Tokugawa shogunate
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The Tokugawa shogunate or Tokugawa bakufu (徳川幕府) (also known as the Edo bakufu) was a feudal military dictatorship of Japan established in 1603 by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family until 1868. This period is known as the Edo period and gets its name from the capital city of Edo, now Tokyo. The Tokugawa shogunate ruled from Edo castle until the Meiji Restoration. Following the Sengoku Period of "warring states", central government had been largely re-established by Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi during the Azuchi-Momoyama period. After the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, central authority fell to Tokugawa Ieyasu who completed this process and received the title of shogun in 1603. His descendants were to hold the position, and the central authority that came with it, until the 19th century.
The Tokugawa period, unlike the shogunates before it, was based on the strict class hierarchy originally established by Toyotomi Hideyoshi. The warrior-caste of samurai were at the top, followed by farmers, artisans, and traders. Ironically, the very strictness of the caste system was to undermine these classes in the long run. Taxes on the peasantry were set to fixed amounts which did not account for inflation or other changes in monetary value. As a result, the tax revenues collected by the samurai landowners were worth less and less over time. This often led to confrontations between noble but impoverished samurai and well-to-do peasants.
Toward the end of the 19th century, an alliance of several of the more powerful daimyo with the titular Emperor finally succeeded in the overthrow of the shogunate after the Boshin War, culminating in the Meiji Restoration. The Tokugawa Shogunate came to an official end in 1868, with the resignation of the 15th Tokugawa Shogun, Tokugawa Yoshinobu and the "restoration" ('Taisei Hōkan') of imperial rule.
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Seclusion and Social Control
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 Kyushu 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 "Christian problem" was, in effect, a problem controlling both the Christian daimyo in Kyushu and trade with the Europeans. By 1612 the shogun'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 Kyushu), 1622 (the execution of 120 missionaries and converts), 1624 (the expulsion of the Spanish), and 1629 (the execution of thousands of Christians). Finally, in 1635 an edict prohibited any Japanese from traveling outside Japan or, if someone left, from ever returning. In 1636 the Portuguese were restricted to Dejima, a small artificial island — and thus, not true Japanese soil — in Nagasaki's harbor.
The Shimabara Rebellion of 1637-38, in which discontented 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 Christians survived by going underground. 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 daimyo 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.
Japanese society of the Tokugawa period was influenced by Confucian principles of social order. At the top of the hierarchy, but removed from political power, were the imperial court families at Kyoto. The real political power holders were the samurai, followed by the rest of society. In descending hierarchical order, they consisted of farmers, who were organized into villages, artisans, and merchants. Urban dwellers, often well-to-do merchants, were known as chonin (townspeople) and were confined to special districts. The individual had no legal rights in Tokugawa Japan. The family was the smallest legal entity, and the maintenance of family status and privileges was of great importance at all levels of society.
Government
Shogunate and Han
The bakuhan taisei (幕藩体制) was the feudal political system in the Edo period of Japan. Baku, or "tent," is an abbreviation of bakufu, meaning "military government" — that is, the shogunate. The han were the domains headed by daimyo.
The system was feudal. Vassals held inherited lands and provided military service and homage to their lords. However, the system also resembled the bureaucratic and modern politics as well, an aspect that is not seen in the European feudalism.
Unlike feudal systems found in the medieval history of Europe, in the system, two levels of governments existed: the shogunate in Edo and provincial domains throughout Japan; the domains had a certain level of sovereignty and were allowed an independent administration in the han in exchange for loyalty towards the Shogun while the shogunate was responsible for foreign relations and national security. The shogun and lords were both daimyo, feudal lords with their own bureaucracies, policies and territories. The shogun was the foremost, strongest and largest among them; thus, it was primarily responsible for its own territory, the fief of the Tokugawa house, just as were other domains. Taxes were collected and the economy was conducted separately in each domain.
Besides its duty as the daimyo, the shogunate was also concerned with controlling the social classes, maintaining order if disorder went beyond the power of the domain, and making policies across Japan.
