The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
during the
Edo period
The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characteriz ...
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 ...
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 ...
following the collapse of the
Ashikaga shogunate
The , also known as the , was the feudal military government of Japan during the Muromachi period from 1336 to 1573.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Muromachi-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 669.
The Ashikaga shogunate was establi ...
. Ieyasu became the ''
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 ...
,'' and the
Tokugawa clan
The is a Japanese dynasty that was formerly a powerful ''daimyō'' family. They nominally descended from Emperor Seiwa (850–880) and were a branch of the Minamoto clan (Seiwa Genji) through the Matsudaira clan. The early history of this clan r ...
governed Japan from Edo Castle in the eastern city of Edo (
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
) along with the ''
daimyō
were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji era, Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and n ...
'' lords of 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 ...
'' class.Nussbaum "Tokugawa" at p. 976. The Tokugawa shogunate organized Japanese society under the strict Tokugawa class system and banned most foreigners under the
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 ...
policies of '' Sakoku'' to promote political stability. The Tokugawa shoguns governed Japan in a feudal system, with each ''daimyō'' administering a ''
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 ...
'' (feudal domain), although the country was still nominally organized as imperial
provinces
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...
. Under the Tokugawa shogunate, Japan experienced rapid
economic
An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with the ...
growth and
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 ...
, which led to the rise of the
merchant
A merchant is a person who trades in commodities produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Historically, a merchant is anyone who is involved in business or trade. Merchants have operated for as long as indust ...
class and ''
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), ...
'' culture.
The Tokugawa shogunate declined during the ''
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 government ...
'' ("final act of the shogunate") period from 1853 and was overthrown by supporters of the Imperial Court in 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 ...
in 1868. The
Empire of Japan
The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II 1947 constitution and subsequent fo ...
was established under the
Meiji government
The was the government that was formed by politicians of the Satsuma Domain and Chōshū Domain in the 1860s. The Meiji government was the early government of the Empire of Japan.
Politicians of the Meiji government were known as the Meiji o ...
, and Tokugawa loyalists continued to fight in the Boshin War until the defeat of the
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 ...
at the
Battle of Hakodate
The was fought in Japan from December 4, 1868 to June 27, 1869, between the remnants of the Tokugawa shogunate army, consolidated into the armed forces of the rebel Ezo Republic, and the armies of the newly formed Imperial government (composed ...
in June 1869.
History
Following the Sengoku period ("warring states period"), the central government had been largely re-established by Oda Nobunaga during the
Azuchi–Momoyama period
The was the final phase of the in Japanese history from 1568 to 1600.
After the outbreak of the Ōnin War in 1467, the power of the Ashikaga Shogunate effectively collapsed, marking the start of the chaotic Sengoku period. In 1568, Oda Nobuna ...
. After the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, central authority fell to Tokugawa Ieyasu. While many ''daimyos'' who fought against Tokugawa Ieyasu were extinguished or had their holdings reduced, Ieyasu was committed to retaining the ''daimyos'' and the ''han'' (domains) as components under his new shogunate. Indeed, ''daimyos'' who sided with Ieyasu were rewarded, and some of Ieyasu's former vassals were made ''daimyos'' and were located strategically throughout the country.Society in the Tokugawa period, unlike in previous shogunates, was supposedly based on the strict class hierarchy originally established by
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 ...
. The ''daimyō'' (lords) were at the top, followed by the warrior-caste of samurai, with the farmers, artisans, and traders ranking below. In some parts of the country, particularly smaller regions, ''daimyō'' and samurai were more or less identical, since ''daimyō'' might be trained as samurai, and samurai might act as local rulers. Otherwise, the largely inflexible nature of this social stratification system unleashed disruptive forces over time. Taxes on the peasantry were set at fixed amounts that did not account for inflation or other changes in monetary value. As a result, the tax revenues collected by the samurai landowners were worth less and less over time. This often led to numerous confrontations between noble but impoverished samurai and well-to-do peasants, ranging from simple local disturbances to much larger rebellions. None, however, proved compelling enough to seriously challenge the established order until the arrival of foreign powers. A 2017 study found that peasant rebellions and collective desertion ("flight") lowered tax rates and inhibited state growth in the Tokugawa shogunate.
In the mid-19th century, an alliance of several of the more powerful ''daimyō'', along with the titular
Emperor of Japan
The Emperor of Japan is the monarch and the head of the Imperial House of Japan, Imperial Family of Japan. Under the Constitution of Japan, he is defined as the symbol of the Japanese state and the unity of the Japanese people, and his positio ...
