In this article, we will analyze one of the most famous eras of Japan, the renowned Edo Period governed by the Tokugawa. In this article, we will thoroughly examine this period and how it affected Japan and the world throughout its long history.
What do we need to know about the Edo Period?
It was during the Edo period that Japan entered an era of peace and national isolation. It was in this period that merchants were restricted, Christianity was suppressed, social hierarchy dominated and stabilized the country. The Edo period is famous for the Samurais, for commercial and agricultural growth, for the art of kabuki and bunraku theater, for education, and urban population.
The Edo period, also known as the Tokugawa period, is a period of Japanese history that was governed by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, from March 24, 1603, until May 3, 1868. This period marks the rule of the Tokugawa Shogunate (or Edo Shogunate) which was officially established on March 24, 1603, by the first shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu.
To clarify, the term Shogun (shōgun – 将軍) literally means Commander of the army. This was a title and military distinction during that time in Japan. It was granted by the Emperor himself. The Shogunate was a feudal regime up to modern times, similar to feudalism. Besides being a landowner, the shogun was a military chief who was only below the Emperor.
The Japanese name Bakufu (幕府) literally means “tent of government” (a military control), originally it is the house of a shogun, but it ended up being used in Japanese to describe the military dictatorship exercised by the shoguns.
Now that we have clarified these terms, we can return to the main topic. The period ended with the Meiji Restoration on May 3, 1868, the restoration of the government of the tenno (emperor) by the fifteenth and last shogun, Tokugawa Yoshinobu. The Edo period is also known for marking the beginning of Japan’s modern period.
Oda Nobunaga and the Reunification of Japan
During the Sengoku period (from the 15th to the 17th century), Japan suffered from tremendous political instability. Civil wars over land and power among the daimyos caused bloody waves. These wars contributed to the weakening of the central power of the Muromachi Shogunate, leaving each one to fend for themselves, completely hindering the unification of the country.
The reunification of Japan began to take shape with Oda Nobunaga’s campaign. He dominated the province of Owari in 1559, then marched on the capital of Kyoto in 1568, restoring the power of the royal court (symbolically).
By dominating Kyoto, Nobunaga continued eliminating his adversaries, even a Buddhist sect called Ikko-ikki, destroying a monastery in 1575. With the introduction of firearms into the country, Nobunaga was able to defeat enemy peoples such as the Takeda clan.
The Death of Oda Nobunaga
In 1582, Nobunaga was killed by one of his friends, Akechi Mitsuhide, who took advantage and usurped his master’s place. Until General Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who fought alongside Nobunaga, quickly destroyed this rebellion, Mitsuhide’s forces were eliminated and power was regained.
With the support of Nobunaga’s loyalists, and the union of several daimyos, Hideyoshi continued the reunification campaign, conquered the provinces of Kyushu and Shikoku, and finally defeated the last resistance, the Hojo family, which controlled Kanto. As a result, the military unification of Japan was completed.
Edo Period – Tokugawa Ieyasu
Tokugawa Ieyasu was instrumental in the rise of the new bakufu and the main beneficiary of the conquests of Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Always powerful, Ieyasu profited from his transfer to the rich Kanto area. He maintained 2.5 million koku of land and a new headquarters in Edo (future Tokyo), a strategically located castle city, and gained another two million koku of land and thirty-eight vassals under his control.
By destroying the forces that supported Hideyori at the Battle of Sekigahara, Tokugawa, without rivals of equal stature, managed to expand his domain throughout Japan, receiving from the Emperor, in 1603, the title of shogun, thus establishing the Tokugawa Shogunate.
Edo Period – What is a koku?
The koku (石) is a unit of volume in Japan. 3.6 koku is equivalent to one cubic meter. The koku is historically described as an amount of rice sufficient to feed one person for an entire year. (The measure equivalent to one person per day is masu). In 1891, one koku was altered and equated to 240100/1331 liters, which is equivalent to 180.39 liters.
After Hideyoshi’s death, power was once again contested among the feudal lords. Ieyasu quickly moved to gain control of Japan and the Toyotomi family. He used his military and political power.
Edo Period – Tokugawa Shogunate
The Edo period, also called Tokugawa, brought 200 years of stability to Japan. The system was called bakuhan, a combination of the terms bakufu and han (domains or fiefs). In the bakuhan, the daimyos had regional authority and the shogun national authority; this new system was very bureaucratic and complex.
