiyo-e artist of the Utagawa school. He was originally from Aizu in Iwashiro Province and first worked in a dye shop after arriving in Edo (modern Tokyo). It was there that he was noticed by Utagawa Toyokuni, to whom he bec ...
, 1796
File:Hiroshige Bowl of Sushi.jpg, Ukiyo-e depicting ''Sushi'', by Hiroshige
Utagawa Hiroshige (, also ; ja, 歌川 広重 ), born Andō Tokutarō (; 1797 – 12 October 1858), was a Japanese ''ukiyo-e'' artist, considered the last great master of that tradition.
Hiroshige is best known for his horizontal-format l ...
File:Ando hirosige miyakawanowatasi.jpg, A boarding place for a ferry on the Miya River, which is crowded with people visiting Ise Grand Shrine. by Hiroshige
Fashion
![Khalili Collection Kimono 03](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/97/Khalili_Collection_Kimono_03.jpg)
Clothing acquired a wide variety of designs and decorative techniques, especially for
kimono
The is a traditional Japanese garment and the national dress of Japan. The kimono is a wrapped-front garment with square sleeves and a rectangular body, and is worn left side wrapped over right, unless the wearer is deceased. The kimono ...
worn by women. The main consumers of kimono were the samurai who used lavish clothing and other material luxuries to signal their place at the top of the social order. Driven by this
demand
In economics, demand is the quantity of a good that consumers are willing and able to purchase at various prices during a given time. The relationship between price and quantity demand is also called the demand curve. Demand for a specific item ...
, the textile industry grew and used increasingly sophisticated methods of weaving,
dyeing
Dyeing is the application of dyes or pigments on textile materials such as fibers, yarns, and fabrics with the goal of achieving color with desired color fastness. Dyeing is normally done in a special solution containing dyes and particular c ...
, and
embroidery
Embroidery is the craft of decorating fabric or other materials using a needle to apply thread or yarn. Embroidery may also incorporate other materials such as pearls, beads, quills, and sequins. In modern days, embroidery is usually seen ...
. Over this period, women adopted brighter colours and bolder designs, whereas women's and men's kimono had been very similar. The rise of a
merchant class
The bourgeoisie ( , ) is a social class, equivalent to the middle or upper middle class. They are distinguished from, and traditionally contrasted with, the proletariat by their affluence, and their great cultural and financial capital. The ...
fuelled more demand for elaborate costumes. While ordinary kimono would usually be created by women at home, luxurious silk kimono were designed and created by specialist artists who were usually men.
A kind of kimono specific to the military elite is the or "palace court style", which would be worn in the residence of a military leader (a or ). These would have landscape scenes, among which there are other motifs usually referencing classic literature. Samurai men would dress with a more understated design with geometrical designs concentrated around the waist. The , or sleeping kimono, is a thickly wadded form of wearable bedding, usually with simple designs.
A style called had rich decoration from the waist down only, and family emblems on the neck and shoulders. These would be worn by women of the merchant class. The kimono of merchant-class women were more subdued than those of the samurai, but still with bold colours and designs representing nature. Red was a popular colour for wealthy women, partly because of its cultural association with youth and passion, and partly because the dyederived from
safflower
Safflower (''Carthamus tinctorius'') is a highly branched, herbaceous, thistle-like annual plant in the family Asteraceae. It is commercially cultivated for vegetable oil extracted from the seeds and was used by the early Spanish colonies along ...
was very expensive, so a bright red garment was an ostentatious display of wealth. Indian fabrics, brought to Japan by
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
importers, were received with enthusiasm and found many uses. Japanese designers started printing designs that were influenced by the Indian patterns. Some garments used fabric imported from Britain or France. Ownership of these exotic textiles signified wealth and taste, but they were worn as undergarments where the designs would not be seen.
Inro
An is a traditional Japanese case for holding small objects, suspended from the (sash) worn around the waist when wearing a kimono. They are often highly decorated with various materials such as lacquer and various techniques such as , and are ...
and
netsuke
A is a miniature sculpture, originating in 17th century Japan. Initially a simply-carved button fastener on the cords of an box, later developed into ornately sculpted objects of craftsmanship.
History
Traditionally, Japanese clothing – ...
became popular as accessories among men. Originally, inro was a portable case to put a seal or medicine, and netsuke was a fastener attached to the case, and both were practical tools. However, from the middle of the Edo period, products with high artistic value appeared and became popular as male accessories. Especially samurai and wealthy merchants competed to buy inro of high artistic value. At the end of the Edo period, the artistic value of inro further increased and it came to be regarded as an art collection.