, succeeded in overthrowing the shogunate, which came to an official end in 1868 with the resignation of the 15th Tokugawa shogun'','' Tokugawa Yoshinobu, leading to the "restoration" ( 王政復古, ''Ōsei fukko'') of imperial rule. Some loyal retainers of the shogun continued to fight during the Boshin war that followed, but were eventually defeated. Notwithstanding its eventual overthrow in favour of the more modernized, less feudal form of governance of the Meiji Restoration, the Tokugawa shogunate oversaw the longest period of peace and stability in Japan's history, lasting well over 260 years.
Government
Shogunate and domains
The ''bakuhan'' system (''bakuhan taisei'' ) was the feudal political system in the Edo period of Japan. ''Baku'' is an abbreviation of ''bakufu'', meaning " military government"—that is, the shogunate. The ''han'' were the domains headed by ''daimyō''. Beginning from Ieyasu's appointment as shogun in 1603, but especially after the Tokugawa victory in Osaka in 1615, various policies were implemented to assert the shogunate's control, which severely curtailed the ''daimyos independence. The number of ''daimyos'' varied but stabilized at around 270.
The ''bakuhan'' system split feudal power between the shogunate in Edo and the ''daimyōs'' with domains throughout Japan. The ''shōgun'' and lords were all ''daimyōs'': feudal lords with their own bureaucracies, policies, and territories. Provinces had a degree of sovereignty and were allowed an independent administration of the ''han'' in exchange for loyalty to the ''shōgun'', who was responsible for foreign relations, national security, coinage, weights and measures, and transportation.
The ''shōgun'' also administered the most powerful ''han'', the hereditary fief of the House of Tokugawa, which also included many gold and silver mines. Towards the end of the shogunate, the Tokugawa clan held around 7 million '' koku'' of land (天領 tenryō), including 2.6–2.7 million ''koku'' held by direct vassals, out of 30 million in the country. The other 23 million ''koku'' were held by other daimyos.
The number of ''han'' (roughly 270) fluctuated throughout the Edo period. They were ranked by size, which was measured as the number of ''koku'' of rice that the domain produced each year. One ''koku'' was the amount of rice necessary to feed one adult male for one year. The minimum number for a ''daimyō'' was ten thousand ''koku''; the largest, apart from the ''shōgun'', was more than a million ''koku''.
Policies to control the daimyos
The main policies of the shogunate on the ''daimyos'' included:
* The principle that each ''daimyo'' (including those who were previously independent of the Tokugawa family) submitted to the shogunate, and each ''han'' required the shogunate's recognition and were subject to its land redistributions. ''Daimyos'' swore allegiance to each shogun and acknowledged the Laws for Warrior Houses, or ''buke shohatto''.
* 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 ...
'' (参勤交代 "alternate attendance") system, which required ''daimyos'' to travel to and reside in Edo every other year, and for their families to remain in Edo during their absence.
* The ''ikkoku ichijyō rei'' (一国一城令), which allowed each daimyo's ''han'' to retain only one fortification, at the ''daimyo's'' residence.
* The
Laws for the Military Houses
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...
(武家諸法度, ''buke shohatto''), the first of which in 1615 forbade the building of new fortifications or repairing existing ones without ''bakufu'' approval, admitting fugitives of the shogunate, and arranging marriages of the daimyos' families without official permission. Additional rules on the samurai were issued over the years.
Although the shogun issued certain laws, such as the '' buke shohatto'' on the ''daimyōs'' and the rest of the samurai class, each ''han'' administered its autonomous system of laws and
taxation
A tax is a compulsory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed on a taxpayer (an individual or legal person, legal entity) by a governmental organization in order to fund government spending and various public expenditures (regiona ...
. The ''shōgun'' did not interfere in a ''han'''s governance unless major incompetence (such as large rebellions) is shown, nor were central taxes issued. Instead, each ''han'' provided feudal duties, such as maintaining roads and official currier stations, building canals and harbors, providing troops, and relieving famines. ''Daimyōs'' were strategically placed to check each other, and the ''sankin-kōtai'' system ensured that ''daimyōs'' or their family are always in Edo, observed by the shogun.
The shogunate had the power to discard, annex, and transform domains, although they were rarely and carefully exercised after the early years of the Shogunate, to prevent ''daimyōs'' from banding together. 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 of alternative residence required each ''daimyō'' to reside in alternate years between the ''han'' and the court in Edo. During their absences from Edo, it was also required that they leave their family as hostages until their return. The hostages and the huge expenditure ''sankin-kōtai'' imposed on each ''han'' helped to ensure loyalty to the ''shōgun''. By 1690s, the vast majority of daimyos would be born in Edo, and most would consider it their homes. Some daimyos had little interest in their domains and needed to be begged to return "home".
