Category: Tokugawa Shogunate

The shogunate and daimyos viewed the economy in simple agriculturist terms. They saw the economic system where the peasants’ role was to produce basic foods. Peasants were to give a good portion of their products in tax to support the ruling classes. Artisans used their skills to craft necessary non-food items. Finally, goods that could not be acquired through any other means could be purchased from merchants. Merchants were denied the necessary evil of the economic system. However, the Tokugawa period saw rapid growth in the economy. It occurred first in the agricultural sector. However, merchant-driven trade and market activity also contributed to the growth. This was due to the concentration of population in cities. Many Tokugawa authorities stick to their old notions of the agriculture-based economy. The samurai class who were dependent on the daimyos were not allowed to engage in profitable trading or farming and had disadvantages. The ruling class could not take advantage of the economic growth. On the other hand, the substantial benefits went to merchants and even to market-savvy peasants. Therefore, we see an inversion of the status hierarchy based on the four-class system due to economic growth. As a result, a wealthy, educated, and powerful commoner population was created. Meanwhile, samurai, especially those of low rank, steadily became economically weaker.

“Merchants and Society in Tokugawa Japan” by Charles D. Sheldon, show the rise of mercantilism in late Tokugawa. It is discussed that merchants, although placed at the bottom of the hierarchy, managed to gain advantage from the economic growth as compared to the Samurai class. The author gives us the reasons behind the transformation of the commoner culture as well. For example, “Samurai were prohibited legally from engaging in trade and this gave the merchants a monopoly which they proceeded, naturally enough and with skill, to exploit”

From the end of the seventeenth century, the bakufu, as well as most of the daimyos, faced financial difficulties. This happened because most of the samurai class were underemployed in terms of official duties, along with that they were used to a high standard of life which they considered appropriate to their rank and status. An example of this could be Katsu Kokichi’s story. Katsu Kokichi is also known as Musui was a samurai of the Tokugawa period. The story provides the perspective of Japanese society and its economy. Katsu had many dependents and the stipend from the shogunate would not be enough to feed his family. He did various other jobs to take care of his family. The stipend that the retired samurais got was only forty-one koku which surely was not enough compared to the expense’s samurai class had. These unemployed samurais were called kubushin. If they wanted a job, they were investigated based on domestic situations, finances literary, and military talents. Many of the kobushins would avoid the appointments to avoid the other costs.

The economic growth affected different classes differently, clearly, merchants benefitted from the increase in trade, markets, and urbanization. One question to answer is why did the Samurai suffer? First, samurai had fixed stipends, disbursed rice. These stipends were given based on an individual’s rank and office and did not increase at a pace equal to the rise in prices. Second, with the growth of the market and monetization of the economy, samurai had to trade their rice stipend for cash. We see in the reading of Merchants and Society by Sheldon, he says, “the only sector of the economy which continued to flourish was the mercantile and banking sector and the merchants whose monopoly it was, though monopoly of city commerce was increasingly challenged by provincial merchants.” Samurais were in dilemma because of the market price of rice and the greed of merchant money chargers. Finally, samurai were forbidden by law from engaging in farming and commerce. All these factors were in the way of the samurais to benefit from the economic growth. As this happened samurai began to borrow money for the future to meet their present needs. This benefited the merchants on a large spectrum. This became even worse as they also had to maintain their appearances according to the protocol. In Musui’s story, katsu wanted to get jobs and had to maintain his elite status, to do so he made sure to buy expensive clothing.

Tokugawa authorities were aware of the problem samurais were facing. They kept defining the samurai’s job as moral administrators. Common people could not fulfill those roles. Scholars such as Ogyu Sorai had proposed reforms to get the samurais out of these problems however, the authorities thinking about proper order could not change the reality. Wagyu Sorai proposed to let the samurai return to the land so they could farm. In the end the commoners, specifically the merchants benefited from the economic growth than the elites like Samurai.

