History of Japan

Japan
Edo period
1603 - 1868
Meiji (era) 1868 - 1912
Text wikipedia/slideshow Anders Dernback

EDO Period 1603 - 1868
The Edo period (江戸時代, Edo jidai) or Tokugawa period (徳川時代,
Tokugawa jidai) is the period between 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan,
when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the
country's 300 regional daimyō. The period was characterized by economic
growth, strict social order, isolationist foreign policies, a stable population,
"no more wars", and popular enjoyment of arts and culture. The shogunate
was officially established in Edo on March 24, 1603, by Tokugawa Ieyasu. The
period came to an end with the Meiji Restoration on May 3, 1868, after the
fall of Edo.

Consolidation of the shogunate
A revolution took place from the time of the Kamakura shogunate, which
existed with the Tennō's court, to the Tokugawa, when the samurai became
the unchallenged rulers in what historian Edwin O. Reischauer called a
"centralized feudal" form of shogunate. Instrumental in the rise of the new-
existing bakufu was Tokugawa Ieyasu, the main beneficiary of the
achievements of Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Already powerful,
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), and also had an additional two million koku of land
and thirty-eight vassals under his control. After Hideyoshi's death, Ieyasu
moved quickly to seize control from the Toyotomi clan.

Ieyasu's victory over the western daimyō 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 era) gave him control of all Japan. He rapidly abolished
numerous enemy daimyō 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 daimyō, but his
assumption of the title of shōgun helped consolidate the alliance system.
After further strengthening his power base, Ieyasu installed his son Hidetada
(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.

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 (domains) to describe the government and society
of the period. In the bakuhan, the shōgun had national authority and the
daimyō 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 daimyō. Closest
to the Tokugawa house were the shinpan, or "related houses". They were
twenty-three daimyō 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 daimyō",
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 daimyō,
they were the most cautiously managed
and generously treated, although they
were excluded from central government
positions.
Honda Tadakatsu

The Tokugawa shogunate not only consolidated
their control over a reunified Japan, they also had
unprecedented power over the emperor, the court,
all daimyō 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 daimyō 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 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
daimyō were not taxed per se, they were regularly levied for contributions for military 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 daimyō, thus weakening their threat to the central administration. The
han, once military-centered domains, became mere local administrative units. The daimyō
did have full administrative control over their territory and their complex systems of
retainers, bureaucrats and commoners. Loyalty was exacted from religious foundations,
already greatly weakened by Nobunaga and Hideyoshi, through a variety of control
mechanisms.

Foreign trade relations

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.
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 Western-style warships, such as
the San Juan Bautista, a 500-ton galleon-type ship that transported a Japanese
embassy headed by Hasekura Tsunenaga to the Americas and then to Europe.

Also during that period, the bakufu commissioned around 720 Red Seal Ships,
three-masted and armed trade ships, for intra-Asian commerce. Japanese
adventurers, such as Yamada Nagamasa, used those ships throughout Asia.
The "Christian problem" was, in effect, a problem of controlling both the
Christian daimyō 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, a small artificial island—and thus, not true Japanese
soil—in Nagasaki's harbor.

The shogunate perceived Catholic Christianity to
be an extremely destabilizing factor, and so
decided to target it. The Shimabara Rebellion of
1637–38, in which discontented Catholic
Christian 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, although some
Catholic Christians survived by going
underground, the so-called Kakure Kirishitan.
Siege of Hara castle

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. Besides small trade of
some outer daimyō with Korea and the
Ryukyu Islands, to the southwest of Japan's
main islands, by 1641, foreign contacts were
limited by the policy of sakoku to Nagasaki.
Painting of Japanese and Dutch trade
on Dejima (in Nagasaki), circa 1820.
The view includes two Dutch ships and
numerous Chinese trading junks.

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, 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 port in Nagasaki. Other
Europeans who landed on Japanese shores were
put to death without trial.

Bird's-eye view
of the Nagasaki
bay, with the
island Dejima at
mid-left (1820).

Society
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 daimyō.
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 that were built around daimyō
castles, each restricted to their own quarter. Edo society had an elaborate
social structure, in which every family knew its place and level of prestige.

The house of
the merchant
(Fukagawa
Edo Museum)

At the top were the Emperor and the court
nobility, invincible in prestige but weak in
power. Next came the shōgun, daimyō and
layers of feudal lords whose rank was
indicated by their closeness to the
Tokugawa. They had power. The daimyō
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.
Social classes during the Edo period
(Tokugawa shogunate).