In return for the centralization, peace among the daimyos were maintained; unlike in 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 ...
, daimyos no longer worried about conflicts with one another. In addition, hereditary succession was guaranteed as internal usurpations within domains were not recognized by the shogunate.
Classification of daimyos
The Tokugawa clan further ensured loyalty by maintaining a dogmatic insistence on loyalty to the ''shōgun''. Daimyos were classified into three main categories:
* '' Shinpan'' ("relatives" 親藩) were six clans established by sons of Ieyasu, as well as certain sons of the 8th and 9th shoguns, who were made daimyos. They would provide an heir to the shogunate if the shogun didn't have an heir.
* '' Fudai'' ("hereditary" 譜代) were mostly vassals of Ieyasu and the Tokugawa clan before the Battle of Sekigahara. They ruled their ''han'' (estate) and served as high officials in the shogunate, although their ''han'' tended to be smaller compared to the ''tozama'' domains.
* '' Tozama'' ("outsiders" 外様) were around 100 daimyos, most of whom became vassals of the Tokugawa clan after the Battle of Sekigahara. Some fought against Tokugawa forces, although some were neutral or even fought on the side of the Tokugawa clan, as allies rather than vassals. The ''tozama daimyos'' tend to have the largest ''han'', with 11 of the 16 largest daimyos in this category.
The ''tozama daimyos'' who fought against the Tokugawa clan in the Battle of Sekigahara had their estate reduced substantially. They were often placed in mountainous or far away areas, or placed between most trusted daimyos. Early in the Edo period, the shogunate viewed the ''tozama'' as the least likely to be loyal; over time, strategic marriages and the entrenchment of the system made the ''tozama'' less likely to rebel. In the end, however, it was still the great ''tozama'' of
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 ...
Hizen
was an old province of Japan in the area of the Saga and Nagasaki prefectures. It was sometimes called , with Higo Province. Hizen bordered on the provinces of Chikuzen and Chikugo. The province was included in Saikaidō. It did not incl ...
, that brought down the shogunate. These four states are called the Four Western Clans, or Satchotohi for short.Nussbaum "''Satchotohi''" pp. 826–827.
Relations with the Emperor
Regardless of the political title of the Emperor, the ''shōguns'' of the Tokugawa family controlled Japan. The shogunate secured a nominal grant of by the
Imperial Court in Kyoto
The Imperial Court in Kyoto was the nominal ruling government of Japan from 794 AD until the Meiji period (1868–1912), after which the court was moved from Kyoto (formerly Heian-kyō) to Tokyo (formerly Edo) and integrated into the Meiji gover ...
to the Tokugawa family. While the Emperor officially had the prerogative of appointing the ''shōgun'' and received generous subsidies, he had virtually no say in state affairs. The shogunate issued the Laws for the Imperial and Court Officials (''kinchu narabini kuge shohatto'' 禁中並公家諸法度) to set out its relationship with the
Imperial family
A royal family is the immediate family of King, kings/Queen regnant, queens, Emir, emirs/emiras, Sultan, sultans/Sultana (title), sultanas, or raja/rani and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the ...
and the '' kuge'' (imperial court officials), and specified that the Emperor should dedicate to scholarship and poetry. The shogunate also appointed a liaison, the ''
Kyoto Shoshidai
The was an important administrative and political office in the Tokugawa shogunate. The office was the personal representative of the military dictators Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi in Kyoto, the seat of the Japanese Emperor, and was ado ...
'' (''Shogun's Representative in Kyoto''), to deal with the Emperor, court and nobility.
Towards the end of the shogunate, however, after centuries of the Emperor having very little say in state affairs and being secluded in his Kyoto palace, and in the wake of the reigning ''shōgun'',
Tokugawa Iemochi
(July 17, 1846 – August 29, 1866) was the 14th ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, who held office from 1858 to 1866.
During his reign there was much internal turmoil as a result of the "re-opening" of Japan to western nations. ...
, marrying the sister of
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 ...
(r. 1846–1867), in 1862, the Imperial Court in Kyoto began to enjoy increased political influence. The Emperor would occasionally be consulted on various policies and the shogun even made a visit to Kyoto to visit the Emperor. Government administration would be formally returned from the ''shogun'' to the Emperor during 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 ...
in 1868.