The shogunate had the power to discard, split and transform domains--those were essential tools for controlling the domains. The sankin-kotai system of alternative residence in Edo required daimyo to leave hostages such as heirs and wives in Edo and alternate between the han and attendance in Edo in alternate years. This imposed a huge expenditure on the domains and was another important tool in controlling the daimyo.
The number of han varied during the Edo period, with 250 being an approximate figure. They were ranked by size, which was measured as the number of koku, or bales of rice, that the domain was said to produce. The minimum number for a daimyo was ten thousand; the largest, apart from the shogun, was a million.
Along with size, another way of classifying daimyo and their han was according to their relationship to the shogun. Fudai daimyo were hereditary vassals of Ieyasu, as well as of his descendants. Tozama, or "outsiders," became vassals of Ieyasu after the battle of Sekigahara. Shimpan, or "relatives," were collaterals of Tokugawa Hidetada. Early in the Edo period, the shogunate viewed the tozama as the least likely to be loyal; over time, strategic marriages and the entrenchment of the system made the tozama less likely to rebel. However, in the end, it was the great tozama of Satsuma, Choshu and Tosa and to a lesser extent Hizen that brought down the shogunate. These four states are called the Four Western Clans or Satchotohi for short.
Shogun and Emperor
Despite the establishment of the shogunate, the emperor in Kyoto was still the legitimate ruler of Japan. The administration (taisei, 体制) of Japan was a task given by the imperial Court in Kyoto to the Tokugawa family, which they returned to the court in the Meiji restoration.
The shogunate appointed a liaison, the Kyōto Shoshidai, to deal with the emperor, court and nobility.
Shogun and Foreign Trade
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The foreign affairs and trade were monopolized by the shogunate, yielding a huge profit. Foreign trade was also permitted to the Satsuma and the Tsushima domain.
The visits of the Nanban ships from Portugal were at first the main vector of trade exchanges, followed by the addition of Dutch, English and sometimes Spanish ships.
From 1600 onward, Japan started to participate actively in foreign trade. In 1615, an embassy and trade mission under Hasekura Tsunenaga was sent across the Pacific to Nueva Espana on a Japanese-built galleon San Juan Bautista. Until 1635, the Shogun issued numerous permits for Red seal ships, destined to Asian trade.
After 1635 and the introduction of Seclusion laws, only inbound ships were allowed, from China and the Netherlands.
Institutions of the Shogunate
Rōjū and Wakadoshiyori
The rōjū (老中) were the senior members of the shogunate. They supervised the ōmetsuke, machibugyō, ongokubugyō and other officials, oversaw relations with the Imperial Court in Kyoto, kuge (members of the nobility), daimyo, temples and shrines, and attended to matters like divisions of fiefs. Normally, four or five men held the office, and one was on duty for a month at a time on a rotating basis. They conferred on especially important matters. In the administrative reforms of 1867, the office was eliminated in favor of a bureaucratic system with ministers for the interior, finance, foreign relations, army, and navy.
In principle, the requirements for appointment to the office of rōjū were to be a fudai (hereditary) daimyo and to have a fief assessed at 50 000 koku or more. However, there were exceptions to both criteria. Many appointees came from the offices close to the shogun, such as soba yōnin, Kyoto shoshidai, and Osaka jōdai.
Irregularly, the shoguns appointed a rōjū to the position of tairō (great elder). The office was limited to members of the Ii, Sakai, Doi, and Hotta clans, but Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu was given the status of tairō as well. Among the most famous was Ii Naosuke, who was assassinated in 1860 outside the Sakurada Gate of Edo Castle.
The wakadoshiyori were next in status below the rōjū. An outgrowth of the early six-man rokuninshū (1633–1649), the office took its name and final form in 1662, but with four members. Their primary responsibility was management of the affairs of the hatamoto and gokenin, the direct vassals of the shogun.