[Masayuki Murata. ''明治工芸入門'' pp.104-106. Me no Me, 2017 ][Yūji Yamashita. ''明治の細密工芸'' p.80-81. Heibonsha, 2014 ]
End of the shogunate
Decline of the Tokugawa
![Shinagawa Baidai cannon](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/50/Shinagawa_Baidai_cannon.jpg)
The end of this period is specifically called the
late Tokugawa shogunate
was the final years of the Edo period when the Tokugawa shogunate ended. Between 1853 and 1867, Japan ended its isolationist foreign policy known as and changed from a feudal Tokugawa shogunate to the modern empire of the Meiji government. ...
. The cause for the end of this period is controversial but is recounted as the forcing of Japan's opening to the world by
Commodore Matthew Perry
Matthew Calbraith Perry (April 10, 1794 – March 4, 1858) was a commodore of the United States Navy who commanded ships in several wars, including the War of 1812 and the Mexican–American War (1846–1848). He played a leading role in the op ...
of the
US Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
, whose
armada (known by Japanese as "
the black ships") fired weapons from
Edo Bay
is a bay located in the southern Kantō region of Japan, and spans the coasts of Tokyo, Kanagawa Prefecture, and Chiba Prefecture. Tokyo Bay is connected to the Pacific Ocean by the Uraga Channel. The Tokyo Bay region is both the most populous ...
. Several
artificial land masses were created to block the range of the armada, and this land remains in what is presently called the
Odaiba district.
The Tokugawa did not eventually collapse simply because of intrinsic failures. Foreign intrusions helped to precipitate a complex political struggle between the ''
bakufu
, officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamakura ...
'' and a coalition of its critics. The continuity of the anti-''bakufu'' movement in the mid-19th century would finally bring down the Tokugawa. Historians consider that a major contributing factor to the decline of the Tokugawa was "poor management of the central government by the ''shōgun'', which caused the social classes in Japan to fall apart". From the outset, the Tokugawa attempted to restrict families' accumulation of wealth and fostered a "back to the soil" policy, in which the farmer, the ultimate producer, was the ideal person in society.
The standard of living for urban and rural dwellers alike grew significantly during the Tokugawa period. Better means of crop production, transport, housing, food, and entertainment were all available, as was more leisure time, at least for urban dwellers. The literacy rate was high for a preindustrial society (by some estimates the literacy rate in the city of Edo was 80 percent), and cultural values were redefined and widely imparted throughout the samurai and ''
chōnin'' classes. Despite the reappearance of
guild
A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular area. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradesmen belonging to a professional association. They sometimes ...
s, economic activities went well beyond the restrictive nature of the guilds, and commerce spread and a money economy developed. Although government heavily restricted the merchants and viewed them as unproductive and usurious members of society, the samurai, who gradually became separated from their rural ties, depended greatly on the merchants and artisans for consumer goods, artistic interests, and
loan
In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that ...
s. In this way, a subtle subversion of the warrior class by the ''chōnin'' took place.
A struggle arose in the face of political limitations that the ''shōgun'' imposed on the entrepreneurial class. The government ideal of an
agrarian society
An agrarian society, or agricultural society, is any community whose economy is based on producing and maintaining crops and farmland. Another way to define an agrarian society is by seeing how much of a nation's total production is in agriculture ...
failed to square with the reality of commercial distribution. A huge government bureaucracy had evolved, which now stagnated because of its discrepancy with a new and evolving social order. Compounding the situation, the population increased significantly during the first half of the Tokugawa period. Although the magnitude and growth rates are uncertain, there were at least 26 million commoners and about four million members of samurai families and their attendants when the first nationwide census was taken in 1721. Drought, followed by crop shortages and starvation, resulted in twenty great famines between 1675 and 1837. During the Tokugawa period, there were 154 famines, of which 21 were widespread and serious.
The
Great Tenmei famine
The Great Tenmei famine (天明の大飢饉, ''Tenmei no daikikin'') was a famine which affected Japan during the Edo period. It is considered to have begun in 1782, and lasted until 1788. It was named after the Tenmei era (1781–1789), during th ...
(1782 until 1788) was the worst famine in the Edo period.
Many crops were damaged due to bad weather, serious cold and the
1783 eruption of Mount Asama
The Tenmei eruption () was a large eruption of Mount Asama that occurred in 1783 (''Tenmei 3''). This eruption was one of the causes of the Tenmei famine. It is estimated that about 1,500–1,624 people were killed in the eruption. The event is kn ...
.
A worsening factor of the Great Tenmei famine was a drop in global temperatures due to the eruption of the
Iceland
Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
ic volcano
Laki
Laki () or Lakagígar (, ''Craters of Laki'') is a volcanic fissure in the western part of Vatnajökull National Park, Iceland, not far from the volcanic fissure of Eldgjá and the small village of Kirkjubæjarklaustur. The fissure is properly ...
in 1783.