Shogun and foreign trade
Foreign affairs and trade were monopolized by the shogunate, yielding a huge profit. Foreign trade was also permitted to 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 the
Tsushima domain Tsushima may refer to:
Places
* Tsushima Island, part of Nagasaki Prefecture
** Tsushima, Nagasaki, a city in Nagasaki Prefecture (coterminous with Tsushima Island)
** Tsushima Province, a historical province, coterminous with modern Tsushima Sub ...
s.
Rice
Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima
''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...
was the main trading product of Japan during this time. Isolationism was the foreign policy of Japan and trade was strictly controlled. Merchants were outsiders to the
social hierarchy
Social stratification refers to a society's categorization of its people into groups based on socioeconomic factors like wealth, income, race, education, ethnicity, gender, occupation, social status, or derived power (social and political). As ...
of Japan and were thought to be greedy.
The visits of the
Nanban Nanban may refer to: Japan
* Nanban art, Japanese art of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries influenced by contact with the Nanban
* Nanban trade
or the , was a period in the history of Japan from the arrival of Europeans in 1543 to t ...
ships from Portugal were at first the main vector of trade exchanges, followed by the addition of Dutch, English and sometimes Spanish ships.
From 1603 onward, Japan started to participate actively in foreign trade. In 1615, an embassy and trade mission under
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 ...
was sent across the Pacific to
Nueva España
New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( es, Virreinato de Nueva España, ), or Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain during the Spanish colonization of the Amer ...
(New Spain) on the Japanese-built galleon ''San Juan Bautista''. Until 1635, the Shogun issued numerous permits for the so-called "
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 ...
" destined for the Asian trade.
After 1635 and the introduction of Seclusion laws, inbound ships were only allowed from China,
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
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
.
Shogun and Christianity
Followers of
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
first began appearing in Japan during the 16th century. Oda Nobunaga embraced Christianity and the Western technology that was imported with it, such as the musket. He also saw it as a tool he could use to suppress Buddhist forces.
Though Christianity was allowed to grow until the 1610s,
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 ...
soon began to see it as a growing threat to the stability of the shogunate. As ''Ōgosho'' ("Cloistered ''Shōgun''"), he influenced the implementation of laws that banned the practice of Christianity. His successors followed suit, compounding upon Ieyasu's laws. The ban of Christianity is often linked with the creation of the Seclusion laws, or Sakoku, in the 1630s.
The Shogunate's income
The primary source of the shogunate's income was the tax (around 40%) levied on harvests in the Tokugawa clan's personal domains (tenryō). No taxes were levied on domains of daimyos, who instead provided military duty, public works and corvee. The shogunate obtained loans from merchants, which were sometimes seen as forced donations, although commerce was often not taxed. Special levies were also imposed for infrastructure-building.
Institutions of the shogunate
The personal vassals of the Tokugawa shoguns were classified into two groups:
* the
bannermen
Bannerman is a name of Scottish origin (see Clan Bannerman) and may refer to
Places
;Canada
* Bannerman, Edmonton, a neighbourhood in Edmonton, Canada
;United States
* Bannerman, Wisconsin, an unincorporated community
* Bannerman's Castle, an a ...
(''hatamoto'' 旗本) had the privilege to directly approach the shogun;
* the housemen (''gokenin'' 御家人) did not have the privilege of the shogun's audience.
By the early 18th century, out of around 22,000 personal vassals, most would have received stipends rather than domains.
Rōjū and wakadoshiyori
The ''
rōjū
The , usually translated as ''Elder'', was one of the highest-ranking government posts under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan. The term refers either to individual Elders, or to the Council of Elders as a whole; under the first two ''shō ...
'' () were normally the most senior members of the shogunate. Normally, four or five men held the office, and one was on duty for a month at a time on a rotating basis. They supervised the '' ōmetsuke'' (who checked on the daimyos), ''machi''-''bugyō'' (commissioners of administrative and judicial functions in major cities, especially Edo), ' (遠国奉行, the commissioners of other major cities and shogunate domains) and other officials, oversaw relations with the
Imperial Court in Kyoto
The Imperial Court in Kyoto was the nominal ruling government of Japan from 794 AD until the Meiji period (1868–1912), after which the court was moved from Kyoto (formerly Heian-kyō) to Tokyo (formerly Edo) and integrated into the Meiji gover ...
Buddhist temples
A Buddhist temple or Buddhist monastery is the place of worship for Buddhists, the followers of Buddhism. They include the structures called vihara, chaitya, stupa, wat and pagoda in different regions and languages. Temples in Buddhism represen ...
and Shinto shrines, and attended to matters like divisions of
fief
A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form ...
s. Other ''bugyō'' (commissioners) in charge of finances, monasteries and shrines also reported to the rōjū. The roju conferred on especially important matters. In the administrative reforms of 1867 (
Keiō Reforms
The were an array of new policies introduced in 1864 to 1867 by the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan. The reforms were created in reaction to the rising violence on the part of Satsuma domain as well as other domains. The initial steps taken during th ...