I will describe the second gap between the perception of women’s role in Tokugawa Japan and the reality. There are several contradictory perspectives of women in modern Japan. Female labor was ignored in the understanding of women. The picture of “Ukiyoe” (the picture of the floating world) gives us an idea of the role of women in society beyond that of the Confucian ideal of ideal Japanese women. How were the women of the Tokugawa period? Through the readings of “Great Learning for women” we see a reflection of Japanese women in the Tokugawa period, however, a question that can be raised is, is this an accurate reflection of women in Japan? Are there rules because no one is following them? In Onna Daigaku, a description of women is limited to righteous wives, who are to be, not silly, disease-free, filial, docile, obedient, isolated, fertile, not jealous, and frugal. However, we see a different picture in Yokota Fuyuhiko’s “Imagining Working women in early modern Japan ” which is more focused on labor. The author tells us how husbands and wives worked together. Although disvalued women’s work was almost everywhere. As shown in Onna daigaku the relationship between sex and status did not exist in Japan. The work was emphasized the elite class neglecting the women of other classes. As the economic growth was happening women were also prominent in this growth. Women worked in textiles, in pleasure quarters. The women in pleasure quarters were in high demand. We also know from the readings of “women of the mito domain” that women’s jobs were not only limited to household but also, they were engaged in martial arts.

Women in Tokugawa, especially in rural surroundings lived in a more equal environment because their work was important in the survival of rural families. Although men remained the head of the house, women influenced the decisions as well. Through the picture of the floating world and literature by women, one can justify that Modern Japan was not nadired status for women. Women were even allowed to deny marriage if they were willing to remain with their parents to take care of them, although it could disturb the structure of the society. Moreover, we learn from the readings of, “Women of the Mito Domain” that the samurai children received intensive education and women were not disadvantaged with this. It was the women of the samurai class and the common class who organized an educational system consisting of newly established schools and private academics. The Japanese concept of “Bento” as discussed in class is of the lunchbox, which was graded by the teachers stressing the fact that women should influence their children in the study and do so, this bento needs to be healthy for the kids. Men were not to evaluate a woman based on her appearance but also the grade of education. This led to a high level of education for the women of the Tokugawa period. Women in cities were able to receive higher education compared to the rural areas. Overall, these gaps in Economic growth and Women’s role existed. We can understand these and their significance through documents on Japan’s Tokugawa period.

In Feudal Japan, the Shogun was the absolute leader in terms of the military. During the decline of the Shogunate, specifically Tokugawa Shogunate, the emperor was not the figure with the most power. Instead, he was just a figure to be worshipped and looked up to while the Shogun ruled. Eventually, this way of running Japan collapsed due to many internal and external factors. Japan started to be criticized by other countries for being extremely closed off and not evolving in terms of more modern technology, by the 1830s, the way Japan was being run caused famines, and peasants demanded that Shogun relax the limitations on foreign trade. More natural disasters were happening, and the Shogun did not prepare Japan for possible crop losses, leaving tax increasingly impossible to pay. As peasants rioted and fought against the Shogun’s rule, it finally collapsed.

Natural disasters tore Japan apart, while Shogunate appeared to be unbeknownst to the havoc it was causing Japanese citizens who weren’t royalty or Samurai, (merchants, peasants & farmers) who still were asked to pay tax, which got increasingly unreasonable in quantity and was too much to ask for those struggling. Shogun continued to enlarge the tax rates during this time, although the situation was dire and people were lucky if they scraped by with anything to eat or drink during the day. Work hours got longer and taxes got higher, but it was unsustainable due to the constant natural disasters. With no clear plan of action and recovery when these disasters hit, the crisis was every day for the general public in Japan.

Peasants began an uprising of new ideas about how Japan should be run, meaning Japan was at war against itself. This internal war caused those lower in the feudal system of Japan to begin to find their voice in the hopes of bringing light to the situation the Shogunate government put them in.