The spread of the famine was largely due to mismanagement of the Shogunate and the clan.
Peasant unrest grew, and by the late 18th century, mass protests over taxes and food shortages had become commonplace. Newly landless families became tenant farmers, while the displaced rural poor moved into the cities. As the fortunes of previously well-to-do families declined, others moved in to accumulate land, and a new, wealthy farming class emerged. Those people who benefited were able to diversify production and to hire laborers, while others were left discontented. Many samurai fell on hard times and were forced into handicraft production and wage jobs for merchants.
Although Japan was able to acquire and refine a wide variety of scientific knowledge, the rapid industrialization of the West during the 18th century created a material gap in terms of technologies and armament between Japan and the West, forcing it to abandon its policy of seclusion, which contributed to the end of the Tokugawa regime.
Western intrusions were on the increase in the early 19th century. Russian warships and traders encroached on
Karafuto
Karafuto Prefecture ( ja, 樺太庁, ''Karafuto-chō''; russian: Префектура Карафуто, Prefektura Karafuto), commonly known as South Sakhalin, was a prefecture of Japan located in Sakhalin from 1907 to 1949.
Karafuto became ter ...
(called
Sakhalin
Sakhalin ( rus, Сахали́н, r=Sakhalín, p=səxɐˈlʲin; ja, 樺太 ''Karafuto''; zh, c=, p=Kùyèdǎo, s=库页岛, t=庫頁島; Manchu: ᠰᠠᡥᠠᠯᡳᠶᠠᠨ, ''Sahaliyan''; Orok: Бугата на̄, ''Bugata nā''; Nivkh ...
under Russian and Soviet control) and on the
Kuril Islands
The Kuril Islands or Kurile Islands (; rus, Кури́льские острова́, r=Kuril'skiye ostrova, p=kʊˈrʲilʲskʲɪjə ɐstrɐˈva; Japanese: or ) are a volcanic archipelago currently administered as part of Sakhalin Oblast in the ...
, the southernmost of which are considered by the Japanese as the northern islands of
Hokkaidō. A British warship entered Nagasaki harbour searching for enemy Dutch ships in 1808, and other warships and
whaler
A whaler or whaling ship is a specialized vessel, designed or adapted for whaling: the catching or processing of whales.
Terminology
The term ''whaler'' is mostly historic. A handful of nations continue with industrial whaling, and one, Japa ...
s were seen in Japanese waters with increasing frequency in the 1810s and 1820s. Whalers and trading ships from the United States also arrived on Japan's shores. Although the Japanese made some minor concessions and allowed some landings, they largely attempted to keep all foreigners out, sometimes using force. ''
Rangaku
''Rangaku'' (Kyūjitai: /Shinjitai: , literally "Dutch learning", and by extension "Western learning") is a body of knowledge developed by Japan through its contacts with the Dutch enclave of Dejima, which allowed Japan to keep abreast of West ...
'' became crucial not only in understanding the foreign "
barbarians" but also in using the knowledge gained from the West to fend them off.
By the 1830s, there was a general sense of crisis. Famines and
natural disasters hit hard, and unrest led to a peasant uprising against officials and merchants in Osaka in 1837. Although it lasted only a day, the uprising made a dramatic impression. Remedies came in the form of traditional solutions that sought to reform moral decay rather than address institutional problems. The ''shōgun''s advisers pushed for a return to the martial spirit, more restrictions on foreign trade and contacts, suppression of ''rangaku'', censorship of literature, and elimination of "luxury" in the government and samurai class. Others sought the overthrow of the Tokugawa and espoused the political doctrine of ''
sonnō jōi
was a ''yojijukugo'' (four-character compound) phrase used as the rallying cry and slogan of a political movement in Japan in the 1850s and 1860s during the Bakumatsu period. Based on Neo-Confucianism and Japanese nativism, the movement soug ...
'' (revere the emperor, expel the barbarians), which called for unity under imperial rule and opposed foreign intrusions. The ''bakufu'' persevered for the time being amidst growing concerns over Western successes in establishing colonial enclaves in China following the
First Opium War of 1839–1842. More reforms were ordered, especially in the economic sector, to strengthen Japan against the Western threat.
Japan turned down a demand from the United States, which was greatly expanding its own presence in the Asia-Pacific region, to establish
diplomatic relations when
Commodore James Biddle appeared in
Edo Bay
is a bay located in the southern Kantō region of Japan, and spans the coasts of Tokyo, Kanagawa Prefecture, and Chiba Prefecture. Tokyo Bay is connected to the Pacific Ocean by the Uraga Channel. The Tokyo Bay region is both the most populous ...
with two warships in July 1846.