), the office was eliminated in favor of a bureaucratic system with ministers for the interior, finance, foreign relations, army, and navy.
In principle, the requirements for appointment to the office of rōjū were to be a ''
fudai daimyō
was a class of ''daimyō'' (大名) in the Tokugawa Shogunate (徳川幕府) of Japan who were hereditary vassals of the Tokugawa before the Battle of Sekigahara. ''Fudai daimyō'' and their descendants filled the ranks of the Tokugawa admini ...
'' and to have a fief assessed at '' koku'' or more. However, there were exceptions to both criteria. Many appointees came from the offices close to the ''shōgun'', such as ' (側用人),
Kyoto Shoshidai
The was an important administrative and political office in the Tokugawa shogunate. The office was the personal representative of the military dictators Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi in Kyoto, the seat of the Japanese Emperor, and was ado ...
, and
Osaka jōdai were officials of the Tokugawa shogunate in Edo period Japan. Those appointmented to this prominent office were exclusively ''fudai daimyōs''.Beasley, William G. (1955). ''Select Documents on Japanese Foreign Policy, 1853–1868'', p. 326. Conven ...
.
Irregularly, the ''shōguns'' appointed a ''rōjū'' to the position of ''
tairō
''Tairō'' (, "great elder") was a high-ranking official position in the Tokugawa shogunate government of Japan, roughly comparable to the office of prime minister. The ''tairō'' presided over the governing '' rōjū'' council in the event of an ...
'' (great elder). The office was limited to members of the Ii,
Sakai
is a city located in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. It has been one of the largest and most important seaports of Japan since the medieval era. Sakai is known for its keyhole-shaped burial mounds, or kofun, which date from the fifth century and inclu ...
Hotta clan
The was a Japanese clan that ruled the Sakura Domain in Shimosa Province in the late Edo period. Jindai-ji in the present-day city of Sakura was the clan's bodaiji
A in Japanese Buddhism is a temple which, generation after generation, ta ...
s, but
Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu
was a Japanese samurai of the Edo period. He was an official in the Tokugawa shogunate and a favourite of the fifth shōgun, Tokugawa Tsunayoshi. His second concubine was Ogimachi Machiko, a writer and scholar from the noble court who wrot ...
was given the status of tairō as well. Among the most famous was
Ii Naosuke
was ''daimyō'' of Hikone (1850–1860) and also Tairō of the Tokugawa shogunate, Japan, a position he held from April 23, 1858, until his death, assassinated in the Sakuradamon Incident on March 24, 1860. He is most famous for signing the ...
, who was assassinated in 1860 outside the Sakuradamon Gate of Edo Castle ( Sakuradamon incident).
Three to five men titled the ''
wakadoshiyori
The ', or "Junior Elders", were high government officials in the Edo period Japan under the Tokugawa shogunate (1603-1867). The position was established around 1633, but appointments were irregular until 1662. The four to six ''wakadoshiyori'' we ...
'' (若年寄) were next in status below the rōjū. An outgrowth of the early six-man '' rokuninshū'' (六人衆, 1633–1649), the office took its name and final form in 1662. Their primary responsibility was management of the affairs of the
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 ...
and
gokenin
A was initially a vassal of the shogunate of the Kamakura and the Muromachi periods.Iwanami Kōjien, "Gokenin" In exchange for protection and the right to become '' jitō'' (manor's lord), a ''gokenin'' had in times of peace the duty to protect ...
, the direct vassals of the ''shōgun''. Under the ''wakadoshiyori'' were the ''
metsuke
were the censors or the inspectors of Tokugawa shogunate. They were ''bakufu'' officials ranking somewhat lower than the ''bugyō.'' The ''metsuke'' were charged with the special duty of detecting and investigating instances of maladministration ...
''.
Some ''shōguns'' appointed a ''soba yōnin''. This person acted as a liaison between the ''shōgun'' and the ''rōjū''. The ''soba yōnin'' increased in importance during the time of the fifth ''shōgun''
Tokugawa Tsunayoshi
was the fifth ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa dynasty of Japan. He was the younger brother of Tokugawa Ietsuna, as well as the son of Tokugawa Iemitsu, the grandson of Tokugawa Hidetada, and the great-grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu.Nussbaum, Louis-Fr ...