Some shoguns appointed a soba yōnin. This person acted as a liaison between the shogun and the rōjū. The soba yōnin increased in importance during the time of the fifth shogun Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, when a wakadoshiyori, Inaba Masayasu, assassinated Hotta Masatoshi, the tairō. Fearing for his personal safety, Tsunayoshi moved the rōjō to a more distant part of the castle. Some of the most famous soba yōnin were Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu and Tanuma Okitsugu.
Ōmetsuke and Metsuke
The ōmetsuke and metsuke were officials who reported to the rōjū and wakadoshiyori. The five ōmetsuke were in charge of monitoring the affairs of the daimyo, kuge and imperial court. They were in charge of discovering any threat of rebellion.
Early in the Edo period, daimyo such as Yagyū Munefuyu held the office. Soon, however, it fell to hatamoto with rankings of 5000 koku or more. To give them authority in their dealings with daimyo, they were often ranked at 10 000 koku and given the title of kami (an ancient title, typically signifying the governor of a province) such as Bizen-no-kami.
As time progressed, the function of the ōmetsuke evolved into one of passing orders from the shogunate to the daimyo, and of administering to ceremonies within Edo Castle. They also took on additional responsibilities such as supervising religious affairs and controlling firearms.
The metsuke, reporting to the wakadoshiyori, oversaw the affairs of the vassals of the shogun. They were the police force for the thousands of hatamoto and gokenin who were concentrated in Edo. Individual han had their own metsuke who similarly policed their samurai.
San-bugyō
The san-bugyō ("three administrators") were the jisha, kanjō, and machi bugyō. The jisha bugyō had the highest status of the three. They oversaw the administration of Buddhist temples (ji) and Shinto shrines (sha), many of which held fiefs. Also, they heard suits from several land holdings outside the eight Kanto provinces. The appointments normally went to daimyo; Ōoka Tadasuke was an exception.
The kanjō bugyō were next in status. The four holders of this office reported to the rōjū. They were responsibile for the finances of the shogunate.
The machi bugyō were the chief city administrators of Edo. Their roles included mayor, chief of the police (and later also the fire) department, and judge in criminal and civil matters not involving samurai. Two (briefly, three) men, normally hatamoto, held the office, and alternated by month.
Three machi bugyō have become famous through the jidaigeki, Ōoka Tadasuke and Tōyama Kinshirō as heroes, Torii Yōzō as a villain.
The san-bugyō together sat on a council called the hyōjōsho. In this capacity, they were responsible for administering the tenryō, supervising the gundai, the daikan and the kura bugyō, as well as hearing cases involving samurai.
Tenryō, Gundai and Daikan
The shogun directly held lands in various parts of Japan. These were known as bakufu chokkatsuchi; since the Meiji period, the term tenryō has become synonymous. In addition to the territory that Ieyasu held prior to the Battle of Sekigahara, this included lands he gained in that battle, and as a result of the Summer and Winter Sieges of Osaka, and by the end of the seventeenth century had reached four million koku. Such major cities as Nagasaki and Osaka, and mines, including the Sado gold mine, also fell into this category.
Rather than appointing a daimyo to head the holding, the shogunate placed administrators in charge. The titles of these administrators included gundai, daikan, and ongoku bugyō. This last category included the Osaka, Kyoto and Sumpu machibugyō, and the Nagasaki bugyō. The appointees were hatamoto.
End of seclusion
When Cmdre 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 daimyo 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. A commercial treaty, opening still more areas to American trade, was forced on the bakufu five years later.
The resulting damage to the bakufu was significant. 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 daimyo, 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 daimyo, and he was replaced in 1855 as chairman of the senior councillors 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 antiforeign 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.
In the final years of the Tokugawa, 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). Masayoshi lost the support of key daimyo, and when Tokugawa Nariaki opposed the new treaty, Masayoshi sought imperial sanction. The court officials, perceiving the weakness of the bakufu, rejected Masayoshi's request and thus suddenly embroiled Kyoto and the emperor in Japan's internal politics for the first time in many centuries. When the shogun died without an heir, Nariaki appealed to the court for support of his own son, Tokugawa Yoshinobu (or Keiki), for shogun, a candidate favored by the shinpan and tozama daimyo. The fudai won the power struggle, however, installing Tokugawa Yoshitomi, arresting Nariaki and Keiki, executing Yoshida Shoin (1830–1859, a leading sonnō-jōi intellectual who had opposed the American treaty and plotted a revolution against the bakufu), and signing treaties with the United States and five other nations, thus ending more than 200 years of exclusion.