End of seclusion
![Commodore-Perry-Visit-Kanagawa-1854](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f0/Commodore-Perry-Visit-Kanagawa-1854.jpg)
When Commodore
Matthew C. Perry
Matthew Calbraith Perry (April 10, 1794 – March 4, 1858) was a commodore of the United States Navy who commanded ships in several wars, including the War of 1812 and the Mexican–American War (1846–1848). He played a leading role in the o ...
's four-ship squadron appeared in Edo Bay in July 1853, the bakufu was thrown into turmoil. The chairman of the senior councillors,
Abe Masahiro
was the chief senior councilor ('' rōjū'') in the Tokugawa shogunate of the Bakumatsu period at the time of the arrival of Commodore Matthew Perry on his mission to open Japan to the outside world. Abe was instrumental in the eventual signi ...
(1819–1857), was responsible for dealing with the Americans. Having no precedent to manage this threat to
national security, Abe tried to balance the desires of the senior councillors to compromise with the foreigners, of the emperor who wanted to keep the foreigners out, and of the ''daimyo'' who wanted to go to war. Lacking consensus, Abe decided to compromise by accepting Perry's demands for opening Japan to foreign trade while also making military preparations. In March 1854, the Treaty of Peace and Amity (or
Treaty of Kanagawa
The Convention of Kanagawa, also known as the Kanagawa Treaty (, ''Kanagawa Jōyaku'') or the Japan–US Treaty of Peace and Amity (, ''Nichibei Washin Jōyaku''), was a treaty signed between the United States and the Tokugawa Shogunate on March ...
) opened two ports to American ships seeking provisions, guaranteed good treatment to shipwrecked American sailors, and allowed a United States consul to take up residence in
Shimoda, a seaport on the
Izu Peninsula, southwest of Edo. The Treaty of Amity and Commerce Between the U.S. and Japan (
Harris Treaty
Harris may refer to:
Places Canada
* Harris, Ontario
* Northland Pyrite Mine (also known as Harris Mine)
* Harris, Saskatchewan
* Rural Municipality of Harris No. 316, Saskatchewan
Scotland
* Harris, Outer Hebrides (sometimes called the Isle ...
), opening still more areas to American trade, was forced on the ''bakufu'' five years later.
The resulting damage to the ''bakufu'' was significant. The devalued price for gold in Japan was one immediate, enormous effect.
The European and American traders purchased gold for its original price on the world market and then sold it to the Japanese for triple the price.
Along with this, cheap goods from these developed nations, like finished cotton, flooded the market forcing many Japanese out of business.
Debate over government policy was unusual and had engendered public criticism of the ''bakufu''. In the hope of enlisting the support of new allies, Abe, to the consternation of the ''fudai'', had consulted with the ''shinpan'' and ''tozama daimyo'', further undermining the already weakened ''bakufu''. In the
Ansei Reform
was a after '' Kaei'' and before '' Man'en''. This period spanned the years from November 1854 through March 1860. The reigning emperor was .
Change of era
* November 27, 1854 (): The new era name of ''Ansei'' (meaning "tranquil government ...
(1854–1856), Abe then tried to strengthen the regime by ordering Dutch warships and armaments from the Netherlands and building new port defenses. In 1855, a naval training school with Dutch instructors was set up at Nagasaki, and a Western-style military school was established at Edo; by the next year, the government was translating Western books. Opposition to Abe increased within ''
fudai'' circles, which opposed opening ''bakufu'' councils to ''tozama daimyo'', and he was replaced in 1855 as chairman of the senior councilors by
Hotta Masayoshi (1810–1864).
At the head of the dissident faction was
Tokugawa Nariaki
Tokugawa Nariaki (徳川 斉昭, April 4, 1800 – September 29, 1860) was a prominent Japanese ''daimyō'' who ruled the Mito Domain (now Ibaraki Prefecture) and contributed to the rise of nationalism and the Meiji Restoration.
Biography
C ...
, who had long embraced a militant loyalty to the emperor along with anti-foreign sentiments, and who had been put in charge of national defense in 1854. The Mito school—based on neo-Confucian and Shinto principles—had as its goal the restoration of the imperial institution, the turning back of the West, and the founding of a world empire under the divine
Yamato dynasty
The , also referred to as the Imperial Family or the House of Yamato, comprises those members of the extended family of the reigning Emperor of Japan who undertake official and public duties. Under the present Constitution of Japan, the Emperor i ...
.