, when a wakadoshiyori,
Inaba Masayasu
was a Japanese ''hatamoto'' and ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of Aono han in Mino Province in Edo period Japan. Masayasu's family was descended from Konō Michitaka.Papinot, Jacques. (2003)''Nobiliare du Japon'' -- Inaba, p. 15 Papinot, Jacques Edm ...
, assassinated
Hotta Masatoshi
was a ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) in Shimōsa Province, and top government advisor and official in the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan. He served as '' rōjū'' (chief advisor) to ''shōgun'' Tokugawa Ietsuna from 1679–80, and as ''Tairō'' (head of ...
, the ''tairō''. Fearing for his personal safety, Tsunayoshi moved the ''rōjū'' to a more distant part of the castle. Some of the most famous ''soba yōnin'' were
Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu
was a Japanese samurai of the Edo period. He was an official in the Tokugawa shogunate and a favourite of the fifth shōgun, Tokugawa Tsunayoshi. His second concubine was Ogimachi Machiko, a writer and scholar from the noble court who wrot ...
and
Tanuma Okitsugu
(September 11, 1719, in Edo, Japan – August 25, 1788, in Edo) was a chamberlain (''sobashū'') and a senior counselor ('' rōjū'') to the '' shōgun'' Tokugawa Ieharu of the Tokugawa Shogunate, in the Edo period of Japan. Tanuma and ...
.
Ōmetsuke and metsuke
The ''ōmetsuke'' and ''
metsuke
were the censors or the inspectors of Tokugawa shogunate. They were ''bakufu'' officials ranking somewhat lower than the ''bugyō.'' The ''metsuke'' were charged with the special duty of detecting and investigating instances of maladministration ...
'' were officials who reported to the ''rōjū'' and ''wakadoshiyori''. The five ''ōmetsuke'' were in charge of monitoring the affairs of the ''daimyōs'', ''kuge'' and imperial court. They were in charge of discovering any threat of rebellion. Early in the Edo period, ''daimyōs'' such as
Yagyū Munefuyu
was a ''daimyō'' and a teacher of kenjutsu and military strategy in Japan during the Edo period. His highest-ranking pupil was Tokugawa Ietsuna, fourth Tokugawa ''shōgun''. Munefuyu, who also went by the name Matajūrō, was the third son of ...
held the office. Soon, however, it fell to ''
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 ...
'' with rankings of 5,000 ''koku'' or more. To give them authority in their dealings with ''daimyōs'', they were often ranked at 10,000 ''koku'' and given the title of ''
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 ...
'' (an ancient title, typically signifying the governor of a
province
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...
) such as ''Bizen-no-kami''.
As time progressed, the function of the ''ōmetsuke'' evolved into one of passing orders from the shogunate to the ''daimyōs'', and of administering to ceremonies within Edo Castle. They also took on additional responsibilities such as supervising religious affairs and controlling firearms. The ''metsuke'', reporting to the ''wakadoshiyori'', oversaw the affairs of the vassals of the ''shōgun''. They were the police force for the thousands of hatamoto and
gokenin
A was initially a vassal of the shogunate of the Kamakura and the Muromachi periods.Iwanami Kōjien, "Gokenin" In exchange for protection and the right to become '' jitō'' (manor's lord), a ''gokenin'' had in times of peace the duty to protect ...
who were concentrated in Edo. Individual ''han'' had their own ''metsuke'' who similarly policed their samurai.
San-bugyō
The ''san-
bugyō
was a title assigned to '' samurai'' officials during the feudal period of Japan. ''Bugyō'' is often translated as commissioner, magistrate, or governor, and other terms would be added to the title to describe more specifically a given offic ...
'' (三奉行 "three administrators") were the ''jisha'', ''kanjō'', and ''
machi-bugyō
were ''samurai'' officials of the Tokugawa shogunate in Edo period Japan, this was amongst the senior administrative posts open to those who were not ''daimyō''.Beasley, William G. (1955). ''Select Documents on Japanese Foreign Policy, 1853–186 ...
'', which respectively oversaw
temples
A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...
jisha-bugyō
was a "commissioner" or an "overseer" of the Tokugawa shogunate in Edo period Japan. Appointments to this prominent office were always ''fudai daimyōs'', the lowest-ranking of the shogunate offices to be so restricted.Beasley, William G. (1955) ...
'' had the highest status of the three. They oversaw the administration of Buddhist temples (''ji'') and Shinto shrines (''sha''), many of which held fiefs. Also, they heard lawsuits from several land holdings outside the eight Kantō provinces. The appointments normally went to ''daimyōs''; Ōoka Tadasuke was an exception, though he later became a ''daimyō''.
