JAPAN 50 Study Guide - Final Guide: Tokugawa Ieyasu, Peace Preservation Law, Crown Prince
Japanese 50 Final Study Guide
Tokugawa/Edo Period
• Political structure of Tokugawa rule was devised by Ieyasu and completed by Hidetada and
Iemitsu
• Daimyo – shogun’s vassals
o outside or allied, daimyo (tozama) – most dangerous, too powerful to be considered
Tokugawa subordinates
o House daimyo (fudai) – the more trustworthy ones, indebted to the bakufu for their
status and domains
o Collateral daimyo (shimpan) – Tokugawa branch families
• Policies were initiated to keep daimyo from acquiring too much strength
• System of alternate attendance (sankin kotai) forced the daimyo to spend large sums traveling
with their retinues and maintaining elaborate residences in Edo
o Decreased daimyo’s power
• Power conflicts between bakufu and han never resolved
• Tokugawa period was a time of economic growth, increase in population, new technologies
• The gap between the rich and poor increased
o Tensions between poor peasants and village elites
o Some uprisings but weren’t revolutions, more of protests
• Bakufu promoted land clearance to get more tax in agriculture
• Rise of merchants
• Ieyasu drew a clear line between samurai and commoners
o Ronin – masterless samurai
o Staffed the administrative machinery of the domains
o Bakufu – civil affairs
o samurai – military affairs
• fusion of Confucianism and warrior virtues
o Yamaga Soko – early proponent of a fusion of Confucian and warrior values
o Founding father of the way of the warrior (bushido)
• Chushingura (Treasury of Royal Retainers)
o Story of ronins who commited ritual suicide after killing daimyo
• The aristocracy inherited a rich cultural tradition
o Tea ceremony and flower arranging
o Kyoto artists: Hon’ami Koetsu, Tawaraya Sotatsu, Ogata Korin
• Urban commoner culture stands as the period’s most vital and fascinating development
o Reached a high point during the Genroku Era
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o Playwright Chikamatsu, short story writer Saikaku, Moronobu developed the Japanese
print, and master of the haiku Matsuo Basho
o Yoshiwara, the home of Edo’s floating world – savored sophisticated dash in dress,
coiffure, perfume, body language and life itself
o Ukiyo-e – pictures of the floating world
• Theater and literature
o Unceasing source of inspiration for the print artist was the kabuki theater
o Kabuki originated in the dances and skits performed in early seventeenth century Kyoto
by female performers
o Banned in 1629, young men’s kabuki flourished, banned in 1652, adult men became
actors
o Kabuki was an actor’s art, free to take liberties with the texts of plays
o Chikamatsu wrote for the kabuki stage but preferred puppet theater (bunraku)
o In bunraku, large wooden puppets enact a story told by chanters accompanied by three
stringed samisen
o Chikamatsu wrote plays centering on conflicts between moral obligation (giri) and
human emotion (ninjo)
▪ Bakufu banned all plays with the words love suicide in their title
• Late Tokugawa – The Bakufu (1787-1841)
o The Kansei Reforms (1789-1791) were led by Matsudaira Sadanobu, a Confucian who
encouraged a return to simpler times
▪ Campaigns against corruption, programs mandating lower prices for rice,
restrictions on merchant guilds, cancellation of samurai loans, and rent control
o Famine struck again in 1833 and the bakufu’s response was inadequate
o Lower-ranking samurais suffered greatly
o City merchants and rural entrepreneurs flourished
o During the famine, people resorted to violence – uprising in 1837 led by Oshio
Heihachiro
• Choshu and Satsuma
o Both Choshu and Satsuma had special family ties with the court in Kyoto, the most likely
focus for anti-bakufu movements
o Choshu – rigorous cost cutting, improvements in han financial administration, land tax
reforms, abolished monopolies
o Satsuma – derived much of its income from monopolies, especially on sugar from the
Ryukru Islands
o Choshu and Satsuma are important because they play a crucial role in the overthrow of
the Tokugawa
• The opening of Japan
o Before 1853, Japan upheld Tokugawa’s policy of seclusion and did not participate in any
foreign activities
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Document Summary
Tokugawa/edo period: political structure of tokugawa rule was devised by ieyasu and completed by hidetada and. Iemitsu: daimyo shogun"s vassals, (cid:862)outside(cid:863) or allied, daimyo (tozama) most dangerous, too powerful to be considered. Western vessels in east asia and hence the pressure on japan: a treaty was signed in 1858 between the u. s and japan after the armed mission by. Commodore matthew c. perry in 1853: following that another round of treaties were signed with the dutch, russians, British, and french: ended the policy of seclusion and undermined the authority of the bakufu. The meiji period: the meiji restoration, the three most eminent leaders in the early years of the restoration were okubo. Toshimichi, kido koin, and saigo takamori: edo was renamed to tokyo and imperial palace was moved to tokyo, the charter oath. Itagaki formed the jiyuto (liberal party) and okuma organized the kaishinto (progressive party) Japanese intellectuals like fukuzawa were strongly influenced by the european.