In the final years of the Tokugawas, foreign contacts increased as more concessions were granted. The new treaty with the United States in 1859 allowed more ports to be opened to diplomatic representatives, unsupervised trade at four additional ports, and foreign residences in Osaka and Edo. It also embodied the concept of extraterritoriality (foreigners were subject to the laws of their own countries but not to Japanese law). Hotta lost the support of key ''daimyo'', and when Tokugawa Nariaki opposed the new treaty, Hotta sought imperial sanction. The court officials, perceiving the weakness of the ''bakufu'', rejected Hotta's request and thus suddenly embroiled Kyoto and the emperor in Japan's internal politics for the first time in many centuries. When the ''shōgun'' died without an
heir, Nariaki appealed to the court for support of his own son,
Tokugawa Yoshinobu (or Keiki), for ''shōgun'', a candidate favored by the ''
shinpan'' and ''tozama daimyo''. The ''fudai'' won the power struggle, however, installing Tokugawa Yoshitomi, arresting Nariaki and Keiki, executing
Yoshida Shōin
, commonly named , was one of Japan's most distinguished intellectuals in the late years of the Tokugawa shogunate. He devoted himself to nurturing many ''ishin shishi'' who in turn made major contributions to the Meiji Restoration.
Early life ...
(1830–1859), a leading ''sonnō-jōi'' intellectual who had opposed the American treaty and plotted a revolution against the bakufu, and signing treaties with the United States and five other nations, thus ending more than 200 years of exclusion.
Recently some scholars have suggested that there were more events that spurred this opening of Japan. Yoshimune, eighth Tokugawa ''shōgun'' from 1716 to 1745, started the first
Kyōhō reforms
The were an array of economic and cultural policies introduced by the Tokugawa shogunate between 1722–1730 during the Edo period to improve its political and social status. These reforms were instigated by the eighth Tokugawa ''shōgun'' of Ja ...
in an attempt to gain more revenue for the government.
In 1767, to 1786 Tanuma Okitsugu also initiated some unorthodox economic reforms to expand government income.
This led his conservative opponents to attack him and take his position as he was forced from government in disgrace.
Similarly, Matsudaira Sadanobu launched the
Kansei Reforms
was a after ''Tenmei'' and before ''Kyōwa''. This period spanned the years from January 1789 through February 1801. The reigning emperor was .
Change of era
* 1789 : The new era name of '' Kansei'' (meaning "Tolerant Government" or "Broad-min ...
in 1787–1793 to stabilize rice prices, cut government costs, and increase revenues.
The final economic reform of the
Tenpō
was a after '' Bunsei'' and before '' Kōka.'' The period spanned from December 1830 through December 1844. The reigning emperor was .
Introduction
Change of era
* December 10, 1830 () : In the 13th year of ''Bunsei'', the new era name of ' ...
era of 1841–1843 had similar objectives. Most were ineffective and only worked in some areas. These economic failings would also have been a force in the opening of Japan, as Japanese businessmen desired larger markets. Some scholars also point to internal activism for political change. The Mito school had long been an active force in demanding political changes, such as restoring the powers of the Emperor. This anger can also be seen in the poetry of Matsuo Taseko (a woman who farmed silkworms in the Ina Valley) from Hirata Atsutane's School of National Learning:
This inspired many anti-Tokugawa activists as they blamed the bakufu for impoverishing the people and dishonoring the emperor.
![Yoshinobu Tokugawa 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/64/Yoshinobu_Tokugawa_2.jpg)
Bakumatsu modernization and conflicts
During the last years of the ''
bakufu
, officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamakura ...
'', or ''
bakumatsu
was the final years of the Edo period when the Tokugawa shogunate ended. Between 1853 and 1867, Japan ended its isolationist foreign policy known as and changed from a feudal Tokugawa shogunate to the modern empire of the Meiji governm ...
'', the ''bakufu'' took strong measures to try to reassert its dominance, although its involvement with modernization and foreign powers was to make it a target of
anti-Western sentiment
Anti-Western sentiment, also known as Anti-Atlanticism or Westernophobia, refers to broad opposition, bias, or hostility towards the people, culture, or policies of the Western world.
Definition and usage
In many modern cases, anti-Western s ...
throughout the country.
The army and the navy were modernized. A naval training school was established in Nagasaki in 1855. Naval students were sent to study in Western naval schools for several years, starting a tradition of foreign-educated future leaders, such as Admiral
Enomoto. French naval engineers were hired to build naval arsenals, such as
Yokosuka
is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan.
, the city has a population of 409,478, and a population density of . The total area is . Yokosuka is the 11th most populous city in the Greater Tokyo Area, and the 12th in the Kantō region.