The Tokugawa also had unprecedented power over the emperor and all others below him. The Tokugawa helped the imperial family regain its past glories by rebuilding their palaces and donating lands to them. As a guarantee of a bond between the imperial clan and the Tokugawa family, Ieyasu’s granddaughter became an imperial consort in 1619.
A code of laws was established to regulate the houses of the daimyos. The code encompassed private conduct, marriage, clothing, types of weapons, and number of troops allowed; mandatory rotating residence between Edo and the han (fief) from year to year (the Sankin kotai system); prohibited the construction of ships capable of navigating in open sea; banned Christianity; and stipulated that the regulations of the bakufu were the national law.
Although the daimyos were not officially taxed with taxes, they were regularly taxed with contributions for logistical and military support and for public works such as castles, roads, bridges, and palaces. The various regulations and taxes not only strengthened the Tokugawa but also drained the wealth of the daimyos, consequently weakening them as a threat to the central administration.
Trade with the Outside World during the Edo Period
Ieyasu encouraged foreign trade but did not trust foreigners. He wanted to make Edo a great port city, favoring its ports, but as soon as he observed that Europeans favored ports in Kyushu and that China had rejected his plans to establish official trade, he acted to take control of the existing trade and allowed only certain ports to handle specific types of goods.
The Christian problem was, consequently, a problem of controlling both the Christian daimyos in Kyushu and their trade with Europeans. In 1612, the servants and residents of the shogun in the lands of the Tokugawa were ordered to renounce Christianity.
More restrictions came in 1616 (the restriction of trade with foreigners could only be conducted in Nagasaki and Hirado, an island northwest of Kyushu), 1622 (the execution of 120 missionaries and converts), 1624 (the expulsion of the Spaniards), and 1629 (the execution of thousands of Christians).
Finally, in 1635, a decree prohibited any Japanese from traveling outside Japan or, if someone left, from returning someday. In 1636, the Dutch were restricted to Dejima, a small artificial island – not officially Japanese soil – in the bay of Nagasaki.
Edo Period – Shogunate vs. Christianity
The shogunate considered Christianity a major destabilizer, resulting in the persecution of Catholicism. Between 1637-1638, the Shimabara Rebellion occurred, in which samurais and Catholic villagers rebelled against the bakufu. Until Edo called for help from Dutch ships and bombarded the rebel fortress, thus marking the end of the Christian movement.
By 1650, Christianity was almost completely eradicated, and any external influence on Japan’s politics, religiosity, and economy ended. Only China and the Dutch East India Company had the right to visit Japan during this period, solely for commercial purposes, and they could only go to the port of Dejima in Nagasaki; otherwise, it was death.
After this incident, the Portuguese were expelled, members of the Portuguese diplomatic mission were executed, all subjects were ordered to register in Buddhist or Shinto temples, and the Dutch and Chinese were restricted to a specific piece of Nagasaki.
Development of the Edo Period
The economic development during the Edo period included a massive increase in urbanization, in the shipment of goods, and in the expansion of domestic, industrial, and artisanal trade. The construction trade grew, alongside banking businesses and merchant associations. The authorities of the hans managed agricultural production and rural craftsmanship as it grew.
By the 18th century, Edo already had a population exceeding one million inhabitants, while Osaka and Kyoto had about 400,000 inhabitants. Many other castle towns also grew. Osaka and Kyoto became centers of craftsmanship production and trade, while Edo was the center of supplies and urban goods.
During the Edo Period, Japan studied Western sciences and techniques (an act called rangaku or Dutch studies) through the books and information that Dutch merchants brought to Dejima. Geography, natural sciences, medicine, astronomy, languages, arts, physical sciences, electricity, and mechanical sciences were studied by the Japanese for development in various areas.
Neo-Confucianism was the main development of the Tokugawa period. Confucian studies were kept active among Buddhist clergy but expanded into a secular view of man and society. Ethical humanism, rationalism, and the neo-Confucian doctrine were appealing to government officials. In the 17th century, neo-Confucianism was the dominant philosophy in Japan and contributed to the development of the kokugaku school (of thought).
