HIST 1708 Lecture Notes - Lecture 25: Kansei Reforms, Edo Period, Genroku
Document Summary
The rise of urban commoner culture and the crisis of the samurai class. The genroku period(1688-1703) and the emergence of commoner wealth & culture. From ihara saikaku"s choin kokenroku(a record of observations on mechants), 1728. "after his return to the castle, [the shogun] had rokubei and his wide summoned to the o ce of the town magistrate. The shogun considered outrageous their ostentatiousness beyond their station and their lack of reverence fro their superiors, he con scated their property, and although punishment should have been more severe, thanks to his gracious clemency, they[merely] banishment from edo. " The sogunate"s concers are moral, but also situational/contextual. What is "right" in this case, and how does one judge> some question can be /was applied to chushingura o cial (samurai/shogunal) attitudes toward commoner wealth & culture. Condemn in public: reiterate confucian values of frugality and modesty, especially for warriors.