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 (ashigaru). 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 principles of social order. Most samurai lost their direct possession
of the land: the daimyō 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. The daimyō were put under tight control of the shogunate. Their
families had to reside in Edo; the daimyō themselves had to reside in Edo for
one year and in their province (han) for the next. This system was called
sankin-kōtai.

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
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.

Edo, 1865 or 1866.
Photochrom print. Five
albumen prints joined to
form a panorama.
Photographer: Felice Beato.

Economic development
The Edo period bequeathed a vital commercial sector to be in burgeoning
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, increased shipping of commodities, a significant expansion of
domestic and, initially, foreign commerce, and a diffusion of trade and
handicraft 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, and Osaka and Kyoto each
had more than 400,000 inhabitants. Many other
castle towns grew as well. Japan had almost zero
population growth between the 1720s and 1820s,
often attributed to lower birth rates in response to
widespread famine, but some historians have
presented different theories, such as a high rate of
infanticide artificially controlling population. 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.

Economy
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 in 1600 to
3 million by 1720. 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. Large-scale rice
markets developed, centered on Edo and Osaka. 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.

The merchants benefited enormously, especially those with official patronage. The
samurai, forbidden to engage in farming or business but allowed to borrow money,
borrowed too much. The bakufu and daimyos raised taxes on farmers, but did not tax
business, so they too fell into debt. 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—with prohibitions on 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 (1759-1829). Others shoguns debased the coinage to pay debts,
which caused inflation.

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. Some wealthy
merchants sought higher social
status by using money to marry into
the samurai class.

EDO Period 1603 - 1868 Agriculture
Rice 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 daimyō 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 daimyō collected the taxes from the
peasants in the form of rice. Taxes were high, about 40% of the harvest.

The rice was sold at the fudasashi market in Edo. To raise money, the daimyō
used forward contracts 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 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 daimyō could authorize the use
of wood. By the 18th century, Japan had developed detailed scientific
knowledge about silviculture and plantation forestry.

EDO Period 1603 - 1868 Financial services
The merchants benefited enormously, especially those with official patronage.
The samurai, forbidden to engage in farming or business but allowed to
borrow money, borrowed too much. The bakufu and daimyos raised taxes on
farmers, but did not tax business, so they too fell into debt. 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—
with prohibitions on 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 (1759-1829).

Others shoguns debased the coinage to pay debts, which caused inflation. 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. Some wealthy
merchants sought higher social status by using money to marry into the
samurai class. 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.

Scaled pocket
plan of Edo

EDO Period 1603 - 1868 Entertainment
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 (theater) emerged. Some, such as shibaraku, 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.

Kuniyoshi Utagawa,
Japan, The actor

End of the shogunate
The end of this period is specifically called the
late Tokugawa shogunate. 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 of the US Navy,
whose armada (known by Japanese as "the black
ships") fired weapons from Edo Bay. 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 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.

Despite these efforts to restrict wealth and
partly because of the extraordinary period of
peace, 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 guilds, 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 loans.
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 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.

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 and contributing 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 (called Sakhalin under Russian
and Soviet control) and on the Kuril Islands, 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 whalers 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 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 (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 with two
warships in July 1846.

EDO Period 1603 - 1868 End of seclusion
When Commodore Matthew C. Perry'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
(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 daimyō 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) 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), 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 Chinese 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 daimyō, further
undermining the already weakened bakufu. In the Ansei Reform (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
daimyō, 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, 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.
Landing of Commodore Perry, Officers
and Men of the Squadron To meet the
Imperial Commissioners at Kurihama
Yokosuka March 8th, 1854

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 daimyō, 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 daimyō.

The final economic reform of the Tenpō 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 silk worms in the Ina Valley) from
Hirata Atsutane's School of National Learning:

Meiji (era) 1868 - 1912
The Meiji is an era of Japanese history which extended from October 23, 1868
to July 30, 1912. This era represents the first half of the Empire of Japan, during
which period the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society
at risk of colonisation by European powers to the new paradigm of a modern,
industrialised nationstate and emergent great power, influenced by Western
scientific, technological, philosophical, political, legal, and aesthetic ideas. As a
result of such wholesale adoption of radically-different ideas, the changes to
Japan were profound, and affected its social structure, internal politics,
economy, military, and foreign relations. The period corresponded to the reign
of Emperor Meiji and was succeeded upon the accession of Emperor Taishō by
the Taishō era.