Consequences of rangaku for the population
Studies of mathematics, astronomy, cartography, engineering, and medicine were also encouraged. An emphasis was placed on the quality of manual work, especially in art. For the first time, urban populations had the means and free time to support a new mass culture.
The pursuit of entertainment became known as ukiyo-e (“the floating world”), an ideal world of fashion and popular entertainment. Professional female artists (geishas), music, popular stories, Kabuki and bunraku (“puppet theater”), poetry, and a rich literature and art, exemplified by woodblock printing (known as ukiyo-e), were all part of this flourishing culture. Literature also flourished with notable examples from playwright Chikamatsu Monzaemon (1653-1724) and poet, essayist, and travel writer Matsuo Basho (1644-1694).
Ukiyo-e prints began to be produced in the late 17th century, but in 1764 Harunobu produced the first polychrome print. Print designers of the next generation, including Torii Kiyonaga and Utamaro, created elegant and sometimes discerning representations of courtesans.
In the 19th century, the dominant figure was Hiroshige, a creator of romantic and somewhat sentimental landscape prints. The strange angles and shapes through which Hiroshige often represented landscapes, and the works of Kiyonaga and Utamaro, with their emphasis on flat surfaces and strong linear contours, later had a profound impact on Western artists like Edgar Degas and Vincent van Gogh.
Religion of the Edo Period
Buddhism and Shintoism were very important in Tokugawa Japan. Buddhism, combined with neo-Confucianism, provided the standards for social behavior. Although not as politically powerful as it had been in the past, Buddhism was supported by the upper classes. Prohibitions against Christianity benefited Buddhism in 1640 when the bakufu ordered everyone to register at a temple.
The rigid separation of society in the Tokugawa government into hans, villages, garrisons, and family homes helped reaffirm local Shinto connections. Shinto provided the spiritual support for political order and was an important bond between individuals and the community. Shinto also helped preserve a sense of national identity.
End of the Shogunate – Main Reason
The end of this Edo period is called the late Tokugawa Shogunate. The end of the period and its cause is controversial, but it is believed that it was the westernization and the opening of the ports to the US Navy that initiated the end. Matthew Calbraith Perry’s fleet, known as the black ships by the Japanese, fired several shots with their weapons in Tokyo Bay.
Artificial islands were created to block the reach of weapons, becoming today what we know as Odaiba. The foreign intrusion helped precipitate a complex political struggle between the bakufu and its critics, resulting from the Tokugawa’s mismanagement. The anti-bakufu movement in the mid-19th century brought an end to the Tokugawa.
End of the Shogunate – Merits of the Shogunate
From the beginning, the Tokugawa tried to restrict the accumulation of wealth among the families of Japan and endorsed a “back to the land” policy, in which the farmer, the ideal producer, was the “ideal citizen” to be achieved in society. Despite efforts to restrict wealth, and partly due to the extraordinary period of peace, the standard of living for both urban and rural inhabitants grew significantly during the Tokugawa period.
Improvements in means of crop production, transportation, housing, food, and entertainment were available, as well as more leisure time, at least for the urban population.
The literacy rate was high for a pre-industrial society, and cultural values were redefined and widely disseminated through the samurai and chonin classes. Despite the reappearance of guilds, economic activities went far beyond the restrictive nature of the guilds, and trade spread and the money economy developed.
End of the Shogunate – Failure
A dispute arose in the face of the political limitations that the shogun imposed on the entrepreneurial classes. The governmental ideal of an agrarian society failed to fit with the reality of commercial distribution.
The great governmental bureaucracy had evolved and had stagnated due to its discrepancies with a new social order that was constantly transforming. Combined with the situation, the population had significantly increased during the first half of the Tokugawa period.
Although the rate and magnitude of growth are uncertain, there were at least 26 million citizens and approximately 4 million members of samurai families and their servants when the first census was taken in 1721. Droughts, followed by crop failures and famine, resulted in 20 major periods of famine between 1675 and 1837.
End of the Shogunate – Crisis
The dissatisfaction of the people grew, and by the end of the 18th century, protests over taxes and lack of food had become frequent. Families that lost their lands became tenant farming families (working on lands owned by others), while poor rural inhabitants who had nowhere to live moved to the cities.
As the fortunes of working families declined, others acted quickly to accumulate land, and a new and wealthier class of farmers emerged. Those who benefited were able to diversify their production and hire labor to sustain themselves, while others were left in discontent.