The city ...
and Nagasaki. By the end of the Tokugawa shogunate in 1867, the Japanese navy of the ''shōgun'' already possessed eight Western-style steam warships around the flagship
''Kaiyō Maru'', which were used against pro-imperial forces during the
Boshin War under the command of Admiral
Enomoto. A
French military mission was established to help modernize the armies of the ''bakufu''.
![Kanrinmaru](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b0/Kanrinmaru.jpg)
![WesternizedSamurai1866](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/18/WesternizedSamurai1866.jpg)
Revering the emperor as a symbol of unity, extremists wrought violence and death against the Bakufu and Han authorities and foreigners. Foreign naval retaliation in the
Anglo-Satsuma War led to still another concessionary commercial treaty in 1865, but Yoshitomi was unable to enforce the Western treaties. A ''bakufu'' army was defeated when it was sent to crush dissent in the
Satsuma Satsuma may refer to:
* Satsuma (fruit), a citrus fruit
* ''Satsuma'' (gastropod), a genus of land snails
Places Japan
* Satsuma, Kagoshima, a Japanese town
* Satsuma District, Kagoshima, a district in Kagoshima Prefecture
* Satsuma Domain, a sou ...
and
Chōshū Domains in 1866. Finally, in 1867,
Emperor Kōmei
was the 121st Emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession.Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'')孝明天皇 (121)/ref> Kōmei's reign spanned the years from 1846 through 1867, corresponding to the final years of the ...
died and was succeeded by his underaged son
Emperor Meiji.
Tokugawa Yoshinobu reluctantly became head of the Tokugawa house and ''shōgun''. He tried to reorganize the government under the emperor while preserving the ''shōgun''s leadership role. Fearing the growing power of the Satsuma and Chōshū ''daimyo'', other ''daimyo'' called for returning the ''shōgun''s political power to the emperor and a council of ''daimyo'' chaired by the former Tokugawa ''shōgun''. Yoshinobu accepted the plan in late 1867 and resigned, announcing an "imperial restoration". The Satsuma, Chōshū, and other ''han'' leaders and radical courtiers, however,
rebelled
Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority.
A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...
, seized the
imperial palace, and announced their own restoration on January 3, 1868.
Following the
Boshin War (1868–1869), the ''bakufu'' was abolished, and Yoshinobu was reduced to the ranks of the common ''daimyo''. Resistance continued in the North throughout 1868, and the ''bakufu''
naval forces
A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...
under Admiral
Enomoto Takeaki continued to hold out for another six months in
Hokkaidō, where they founded the short-lived
Republic of Ezo
The was a short-lived separatist state established in 1869 on the island of Ezo, now Hokkaido, by a part of the former military of the Tokugawa shogunate at the end of the ''Bakumatsu'' period in Japan. It was the first government to attempt t ...
.
Events
* 1600:
Battle of Sekigahara.
Tokugawa Ieyasu
was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan, which ruled Japan from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was one of the three "Great Unifiers" of Japan, along with his former lord Oda Nobunaga and fello ...
defeats a coalition of ''daimyo'' and establishes hegemony over most of Japan.
* 1603: The emperor appoints Tokugawa Ieyasu as ''shōgun'', who moves his government to Edo (Tokyo) and founds the Tokugawa dynasty of ''shōguns''.
* 1605: Tokugawa Ieyasu resigns as ''shōgun'' and is succeeded by his son
Tokugawa Hidetada
was the second ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa dynasty, who ruled from 1605 until his abdication in 1623. He was the third son of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate.
Early life (1579–1593)
Tokugawa Hidetada was bo ...
.
* 1607: Korean
Joseon dynasty sends an embassy to
Tokugawa shogunate
The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia ...
.
* 1611:
Ryūkyū
The , also known as the or the , are a chain of Japanese islands that stretch southwest from Kyushu to Geography of Taiwan, Taiwan: the Ōsumi Islands, Ōsumi, Tokara Islands, Tokara, Amami Islands, Amami, Okinawa Islands, Okinawa, and Sakis ...
Islands become a vassal state of
Satsuma Domain.
* 1614: Tokugawa Ieyasu bans Christianity from Japan.
* 1615: Battle of Osaka. Tokugawa Ieyasu besieges
Osaka Castle
is a Japanese castle in Chūō-ku, Osaka, Japan. The castle is one of Japan's most famous landmarks and it played a major role in the unification of Japan during the sixteenth century of the Azuchi-Momoyama period.
Layout
The main tower ...
, all opposition from forces loyal to the
Toyotomi
The was a Japanese clan that ruled over the Japanese before the Edo period.