Meiji (era) 1868 - 1912
On February 3, 1867, the 14-year-old Prince Mutsuhito succeeded his father, Emperor
Kōmei, to the Chrysanthemum Throne as the 122nd emperor.
On November 9, 1867, then-shōgun Tokugawa Yoshinobu tendered his resignation to the
Emperor, and formally stepped down ten days later. Imperial restoration occurred the next
year on January 3, 1868, with the formation of the new government. The fall of Edo in the
summer of 1868 marked the end of the Tokugawa shogunate, and a new era, Meiji, was
proclaimed. The first reform was the promulgation of the Five Charter Oath in 1868, a
general statement of the aims of the Meiji leaders to boost morale and win financial
support for the new government. Its five provisions consisted of:
Establishment of deliberative assemblies;
Involvement of all classes in carrying out state affairs;
Revocation of sumptuary laws and class restrictions on employment;
Replacement of "evil customs" with the "just laws of nature"; and
An international search for knowledge to strengthen the foundations of imperial rule.

Meiji (era) 1868 - 1912
The Meiji government assured the foreign powers that it would follow the old
treaties negotiated by the bakufu and announced that it would act in
accordance with international law. Mutsuhito, who was to reign until 1912,
selected a new reign title—Meiji, or Enlightened Rule—to mark the beginning
of a new era in Japanese history. To further dramatize the new order, the
capital was relocated from Kyoto, where it had been situated since 794, to
Tokyo (Eastern Capital), the new name for Edo. In a move critical for the
consolidation of the new regime, most daimyōs voluntarily surrendered their
land and census records to the Emperor in the abolition of the Han system,
symbolizing that the land and people were under the Emperor's jurisdiction.

Meiji (era) 1868 - 1912
Confirmed in their hereditary positions, the
daimyo became governors, and the central
government assumed their administrative
expenses and paid samurai stipends. The han
were replaced with prefectures in 1871, and
authority continued to flow to the national
government. Officials from the favored former
han, such as Satsuma, Chōshū, Tosa, and Hizen
staffed the new ministries. Formerly old court
nobles, and lower-ranking but more radical
samurai, replaced bakufu appointees and
daimyo as a new ruling class appeared.
Emperor Meiji in his fifties.

Meiji (era) 1868 - 1912
The government supported Shinto teachers, a small but important move.
Although the Office of Shinto Worship was demoted in 1872, by 1877 the
Home Ministry controlled all Shinto shrines and certain Shinto sects were
given state recognition. Shinto was released from Buddhist administration
and its properties restored. Although Buddhism suffered from state
sponsorship of Shinto, it had its own resurgence. Christianity also was
legalized, and Confucianism remained an important ethical doctrine.
Increasingly, however, Japanese thinkers identified with Western ideology
and methods.

Meiji (era) 1868 - 1912 Politics
A major proponent of representative government was Itagaki Taisuke (1837–
1919), a powerful Tosa leader who had resigned from the Council of State
over the Korean affair in 1873. Itagaki sought peaceful, rather than rebellious,
means to gain a voice in government. He started a school and a movement
aimed at establishing a constitutional monarchy and a legislative assembly.
Such movements were called The Freedom and People's Rights Movement.
Between 1871 and 1873, a series of land and tax laws were enacted as the basis for modern fiscal policy.
Private ownership was legalized, deeds were issued, and lands were assessed at fair market value with
taxes paid in cash rather than in kind as in pre-Meiji days and at slightly lower rates.
Dissatisfied with the pace of reform after having rejoined the Council of State in 1875, Itagaki organized his
followers and other democratic proponents into the nationwide Aikokusha (Society of Patriots) to push
for representative government in 1878. In 1881, in an action for which he is best known, Itagaki helped
found the Jiyūtō (Liberal Party), which favored French political doctrines.

Meiji (era) 1868 - 1912
In 1882, Ōkuma Shigenobu established the Rikken Kaishintō (Constitutional
Progressive Party), which called for a British-style constitutional democracy. In
response, government bureaucrats, local government officials, and other
conservatives established the Rikken Teiseitō (Imperial Rule Party), a pro-
government party, in 1882
Numerous political demonstrations followed, some of them violent, resulting in further government
restrictions. The restrictions hindered the political parties and led to divisions within and among them. The
Jiyūtō, which had opposed the Kaishinto, was disbanded in 1884 and Ōkuma resigned as Kaishintō president.
Government leaders, long preoccupied with violent threats to stability and the serious leadership split over
the Korean affair, generally agreed that constitutional government should someday be established. The
Chōshū leader Kido Takayoshi had favored a constitutional form of government since before 1874, and
several proposals for constitutional guarantees had been drafted. While acknowledging the realities of
political pressure, however, the oligarchy was determined to keep control. Thus, modest steps were taken.