End of the Shogunate – Invasions
Although Japan managed to acquire and perfect a wide variety of scientific knowledge, the rapid industrialization of the West during the 18th century created for the first time a material gap in terms of technology and armament between Japan and the West (which did not really exist at the beginning of the Edo period), forcing the government to abandon its policy of seclusion, which contributed to the end of the Tokugawa regime.
Western intrusions were increasing in the early 19th century. Russian war and trade ships invaded Karafuto (called Sakhalin under Russian and Soviet control) and the Kuril Islands, the southernmost part of what is considered by the Japanese as the northern islands of Hokkaido.
Despite the Japanese making small concessions and allowing some landings, they still vehemently tried to keep foreigners out, sometimes using force. Rangaku became crucial not only to understand the “barbarian” foreigners but also to use the knowledge acquired from the West to expel them.
End of the Shogunate – Despair
In 1830, a crisis occurred due to widespread famine and several natural disasters that shook the population. They were dissatisfied and rebelled against government officials and Osaka merchants in 1837. The revolt lasted only one day, but the consequences were visible.
Many sought to reform morality instead of focusing on the institutional problems of the country. The shogun’s advisors called for martial spirituality, commercial restrictions with the West, censorship in literature, and the elimination of “luxury” in the samurai class.
Others wanted to depose the Tokugawa and support the sonno joi policy (honor the emperor, expel the barbarians). Despite this, the bakufu managed to remain firm despite the opposition and the growing commercialization with Westerners after the First Opium War of 1839-1842.
End of the Shogunate – Final Moments of Seclusion
In 1853, the United States arrived in Edo Bay demanding the opening of Japanese ports. In 1854, the Treaty of Kanagawa (Peace and Friendship) was signed, granting the opening of 2 ports to American ships. They had the right to supplies, support for shipwrecked sailors, and a consular residence in Shimoda in the southwest of Edo.
Five years later, other ports were opened to the US due to treaties, indicating the beginning of the decline of the shogunate’s power. This process caused huge damage to the bakufu. Debates about the shogunate first arose among the population, resulting in major criticisms of the government.
End of the Shogunate – Instability and Discontent
To contain political instability, Abe tried to gain new allies to his cause by consulting the shinpan and tozama clans, to the surprise of the fudai (clans closest to the Tokugawa), a situation that further destabilized the already weakened Bakufu.
Pro-imperialist ideals grew mainly through the spread of educational schools, such as the Mito School — based on neo-Confucian and Shinto teachings — which aimed at restoring the imperial institution, removing Westerners from Japan, and creating a world empire under the divine Yamato dynasty.
Amidst these political and ideological conflicts, Tokugawa Nariaki was put in charge of national defense in 1854. Nariaki had long embraced anti-foreign ideals and a military loyalty to the Emperor, thus becoming one of the main leaders of the faction opposed to the shogunate and later playing an important role in the Meiji Restoration.
End of the Shogunate – End of Seclusion
In the final years of the shogunate, foreign relations increased and more concessions were made. A new treaty with the United States in 1859 allowed more ports to be opened for diplomatic representatives. In the same year, unmonitored trade was allowed in 4 more ports and the construction of foreign residences in Osaka and Edo. By the same treaty, the concept of extraterritoriality was incorporated (foreigners were subject to the laws of their respective countries, not Japanese law).
When shogun Iesada died without leaving heirs, Nariaki appealed to the court for support of his son, Tokugawa Yoshinobu (or Keiki), for shogun, who was favored by the daimyos of the shinpan and tozama clans.
However, the fudai won the power struggle, instituting Tokugawa Yoshintomi in the position of shogun, imprisoning Nariaki and Keiki, and executing Yoshida Shoin (1830 – 1859, an important sonnō jōi intellectual who had been against the American treaty and had plotted a revolution against the bakufu), and signed treaties with the United States and five other nations, thus ending more than 200 years of seclusion.
End of the Shogunate – Militarization
During the last years of the bakufu, extreme measures were taken in order to regain its political dominance, although its involvement with modernization and foreign powers made it a target of anti-Western sentiments throughout the country.
The army and navy were modernized. A naval training school was built in Nagasaki in 1855. Naval students were sent to study in Western schools for several years, thus initiating a tradition of sending future leaders to study in the West, like Admiral Enomoto. French naval engineers were hired to build a naval arsenal, such as the arsenals in Yokosuka and Nagasaki.