The '' kanjō-bugyō'' were next in status. The four holders of this office reported to the ''rōjū''. They were responsible for the finances of the shogunate.
The ''machi-bugyō'' were the chief city administrators of Edo and other cities. Their roles included mayor, chief of the police (and, later, also of the fire department), and judge in criminal and civil matters not involving samurai. Two (briefly, three) men, normally hatamoto, held the office, and alternated by month.
Three Edo ''machi bugyō'' have become famous through ''
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 ...
Tōyama Kagemoto
was a hatamoto and an official of the Tokugawa shogunate during the Edo period of Japanese history. His ancestry was of the Minamoto clan of the Mino Province. His father, Kagemichi, was the magistrate of Nagasaki.
Biography
During his youth, K ...
(Kinshirō) as heroes, and
Torii Yōzō
A is a traditional Japanese gate most commonly found at the entrance of or within a Shinto shrine, where it symbolically marks the transition from the mundane to the sacred.
The presence of a ''torii'' at the entrance is usually the simples ...
The ''san-bugyō'' together sat on a council called the ''
hyōjōsho The , established in 1225 b Hōjō Yasutoki, was a judicial council in Japan.
Overview
During the Tokugawa shogunate it was composed of the ''Rōjū'' (Elders), the highest officials in the shogunate government, and a number of Commissioners calle ...
'' (評定所). In this capacity, they were responsible for administering the ''tenryō'' (the shogun's estates), supervising the ''gundai'' ( 郡代), the ''
daikan
''Daikan'' (代官) was an official in Japan that acted on behalf of a ruling monarch or a lord at the post they had been appointed to. Since the Middle Ages, ''daikan'' were in charge of their territory and territorial tax collection. In the Edo ...
'' ( 代官) and the ''kura bugyō'' ( 蔵奉行), as well as hearing cases involving samurai. The ''gundai'' managed Tokugawa domains with incomes greater than 10,000 koku while the ''daikan'' managed areas with incomes between 5,000 and 10,000 koku.
The shogun directly held lands in various parts of Japan. These were known as ''shihaisho'' (支配所); since the Meiji period, the term ''tenryō'' ( 天領, literally "Emperor's land") has become synonymous, because the shogun's lands were returned to the emperor. In addition to the territory that Ieyasu held prior to the Battle of Sekigahara, this included lands he gained in that battle and lands gained as a result of the Summer and Winter Sieges of Osaka. Major cities as Nagasaki and Osaka, and
mine
Mine, mines, miners or mining may refer to:
Extraction or digging
* Miner, a person engaged in mining or digging
*Mining, extraction of mineral resources from the ground through a mine
Grammar
*Mine, a first-person English possessive pronoun
...
gold mine Gold Mine may refer to:
* Gold Mine (board game)
*Gold Mine (Long Beach), an arena
*"Gold Mine", a song by Joyner Lucas from the 2020 album ''ADHD
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characteri ...
, also fell into this category.
Gaikoku bugyō
The ''
gaikoku bugyō
were the commissioners or "magistrates of foreign affairs" appointed at the end of the Edo era by the Tokugawa shogunate to oversee trade and diplomatic relations with foreign countries. In essence this was the beginning of the creation of a Mini ...
'' were administrators appointed between 1858 and 1868. They were charged with overseeing trade and diplomatic relations with foreign countries, and were based in the
treaty ports
Treaty ports (; ja, 条約港) were the port cities in China and Japan that were opened to foreign trade mainly by the unequal treaties forced upon them by Western powers, as well as cities in Korea opened up similarly by the Japanese Empire. ...
of Nagasaki and Kanagawa (Yokohama).
Late Tokugawa shogunate (1853–1867)
The late Tokugawa shogunate ( ja, 幕末 ''Bakumatsu'') was the period between 1853 and 1867, during which Japan ended its isolationist foreign policy called '' sakoku'' and modernized from a feudal shogunate to the
Meiji government
The was the government that was formed by politicians of the Satsuma Domain and Chōshū Domain in the 1860s. The Meiji government was the early government of the Empire of Japan.
Politicians of the Meiji government were known as the Meiji o ...
. It is at the end of the
Edo period
The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characteriz ...
and preceded the Meiji era. The major ideological and political factions during this period were divided into the pro-imperialist ''
Ishin Shishi
, sometimes known as , were a group of Japanese political activists of the late Edo period. While it is usually applied to the anti-shogunate, pro-''sonnō jōi'' (尊皇攘夷; "Revere the Emperor, Expel the Barbarian ) samurai primarily from t ...