Considering peasants, farmers and merchants weren’t particularly powerful, it wasn’t enough to change the whole system, but the government became more aware of how powerful a large group of people is if they are passionate about change. This helped in raising awareness but didn’t change the government.

Towards the end of the Shogun’s rule, Japan got extreme criticism regarding this system of hierarchy and how it was clearly outdated, and Japan as a whole suffered through complete isolation throughout the entire Shogun period. With no culture experienced other than their own, technologies not advancing due to it being the same constant system, and no room for uniqueness or anything out of the ordinary, peasants and those of lower class such as merchants were tired of the disappointing, repetitive lifestyle, wanting to do more than just the same things day after day. Foreign influence was a joke to the Shoguns and was simply not allowed. However, because of this, more people began to be curious about things outside of Japan and people outside of Japan became more curious about things inside Japan.

During this time, Japan continued to endure immense hardship from lack of foreign trade as a mass wave of famines and overall depression caused crops to stop growing, people got sick and tired, all the while hating the system they were living in and were fighting against the forced lack of foreign trade, caused by the Shogun being strict about what was let into the country, but not thinking about the inability to pay taxes as the country fell apart. This crisis caused Japanese civilians to become more aware of just how bad the government they were under was, and brought more attention to the increasing problems that the Shogunate weren’t controlled well enough.

Overall, Shogunate Japan collapsed due to a number of internal and external factors, including natural disasters which weren’t being handled well enough, and a constant increase of taxes that were introduced, while not enough crops were growing to compensate for it, driving those who relied on crops to make a living deeper into poverty. With complete isolation and little to no foreign influence, famines, and depression, and an internal war raging due to the system that was pulling Japan backward rather than pushing them forward, Shogunate Japan collapsed in 1867 before the Meiji Restoration.

Shogunate Japan is a period of time during the years 1185 (officially recognized as 1192) to 1867 in which the leading military general, the shoguns, ruled the lands. This era is usually considered to be a time of great growth for Japan: especially economically prospering. However, many choices and events under the rule of the Shogunate have also had a varying detrimental effect on Japan. The Sengoku period was filled with power struggles and warfare between the local warlords and Japan fell into a state of constant combat and conflict. Additionally, the isolation that was brought collectively from the establishment of the policy, sakoku, held Japan back from further progressing as efficiently as other countries.

Economically, Shogunate Japan was a time of great flourishing. During the Edo period in the 1680s to the early 1700s, there was a new-placed focus on the industry of agriculture which was one of the main contributors towards the large economic growth. Daimyo, who owned farming land, created more effective ways to increase productivity regarding the cultivation and harvest of crops. The ways in which agriculture was improved included the increased usage of fertilizers and more reliable water sources for irrigation, solutions to flooding, and a larger amount of land to farm on. This allowed the production of crops (mainly rice) to become more commercial in trade rather than subsistence. Coupled with the advances agriculturally and the development of commerce and manufacturing across Japan of other merchandise, such as fabric, silk, and sake (alcoholic Japanese drink) for example, gave way to a more complex.

The Sengoku period was a deleterious stretch of time for Japan that consisted of numerous years of civil war and conflict to gain dominance amongst and over another daimyo. Synonymously titled as the Warring States period, the Sengoku period occurred over the duration of 1467-1573 CE and transpired during and till the end of the Ashikaga Shogunate (1333-1573 CE). The Sengoku period and the several battles it consists of were caused due by the decreased power of the Shogun in the Muromachi period (the time of the rule Ashikaga Shogunate). As weaker shoguns came to power under the rule of the Ashikaga Shogunate, Japan fell into a state of warfare and power struggles amongst daimyos who wanted and fought for the control of Japan, thus marking the start of the Warring States period. The following century of bitter violence that daimyos waged against each other, exploiting their armies of samurai and attempting to seize more power for themselves, splintered Japan into segregated feudal estates. Famines also befell the Japanese people due to the huge expense of the battles. Conversely, there was also a benefit that came out of the battles. The first war in the Sengoku period was called the Onin war, officially declared to have started in the year 1467 which continued on for another decade. This war filtered out the weak daimyo from the strong as the number of people who held that rank shrank. The daimyo who came out victorious absorbed and claimed the lands that they conquered and field armies grew exponentially, from numbers which were only hundreds to tens of thousands. This allowed the opportunity for more complex army formation dynamics and configurations. However, it is indisputable that during the Warring States period famines occurred and people were at constant threat of battles, war, and pillage; all of which were harmful to Japan as a country.