Bakumatsu modernization and conflicts
Main article: Late Tokugawa shogunate
During the last years of the bakufu, or bakumatsu, the bakufu took strong measure to try to reassert its dominance, although its involvement with modernization and foreign powers was to make it a target of anti-Western sentiment throughout the country.
Kanrinmaru.jpg
The army and the navy were modernized. A naval training school was established in Nagasaki in 1855. Naval students were sent to study in Western naval schools for several years, starting a tradition of foreign-educated future leaders, such as Admiral Enomoto. French naval engineers were hired to build naval arsenals, such as Yokosuka and Nagasaki. By the end of the Tokugawa shogunate in 1867, the Japanese navy of the shogun already possessed eight western-style steam warships around the flagship Kaiyō Maru, which were used against pro-imperial forces during the Boshin war, under the command of Admiral Enomoto. A French military mission was established to help modernize the armies of the bakufu.
TokugawaYoshinobu.JPG
Revering the emperor as a symbol of unity, extremists wrought violence and death against the Bakufu and Han authorities and foreigners. Foreign naval retaliation in the Anglo-Satsuma War led to still another concessionary commercial treaty in 1865, but Yoshitomi was unable to enforce the Western treaties. A bakufu army was defeated when it was sent to crush dissent in the han of Satsuma and Choshu in 1866. Finally, in 1867, the emperor died and was succeeded by his minor son Mutsuhito.
Keiki reluctantly became head of the Tokugawa house and shogun. He tried to reorganize the government under the emperor while preserving the shogun's leadership role. Fearing the growing power of the Satsuma and Choshu daimyo, other daimyo called for returning the shogun's political power to the emperor and a council of daimyo chaired by the former Tokugawa shogun. Keiki accepted the plan in late 1867 and resigned, announcing an "imperial restoration". The Satsuma, Choshu, and other han leaders and radical courtiers, however, rebelled, seized the imperial palace, and announced their own restoration on January 3, 1868.
Following the Boshin war (1868–1869), the bakufu was abolished, and Keiki was reduced to the ranks of the common daimyo. Resistance continued in the North throughout 1868, and the bakufu naval forces under Admiral Enomoto Takeaki continued to hold out for another six months in Hokkaido, where they founded the short-lived Republic of Ezo.
List of the Shoguns
- Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542-1616) (r. 1603-1605)
- Tokugawa Hidetada (1579-1632) (r. 1605-1623)
- Tokugawa Iemitsu (1604-1651) (r. 1623-1651)
- Tokugawa Ietsuna (1641-1680) (r. 1651-1680)
- Tokugawa Tsunayoshi (1646-1709) (r. 1680-1709)
- Tokugawa Ienobu (1662-1712) (r. 1709-1712)
- Tokugawa Ietsugu (1709-1716) (r. 1713-1716)
- Tokugawa Yoshimune (1684-1751) (r. 1716-1745)
- Tokugawa Ieshige (1711-1761) (r. 1745-1760)
- Tokugawa Ieharu (1737-1786) (r. 1760-1786)
- Tokugawa Ienari (1773-1841) (r. 1787-1837)
- Tokugawa Ieyoshi (1793-1853) (r. 1837-1853)
- Tokugawa Iesada (1824-1858) (r. 1853-1858)
- Tokugawa Iemochi (1846-1866) (r. 1858-1866)
- Tokugawa Yoshinobu (1837-1913) (r. 1867-1868)
Other influential figures in the shogunate include:
See also:
Reference
- Template:Loc - Japan (http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/jptoc.html)
- http://hkuhist2.hku.hk/nakasendo/tokupols.htm
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