'' (
nationalist
Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Th ...
patriots) and the shogunate forces, including the elite
shinsengumi
The was a special police force organized by the (military government) during Japan's Bakumatsu period (late Tokugawa shogunate) in 1863. It was active until 1869. It was founded to protect the shogunate representatives in Kyoto at a time wh ...
("newly selected corps") swordsmen.
Although these two groups were the most visible powers, many other factions attempted to use the chaos of the Bakumatsu era to seize personal power.Shinsengumi, The Shogun's Last Samurai Corps, Romulus, Hillsborough, Tuttle Publishing, 2005 Furthermore, there were two other main driving forces for dissent; first, growing resentment of ''
tozama daimyō
was a class of powerful magnates or ''daimyō'' (大名) considered to be outsiders by the ruler of Japan.Kenkyusha's New Japanese-English Dictionary, ''Tozama daimyō'' were classified in the Tokugawa Shogunate (江戸幕府) as ''daimyō'' ...
s'', and second, growing
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 ...
following the arrival of a
U.S. 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 o ...
fleet under the command of
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 ...
(which led to the forced opening of Japan). The first related to those lords who had fought against Tokugawa forces at
Sekigahara
The Battle of Sekigahara (Shinjitai: ; Kyūjitai: , Hepburn romanization: ''Sekigahara no Tatakai'') was a decisive battle on October 21, 1600 (Keichō 5, 15th day of the 9th month) in what is now Gifu prefecture, Japan, at the end of ...
(in 1600) and had from that point on been exiled permanently from all powerful positions within the shogunate. The second was to be expressed in the phrase ''
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"). The end for the
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 government ...
was the Boshin War, notably the Battle of Toba–Fushimi, when pro-shogunate forces were defeated.Ravina, Mark (2004).''Last Samurai: The Life and Battles of Saigo Takamori''. John Wiley & Sons, 2004
List of Tokugawa ''shōguns''
Family Tree
Over the course of the Edo period, influential relatives of the shogun included:
*
Tokugawa Mitsukuni
, also known as , was a Japanese daimyo who was known for his influence in the politics of the early Edo period. He was the third son of Tokugawa Yorifusa (who in turn was the eleventh son of Tokugawa Ieyasu) and succeeded him, becoming the sec ...
of the
Mito Domain
was a Japanese domain of the Edo period. It was associated with Hitachi Province in modern-day Ibaraki Prefecture.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 ...
of the
Mito Domain
was a Japanese domain of the Edo period. It was associated with Hitachi Province in modern-day Ibaraki Prefecture.Tokugawa Mochiharu of the Hitotsubashi branch
*
Tokugawa Munetake
was a Japanese samurai of the mid-Edo period, also known as Tayasu Munetake (田安 宗武). The first head of the Tayasu branch of the Tokugawa clan, he held daimyō-level income, but was not a daimyō himself, instead having his residence insi ...
Matsudaira Katamori
Matsudaira Katamori after the Meiji restoration
was a samurai who lived in Bakumatsu period and the early to mid Meiji period Japan. He was the 9th ''daimyō'' of the Aizu Domain and the Kyoto Shugoshoku (Military Commissioner of Kyoto). He i ...
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 ...
Keian uprising The was a failed coup d'état attempt carried out against the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan in 1651, by a number of ''rōnin''. Though it failed, the event is historically significant as an indication of a wider problem of disgruntled rōnin through ...
Harvard University Press
Harvard University Press (HUP) is a publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University, and focused on academic publishing. It is a member of the Association of American University Presses. After the retir ...
* Bolitho, Harold. (1974). ''Treasures Among Men: The Fudai Daimyo in Tokugawa Japan''. New Haven: Yale University Press. OCLC 185685588 * Haga, Tōru, translated by
Juliet Winters Carpenter
Juliet Winters Carpenter (born 1948) is an American translator of modern Japanese literature. Born in the American Midwest, she studied Japanese literature at the University of Michigan and the Inter-University Center for Japanese Language Studie ...
. ''Pax Tokugawana: The Cultural Flowering of Japan, 1603–1853''. Tokyo: Japan Publishing Industry Foundation for Culture.
* Totman, Conrad. ''The Collapse of the Tokugawa Bakufu, 1862–1868''. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 1980.
* Totman, Conrad. ''Politics in the Tokugawa Bakufu, 1600–1843''. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1967.
* Waswo, Ann ''Modern Japanese Society 1868–1994''
* The Center for East Asian Cultural Studies ''Meiji Japan Through Contemporary Sources, Volume Two 1844–1882''
archive.org
The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...