The advances for Japan were slackened and stunted in comparison to the rest of the world, mainly due to the isolation that came as a consequence of sakoku. The shogun, Tokugawa Iemitsu established sakoku as a policy in the year 1633. It forbade any foreigners to have the ability to enter Japan’s lands, outlawing western trade completely. The Japanese were also prohibited from leaving the country, lest be faced with a sentence to death. Tokugawa Iemitsu considered foreign influence to be jeopardy to his rule and authority and drew harsh demarcations surrounding Japan to isolate it from the rest of the world. The shogun enforced this policy as a means to further consolidate his supremacy over Japan. It prevented any trade from anywhere than inside Japan, with the exception of very restricted contact with China and the Netherlands. As a consequence of this, Japan fell behind and progressed slower on an international scale due to the ostracization of global interaction. The difference between Japan and western technology is clearly emphasized when the Americans first came to Japan on the 8th of July, 1853, depicted in an artist’s interpretation of the event on the side. There is a stark contrast between the small wooden boats that the Japanese sailed in comparison to the gargantuan, black steamships that Commodore Matthew Perry commanded. Upon the arrival of the ships, the Japanese were so shocked by the sheer size and weaponry on them that they called the ships, ‘giant dragons, puffing smoke’, highlighting Japan’s ignorance rooted in being cut off from the outside world. Sakoku is also the cause of the Tokugawa Shogunate’s downfall, when Overall, the sakoku policy was detrimental to Japan’s growth as a country.

The Dutch and Japanese relation dates back over 400 years ago back in 1609 when the Dutch first arrived in Japan. This occurred during the Tokugawa shogunate. A shogunate was the government of the times of Feudal Japan, at these times Japan was ruled by a shogun or the highest-ranked military leader. The Tokugawa shogunate was the last shogunate of traditional Japan which gave Japan peace and strong economic growth. Its rule was extremely strong and this strength was admired throughout the world, it had allowed trade connection with the Netherlands which were part of the Dutch East India Company, a massive megacorporation that allowed the Dutch to continue in their spice trades across Europe. This began a very close relationship of trade, military and education between the Dutch and Japanese which can still be seen today.

Now, to begin with, the sources. One of the pre-contact sources of Japan before the Dutch came were the many pieces from the Jomon period. Jomon means ‘rope patterned’ which are seen on the earthenware pottery with the many rope indents that can be seen in nearly all Jomon potteries. The Jomon period spans over 14,000 years however most of the final works are the most detailed. As you can see from the two images provided from the same period, they have evolved from simple potteries to intricately detailed sculptures. These two pieces show the creativity and ability to create beautiful things from natural things around them. This shows the sophistication in their society and their ability to evolve their artistic abilities and become better and do more. Their advancements in such a short time to make pottery like this, they even had many more tools at the early stages of the Jomon period including baskets, needles, cooking ware and storage vessels. These advancements have created an extremely developed nation to this day. This style of pottery has not been lost in modern-day culture either however improved on and many people can still be seen creating earthenware just like this.