Unity and conflict
The most influential figure within the Toyotomi was Toyotomi Hideyoshi, one of the three "unifiers of Japan". Oda Nobunaga was another primary u ...
family. Tokugawa authority becomes paramount throughout Japan.
* 1616: Tokugawa Ieyasu dies.
* 1620: After Ieyasu dies the peasants and ''chōnins'' increase in population
* 1623:
Tokugawa Iemitsu
Tokugawa Iemitsu (徳川 家光, August 12, 1604 – June 8, 1651) was the third ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa dynasty. He was the eldest son of Tokugawa Hidetada with Oeyo, and the grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu. Lady Kasuga was his wet nurse, who a ...
becomes the third ''shōgun''.
* 1633: Iemitsu forbids travelling abroad and reading foreign books.
* 1635: Iemitsu formalizes the system of mandatory alternative residence (''
sankin-kōtai
''Sankin-kōtai'' ( ja, 参覲交代/参覲交替, now commonly written as ja, 参勤交代/参勤交替, lit=alternate attendance, label=none) was a policy of the Tokugawa shogunate during most of the Edo period of Japanese history.Jansen, M ...
'') in Edo.
* 1637:
Shimabara Rebellion (1637–38) mounted by overtaxed peasants.
* 1638: Iemitsu forbids ship building.
* 1639: Edicts establishing National Seclusion (
Sakoku Rei) are completed. All Westerners except the
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
are prohibited from entering Japan.
* 1641: Iemitsu bans all foreigners, except Chinese, Koreans, and Dutch from Japan.
* 1657: The
Great Fire of Meireki destroys most of the city of Edo.
* 1700:
Kabuki
is a classical form of Japanese dance- drama. Kabuki theatre is known for its heavily-stylised performances, the often-glamorous costumes worn by performers, and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers.
Kabuki is though ...
and
ukiyo-e
Ukiyo-e is a genre of Japanese art which flourished from the 17th through 19th centuries. Its artists produced woodblock prints and paintings of such subjects as female beauties; kabuki actors and sumo wrestlers; scenes from history and folk t ...
become popular.
* 1707:
Mount Fuji erupts.
* 1774: The anatomical text ''
Kaitai Shinsho
is a medical text translated into Japanese during the Edo period. It was written by Sugita Genpaku, and was published by Suharaya Ichibee () in 1774, the third year of An'ei. The body comprises four volumes, the illustrations, one. The contents ...
'', the first complete Japanese translation of a Western medical work, is published by
Sugita Genpaku
was a Japanese physician and scholar known for his translation of ''Kaitai Shinsho'' (New Book of Anatomy) and a founder of ''Rangaku'' (Western learning) and ''Ranpō'' (Dutch style medicine) in Japan. He was one of the first Japanese scholars ...
and
Maeno Ryotaku.
* 1787:
Matsudaira Sadanobu
was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the mid-Edo period, famous for his financial reforms which saved the Shirakawa Domain, and the similar reforms he undertook during his tenure as chief of the Tokugawa shogunate, from 1787 to 1793.
Early life
Mat ...
becomes senior shogunal councillor and institutes the
Kansei Reforms
was a after ''Tenmei'' and before ''Kyōwa''. This period spanned the years from January 1789 through February 1801. The reigning emperor was .
Change of era
* 1789 : The new era name of '' Kansei'' (meaning "Tolerant Government" or "Broad-min ...
.
* 1792: Russian envoy
Adam Laxman
Adam Kirillovich (Erikovich) Laxman (russian: Адам Кириллович (Эрикович) Лаксман) (1766 – 1806?) was a Finnish–Swedish military officer and one of the first subjects of Imperial Russia to set foot in Japan. A l ...
arrives at Nemuro in eastern
Ezo
(also spelled Yezo or Yeso) is the Japanese term historically used to refer to the lands to the north of the Japanese island of Honshu. It included the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido, which changed its name from "Ezo" to "Hokkaidō" in 18 ...
(now
Hokkaidō).
* 1804: Russian envoy
Nikolai Rezanov
Nikolai Petrovich Rezanov (russian: Николай Петрович Резанов) ( – ), a Russian nobleman and statesman, promoted the project of Russian colonization of Alaska and California to three successive Emperors of All Russia ...
reaches
Nagasaki
is the capital and the largest Cities of Japan, city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan.
It became the sole Nanban trade, port used for trade with the Portuguese and Dutch during the 16th through 19th centuries. The Hi ...
and unsuccessfully seeks the establishment of trade relations with Japan.
* 1837: Rebellion of
Ōshio Heihachirō
was a Japanese philosopher, revolutionary, writer, and Yoriki of the in Osaka. Despite working for the government, he was openly against the Tokugawa regime. He is known for his role as leader in the rebellion against the Tokugawa shogunate.