Meiji (era) 1868 - 1912
The Osaka Conference in 1875 resulted in the reorganization of government with an
independent judiciary and an appointed Chamber of Elders (Genrōin) tasked with reviewing
proposals for a legislature.
The Emperor declared that "constitutional government shall be established in gradual
stages" as he ordered the Council of Elders to draft a constitution.
Three years later, the Conference of Prefectural Governors established elected prefectural
assemblies. Although limited in their authority, these assemblies represented a move in the
direction of representative government at the national level, and by 1880 assemblies also
had been formed in villages and towns. In 1880 delegates from twenty-four prefectures
held a national convention to establish the Kokkai Kisei Dōmei.
Although the government was not opposed to parliamentary rule, confronted with the
drive for "people's rights", it continued to try to control the political situation. New laws in
1875 prohibited press criticism of the government or discussion of national laws. The Public
Assembly Law (1880) severely limited public gatherings by disallowing attendance by civil
servants and requiring police permission for all meetings.

Meiji (era) 1868 - 1912
Rejecting the British model, Iwakura and other conservatives borrowed
heavily from the Prussian constitutional system. One of the Meiji oligarchy,
Itō Hirobumi (1841–1909), a Chōshū native long involved in government
affairs, was charged with drafting Japan's constitution. He led a
constitutional study mission abroad in 1882, spending most of his time in
Germany. He rejected the United States Constitution as "too liberal", and the
British system as too unwieldy, and having a parliament with too much
control over the monarchy; the French and Spanish models were rejected as
tending toward despotism.
The Constitution of the Empire of Japan was enacted on November 29, 1890. It was a form
of mixed constitutional and absolute monarchy. The Emperor of Japan was legally the
supreme leader, and the Cabinet were his followers. The Prime Minister would be elected
by a Privy Council. In reality, the Emperor was head of state but the Prime Minister was the
actual head of government.

Meiji (era) 1868 - 1912 Society
On its return, one of the first acts of the government was to establish new
ranks for the nobility. Five hundred people from the old court nobility, former
daimyo, and samurai who had provided valuable service to the Emperor were
organized into a new peerage, the Kazoku, consisting of five ranks: prince,
marquis, count, viscount, and baron.
In the transition between the Edo period and the Meiji era, the Ee ja nai ka
movement, a spontaneous outbreak of ecstatic behavior, took place.
In 1885, noted public intellectual Yukichi Fukuzawa wrote the influential essay
"Leaving Asia", arguing that Japan should orient itself at the "civilized
countries of the West", leaving behind the "hopelessly backward" Asian
neighbors, namely Korea and China. This essay certainly encouraged the
economic and technological rise of Japan in the Meiji era, but it also may have
laid the intellectual foundations for later Japanese colonialism in the region.

Meiji (era) 1868 - 1912
The elite class of the Meiji era adapted many aspects of Victorian taste, as
seen in the construction of Western-style pavilions and reception rooms called
yōkan or yōma in their homes. These parts of Meiji homes were displayed in
popular magazines of the time, such as Ladies' Graphic, which portrayed the
often empty rooms of the homes of the aristocracy of all levels, including the
imperial palaces.
Integrating Western cultural forms with an assumed, untouched native
Japanese spirit was characteristic of Meiji society, especially at the top levels,
and represented Japan's search for a place within a new world power system
in which European colonial empires dominated.

Meiji (era) 1868 - 1912 Economy
The Industrial Revolution in Japan occurred during the Meiji era. The industrial revolution
began about 1870 as Meiji era leaders decided to catch up with the West. The government
built railroads, improved roads, and inaugurated a land reform program to prepare the
country for further development. It inaugurated a new Western-based education system
for all young people, sent thousands of students to the United States and Europe, and
hired more than 3,000 Westerners to teach modern science, mathematics, technology, and
foreign languages in Japan
In 1871, a group of Japanese politicians known as the Iwakura Mission toured Europe and the US to learn
western ways. The result was a deliberate state led industrialisation policy to enable Japan to quickly catch
up. The Bank of Japan, founded in 1877, used taxes to fund model steel and textile factories.
Modern industry first appeared in textiles, including cotton and especially silk, which was based in home
workshops in rural areas. Due to the importing of new textile manufacturing technology from Europe,
between 1886 and 1897, Japan's total value of yarn output rose from 12 million to 176 million yen. In 1886,
62% of yarn in Japan was imported; by 1902, most yarn was produced locally. By 1913, Japan was producing
672 million pounds of yarn per year, becoming the fourth largest exporter of cotton yarn.