The Sengoku period was another stage in Japan’s history defined by the military and political conflicts. This is more commonly known as the ‘Age of the Warring States,’ a time when the Tokugawa shogunate was able to rise to power. This war lasted over 100 years over a petty dispute between two strong powers within the previous shogun, the Ashikaga shogunate. From this, we can see Japan’s strong military and fighting influence on their culture and lifestyles. Both of these are Tatami gusoku, a form of lightweight Japanese armour. This was worn by the samurais, paid soldiers of daimyo families who were used in battles especially at the time of the warring states. The tatami armour is made up of many individual pieces and many are decorated as well to show the status of the soldier used for ceremonies. Battle armours, however, are quite simple and plain sewn garments and much easier to manoeuvre in. This armour was quite effective during the war and the art of the samurai and the culture of fighting was very complex. These soldiers would study and train extremely hard to impress the families they serve however, were also quite rich and kept very high reputations. The samurai’s sword was practically a samurai’s pride there were a few different types of blades. Samurais were very honoured and respected many rules known as the Bushido. This was a code of honour, discipline and morality which must’ve been respected to keep their own honour. This was the ‘way of the warrior,’ it explained many things about their society. Japan had a strong connection to the military and abiding by rules showing that they would be ruthless soldiers and able to win battles with methodically thought plans and strategies.

The Dutch came to Japan during the Tokugawa shogunate when Tokugawa Ieyasu’s rule. This was a very harsh and strict time. The Dutch were the only ones allowed to trade in Japan due to strict laws set in place by the shogunate. This was a long period of isolation, so the government could control merchants, spread religion and gain more money for themselves. The shogunate wanted to make sure that there was no Christianity spread in Japan. The Portuguese had previously been into Japan and they had spread the religion throughout Japan but this shogun thought of Christianity as un-Japanese and foreign, undermining the Buddhist and Shinto religions. So they persecuted all Christians and as Dutch were more neutral and focused on trade they struck an agreement that would last over a hundred years. However, they were only allowed to trade in Dejima, this contact source proves the very fact of the Dutch presence in Japan. China and Korea were also administering their trade through this trading post off of Nagasaki. This source shows how small this trading post was but how much it brought to Japanese society. This place was very important as it expanded the reach of the Dutch East India company and allowed Japan to gain high riches. The Dutch brought many technological advancements to shoguns in their times of trading which proved to revolutionise the Japanese culture, including weapons, guns and so much more. Like the Tanegashima which was originally the Arquebus which was traded by the Dutch and modified by Japan for their use especially in the war.

The Rangaku was, in literal translation, Dutch learning. The Rangaku is a compilation of different bodies of varying topics and information found in the Western world, to learn for the Japanese. Its information was created during the time of the Dutch trade in Dejima. This allowed people in Japan to understand western concepts including medical sciences, biology and chemistry, geography, physical and electrical sciences and the western world. It was created by Japanese scholars trying to learn the Dutch language. These pioneers of knowledge helped the development of Japan and its overall understanding of the world. Through these scholars, people were able to learn about sciences, the geography of the world, advanced technologies, history, art and language. It mostly consisted of different aspects of science, medicine and botany. Many books of this could be found all across Japan to teach the nation about the wonders outside its borders. Rangaku was a form of learning for the Japanese to learn about the outer world as they had minimal interactions with other societies and ethnicities.

The whole trade system affected Japan, the old feudalism system was soon to be abolished due to the high wealth and economic growth, trade became very pressured and tensions grew within Japan. After the fall of the Tokugawa Shogunate during an overthrow movement of the last shogun, there was a period of fighting before the emperor, Emperor Meiji took control. This is known as the Meiji restoration when power was finally taken away from the shoguns and back to the emperors. As you can see in this source of the Emperor’s victory over the shoguns as he parades to the imperial palace in Edo or Tokyo. The new emperor practically demolished all pre-existing rules and laws and old lifestyles and completely replaced them with a more western-styled democratic system and western systems. This has allowed Japan to grow so exponentially to become of the biggest, wealthiest nations in the world. With their technological advancements and modernizations, in less than 200 years it has become from a once medieval country in constant dispute and war to the serene place we see today.