...
.
* 1841:
Tenpō Reforms
The were an array of economic policies introduced between 1841 and 1843 by the Tokugawa shogunate in Japan. These reforms were efforts to resolve perceived problems in military, economic, agricultural, financial and religious systems.
The changes ...
.
* 1853: US Navy
Commodore Matthew C. Perry's four-ship squadron appeared in
Edo Bay
is a bay located in the southern Kantō region of Japan, and spans the coasts of Tokyo, Kanagawa Prefecture, and Chiba Prefecture. Tokyo Bay is connected to the Pacific Ocean by the Uraga Channel. The Tokyo Bay region is both the most populous ...
(
Tokyo Bay
is a bay located in the southern Kantō region of Japan, and spans the coasts of Tokyo, Kanagawa Prefecture, and Chiba Prefecture. Tokyo Bay is connected to the Pacific Ocean by the Uraga Channel. The Tokyo Bay region is both the most populous ...
).
* 1854: The US forces Japan to sign a trade agreement ("
Treaty of Kanagawa
The Convention of Kanagawa, also known as the Kanagawa Treaty (, ''Kanagawa Jōyaku'') or the Japan–US Treaty of Peace and Amity (, ''Nichibei Washin Jōyaku''), was a treaty signed between the United States and the Tokugawa Shogunate on March ...
") which reopens Japan to foreigners after two centuries.
* 1855: Russia and Japan establish diplomatic relations.
* 1860:
Sakuradamon Incident.
* 1864: British, French, Dutch and American warships bombard
Shimonoseki
is a city located in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. With a population of 265,684, it is the largest city in Yamaguchi Prefecture and the fifth-largest city in the Chūgoku region. It is located at the southwestern tip of Honshu facing the Tsush ...
and open more Japanese ports for foreigners.
* 1868:
Tokugawa Yoshinobu resigns, the Tokugawa dynasty ends, and the emperor (or "mikado")
Meiji is restored, but with capital in Edo/Tokyo and divine attributes.
Era names
The
imperial eras proclaimed during the Edo period were:
In popular culture
The Edo period is the setting of many works of popular culture. These include novels, comics, stageplays, films, television shows, animated works, and manga.
There is a cultural theme park called
Edo Wonderland Nikko Edomura in the
Kinugawa Onsen
is a hot spring resort in the city of Nikkō, Tochigi, Japan. The place is named after the Kinugawa River (literally "angry demon river"), which flows through it.
History
Two hours by train from Tokyo, hot springs were first found in the area i ...
area of
Nikkō, Tochigi, north of Tokyo.
See also
*
Criminal punishment in Edo-period Japan
*
Edomoji
(or ) are Japanese lettering styles invented for advertising during the Edo period. The main styles of are , found on paper lanterns outside restaurants; , used to label and drinks like and ; , literally "cage letters"; , a thick and rectangul ...
, Japanese lettering styles invented in the Edo period
* ''
Ee ja nai ka'', an outbreak of mass hysteria at the end of the Edo period
*
Gonin Gumi The were groups of five households that were held collectively responsible, in a manner similar to the Frith-borh in England, during the Edo period of Japanese history. All households in the shogunate were members of such a group, with all member ...
, groups of five households that were held collectively responsible during the Edo period
*
Jidaigeki
is a genre of film, television, video game, and theatre in Japan. Literally meaning "period dramas", they are most often set during the Edo period of Japanese history, from 1603 to 1868. Some, however, are set much earlier—'' Portrait of H ...
, Japanese period dramas which are usually set in the Edo period
*
Jitte (weapon), law enforcement weapon unique to the period
*
Karakuri ningyō
are traditional Japanese mechanized puppets or automata, made from the 17th century to the 19th century. The dolls' gestures provided a form of entertainment. The word has also come to mean "mechanisms" or "trick" in Japanese. It is used t ...
, Japanese
automaton
An automaton (; plural: automata or automatons) is a relatively self-operating machine, or control mechanism designed to automatically follow a sequence of operations, or respond to predetermined instructions.Automaton – Definition and More ...
s
Citations
General and cited sources
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
; Attribution
Japan
Further reading
*
*
*
*
External links
Japanese Maps of the Tokugawa Era– A rich selection of rare Japanese maps from the UBC Library Digital Collections
– Japan: Memoirs of a Secret Empire
{{DEFAULTSORT:Edo Period
1603 establishments in Japan
17th century in Japan
1868 disestablishments in Japan
18th century in Japan
19th century in Japan
Feudal Japan
Japanese eras
States and territories disestablished in 1868
States and territories established in 1603