Late Tokugawa Shogunate
The late Tokugawa Shogunate or Last Shogun was the period between 1853 and 1867 during which Japan ended its foreign isolationist policy, called sakoku, and modernized from a feudal shogunate to the Meiji Government. This period is situated at the end of the Edo Era, preceding the Meiji Era.
The main ideological/political factions during the period divided into pro-imperialist Ishin Shishi (nationalist patriots) and the forces of the shogunate, including the elite Shinsengumi (a recently selected army corps) of swordsmen. Although the two groups were the most visibly powerful, many other factions tried to use the chaos of the Bakufu in an attempt to gain personal power.
Extremists Against the West
Extremists who venerated the emperor incited death and violence against the authorities of the bakufu, the hans (fiefs), and Western foreigners. In the Anglo-Satsuma War, a naval retaliation occurred that led to the creation of another concessionary trade treaty in 1865, but it was not fulfilled. Soon after, a bakufu army was eliminated in an attempt to crush the rebel groups in the hans of Satsuma and Choshu (1866). In 1867, the emperor passed away and was succeeded by his son Mutsuhito.
Keiki (Tokugawa Yoshinobu), despite being reluctant, became leader and shogun of the Tokugawa house. He tried to mend the government under the influence of the Emperor and preserve the political power of the shogun. Fearing the power of the Satsuma and Choshu clans, other daimyos supported the return of shogunal powers to the Emperor and to a Tokugawa council.
Boshin War
The Boshin War (“War of the Year of the Dragon”) was a civil war in Japan, fought from 1868 to 1869 between the forces of the Tokugawa shogunate and those favoring the restoration of Emperor Meiji. The war finds its origins in the emperor’s declaration of the abolition of the shogunate of over 200 years and the imposition of direct command from the imperial court.
Military movements of imperial forces and acts of violence supporting the empire in Edo led Tokugawa Yoshinobu, the shogun, to launch a military campaign to control the imperial court in Kyoto. The military tide quickly changed in favor of the imperial faction, which was small but relatively modernized, and after a series of battles culminating in the surrender of Edo, Yoshinobu personally surrendered.
Following the Boshin War, the bakufu was abolished, and Keiki was reduced to the level of a daimyō. Resistance movements from the shogunate continued in the north following the year 1868, and the naval forces of the bakufu, under the command of Admiral Enomoto, resisted for more than 6 months in Hokkaido, where they founded the Republic of Ezo, which had a short existence.
Keiki accepted the plan at the end of 1867 and abdicated, announcing an “Imperial Restoration.” But on January 3, 1868, leaders of the Satsuma, Choshu, among others, took the Imperial Palace and announced their own restoration. Political and military powers were restored to the emperor, thus ending more than 200 years of Tokugawa rule over Japan.
Conclusion and My Opinion
If you ask me what the consequences of this period were for the history of Japan, I would certainly say it was one of the most important in history, followed by the Meiji revolution, the Edo period brought to Japan an incredible development both in the industrial part and in the philosophical part.
It is ironic to make this statement, but this period of isolation helped a lot with some aspects of Japan. For example, the great sense of patriotism and cooperation they possess. After all, Japan is famous for its helpful and attentive people, as well as its motivated and extremely disciplined workforce.
However, I believe it left serious scars, such as the seclusion of people and distrust towards Westerners. I do not think we can judge them, as we have the example of World War II, which even we Brazilians are morally and culturally affected by it. Of course, its effects have diminished over time, but if we were to research with our older relatives, I believe that almost all or the majority have bad impressions of it, even if they were not directly affected by it.
If we compare these 200 years with World War II, I believe we can draw from this comparison a basis to understand the effect they had on this country. However, we know that nothing lasts forever, and for this reason, the effects of these two events have diminished. Anyway, I believe it does not affect as much as it did some time ago, but some of its effects are long-lasting or at least more persistent.
That’s all for today, folks. It was a great article, but we must take into account that we studied a period of great importance for the history of the Japanese, so I could not spare words. OK, thank you, my dear reader, for reading this far. And any questions, suggestions, or criticisms, just comment, we will always be reading the comments. Don’t forget to vote.
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