Meiji (era) 1868 - 1912
Hand in hand, the zaibatsu and government guided the nation, borrowing
technology from the West. Japan gradually took control of much of Asia's
market for manufactured goods, beginning with textiles. The economic
structure became very mercantilistic, importing raw materials and exporting
finished products—a reflection of Japan's relative poverty in raw materials.
The government initially was involved in economic modernization, providing a number
of "model factories" to facilitate the transition to the modern era. After the first twenty
years of the Meiji era, the industrial economy expanded rapidly until about 1920 with
inputs of advanced Western technology and large private investments. Stimulated by
wars and through cautious economic planning, Japan emerged from World War I as a
major industrial nation.
In 1885, the Meiji government sponsored a telegraph system, throughout Japan,
situating the telegraphs in all major Japanese cities at the time.

Meiji (era) 1868 - 1912 Military
Undeterred by opposition, the Meiji leaders continued to modernize the
nation through government-sponsored telegraph cable links to all major
Japanese cities and the Asian mainland and construction of railroads,
shipyards, munitions factories, mines, textile manufacturing facilities,
factories, and experimental agriculture stations. Greatly concerned about
national security, the leaders made significant efforts at military
modernization, which included establishing a small standing army, a large
reserve system, and compulsory militia service for all men. Foreign military
systems were studied, foreign advisers, especially French ones, were brought
in, and Japanese cadets sent abroad to Europe and the United States to
attend military and naval schools.

Meiji (era) 1868 - 1912
In 1854, after Admiral Matthew C. Perry forced the signing of the Treaty of
Kanagawa, Japanese elites took the position that they needed to modernize
the state's military capacities, or risk further coercion from Western powers.
In 1868, the Japanese government established the Tokyo Arsenal. This arsenal was
responsible for the development and manufacture of small arms and associated
ammunition. The same year, Ōmura Masujirō established Japan's first military academy in
Kyoto. Ōmura further proposed military billets be filled by all classes of people including
farmers and merchants. The shōgun class, not happy with Ōmura's views on conscription,
assassinated him the following year.
In 1870, Japan expanded its military production base by opening another arsenal in Osaka.
The Osaka Arsenal was responsible for the production of machine guns and ammunition.
Also, four gunpowder facilities also were opened at this site. Japan's production capacity
gradually expanded.
In 1872, Yamagata Aritomo and Saigō Jūdō, both new field marshals, founded the Corps of
the Imperial Guards

Meiji (era) 1868 - 1912
Despite the Conscription Law of 1873, and all the reforms and progress, the
new Japanese army was still untested. That all changed in 1877, when Saigō
Takamori led the last rebellion of the samurai in Kyūshū. In February 1877,
Saigō left Kagoshima with a small contingent of soldiers on a journey to
Tokyo.
When the United States Navy ended Japan's sakoku policy, and thus its
isolation, the latter found itself defenseless against military pressures and
economic exploitation by the Western powers. For Japan to emerge from
the feudal period, it had to avoid the colonial fate of other Asian countries
by establishing genuine national independence and equality. Following the
María Luz Incident, Japan released the Chinese coolies from a western ship
in 1872, after which the Qing imperial government of China gave thanks to
Japan.

Meiji (era) 1868 - 1912
Following Japan's victory over China in the First Sino-Japanese War (1894–
1895), Japan broke through as an international power with a victory against
Russia in Manchuria (north-eastern China) in the Russo-Japanese War of
1904–1905. Allied with Britain since the Anglo-Japanese Alliance signed in
London on January 30, 1902, Japan joined the Allies in World War I, seizing
German-held territory in China and the Pacific in the process, but otherwise
remained largely out of the conflict.
Following World War I, a weakened Europe left a greater share in
international markets to the United States and Japan, which emerged greatly
strengthened. Japanese competition made great inroads into hitherto-
European-dominated markets in Asia, not only in China, but even in European
colonies such as India and Indonesia, reflecting the development of the Meiji
era.

Meiji (era) 1868 - 1912
The final years of the Meiji era were also
marked by the annexation of Korea in
1911; Japan's occupation of the peninsula
nation would persist until Japan's loss in
World War II in 1945, during the middle of
the Shōwa period, and would have lasting
negative repercussions on foreign
relations between Japan and North and
South Korea.

History of Japan

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (20)

Similar to History of Japan

Similar to History of Japan (20)

More from ADVICEDERNBACK

More from ADVICEDERNBACK (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

History of Japan