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The Tokugawa period
The Tokugawa period
Samurai during the tokugawa era
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Today, whenever Japanese history is mentioned in the media, people think of the romanticized stories of ninjas, Japanese mercenaries who carried out covert operations, and samurai, warriors that were part of the hereditary military caste in feudal Japan, but these versions have been skewed, just as many other historic characters have. History is full of brilliant past adventures and relevance that Hollywood takes at face value. Once people find out that the famous ninja did not actually wear black pajamas and that samurai were not as honorable as portrayed, one may become curious as to what really happened back then. Just what actually transpired in Japanese history, and which period is the most significant? In the opinion of experts on Japan's history, this period would be the Tokugawa, or Edo, Period. What makes this era of peace significant and stand out against the many war-wrecked periods of Japan's history?
The Battle of Sekigahara in 1603 marked the beginning of a new era when a man named Tokugawa Ieyasu defeated many daimyō, land-ruling warlords, and established a new bakufu, military government, in order to rule Japan (Collcutt 134). Ieyasu worked hard to restore Japan and manage foreign trade in order to better the economy. Ironically, the third shogun, or military ruler, of the Edo Period named Tokugawa Iemitsu sealed off Japan from the outside world because of his fear of external ideas (Watts). Iemitsu is responsible for several of the more defining characteristics of the period such as the Seclusion Act and "anti-Christian policies" (Watts). The Seclusion Act was so powerful that it only allowed one port in Nagasaki to trade with the Koreans, Portuguese, and Dutch and went undisturbed for over...
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...paedia Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2014. Web. 27 Feb. 2014. .
Bodart-Bailey, Beatrice. "The Dog Shogun: The Personality and Policies of Tokugawa Tsunayoshi." University of Hawai'i Press. 6 March 2014. .
Collcutt, Martin. Cultural Atlas of Japan. New York: Equinox, 1988.
Hall, John. Japanese History. Maryland: Waverly Press, 1961.
Sansom, George. A History of Japan 1334-1615. California: Stanford University Press, 1961.
Storry, Richard. The Way of the Samurai. New York: Galley Press, 1978.
Watts, Sarah. "Tokugawa Iemitsu, 'Closed Country Edict of 1635" and "Exclusion of the Portuguese, 1639'." The Seclusion of Japan. 6 March 2014. .
In the book Samurai, Warfare and the State in Early Medieval Japan, Karl Friday focuses on war in early medieval Japan. A central thesis could be the political primacy of the imperial court. (Lamers 2005) This is the tenth through fourteenth centuries, before the samurai became prominent in Japan and were trying to form themselves into more of what we think of them today. Friday focuses on five aspects of war in his book; they are the meaning of war, the organization of war, the tools of war, the science of war, and the culture of war.
“By 1870, 90% of Japan’s international trade was controlled by Westerners living in Japan.” (Woods, SW. (2004). Japan an Illustrated History (1st Edition). Hippocrene books pg. 111).
Japan had been closed to the outside world for 250 years. When foreign people entered Japanese waters, even if they were shipwrecked by accident, they were interned in jails and some of them were killed (Lubor 33). The reasons for the Japanese isolationistic policies were the military threats of Western countries and the invasive influence of Western people who brought Christianity and cultures different from the Japanese. Also the Japanese knew how Western military had dominated many countries, including the gigantic China so easily (Duus 56-57).
Joseph Conlans “State of War; The Violent Order of Fourteenth Century Japan” is an depth look at Japans emerging warrior class during a time period of constant warfare in Medieval Japan. His work however doesn’t revolve around the re-fabrication and in-depth analysis of battles sieged like many contemporary examinations of wars and battles won and lost. Instead the author vies to navigate the reader on journey into the warrior class’s lives and how they evolved through a statistical analysis of records. This illustrates how warfare changed and transformed with the constant evolving of the Samurai, but it also includes how their actions affected their Political environment as well as the society in which they dwelled from the bottom up. Through his survey of records and documents, Conlan is able to give readers a compelling look into the Warrior class and at times shatters in the process many of the pre-conceived general notions that one may hold about this ancient class of professional warriors. Many of the notions & common misconceptions debunked in this scholarly piece include the idea that the Samurai was a male only fraternity, reserved for those of impeccable candor and loyalty. When truth be known, woman and young men (boys) were also trained in the art of war and thus were as likely to be found on the battle fields as men when times were tough and solider numbers were depleted. Further, another misconception (Generally thought to be caused by the popular and well known; “The Bushido Code: The Eight Virtues of the Samurai”) of the warrior class is that all of these men were truly Samurai which translated to “one who serves” when really, loyalty for the warrior class as Conlan points out only went as far as ones right to ...
...ining power over its subjects. The Tokugawa instead took the wives and children of the shoguns semihostage in Edo to deter powerful families from taking over the Tokugawa. This is the way the Tokugawa handled the problem because they were no outsiders to Japan but they had many enemies within the state. The Tokugawa and Chinese, however, both closely maintained their contact with foreigners, especially in trade. The Chinese established the Canton system which limited the Europeans to trade in only one city and need a guild approval to trade. The Japanese solved this problem of foreign relations through directing all trade traffic to Honshu, a port city under Edo’s direct rule. This was significant because this direction of trade meant the Edo government could collect taxes on the products rather than another daimyo, drawing power and wealth away from rival families.
The establishment of the Japanese archipelago assumed its present shape around 10,000 years ago. Soon after the era known as the Jomon period began and continued for about 8,000 years. Gradually they formed small communities and began to organize their lives communally. Japan can be said to have taken its first steps to nationhood in the Yamato period, which began at the end of the third century AD. During this period, the ancestors of the present Emperor began to bring a number of small estates under unified rule from their bases around what are now Nara and Osaka Prefectures. At the beginning of the seventeenth century, Tokugawa Ieyasu set up a government in Edo (now Tokyo) and the Edo period began. The Tokugawa regime adopted an isolationist policy that lasted for more than 200 years, cutting off exchange with all countries except China and the Netherlands. The age of the Samurai came to and end with the Meiji Restoration of 1868, and a new system of government centered on the Emperor was set up. The new government promoted modernization, adopted Western political, social and economic systems, and stimulated industrial activity. The Diet was inaugurated, and the people began to enjoy limited participation in politics.
The Tokugawa period, also known as Edo period (1603-1867), was the final period of traditional Japan that lasted for more than 250 years (britannica.com,2013). The period was a time of internal peace, political stability, and economic growth under the Shogunate founded by Tokugawa Ieyasu. The Tokugawa Shoguns maintained strict control over the structure of society by keeping a firm control over what they were allowed to do and what they were not allowed to do.
Throughout History, there have been many different groups or events that are still widely known today. Groups of people such as the Indians or Vikings are popular groups which are referenced constantly in today’s society. However, none of these groups is more known or referenced than the Japanese Samurai. Originating in 646 AD, these Japanese warriors developed from a loose organization of farmers to the dominant social class in Feudal Japan. Along with their dominant military and political standing, the samurai brought with them a unique code or moral belief that became the core of Samurai culture. Because of this, the Samurai and their principles still affect modern day Japanese society with social customs today deriving directly and indirectly from the beliefs of the Samurai.
10. The Japanese restricted Trade with European traders in order to curb European cultural, religious, and economic influence on the Japanese archipelago. The rising merchant class threatened the Shoganate, as well as the religion of Catholicism, which introduced the traditional Japanese customs and religion. The Japanese, after fighting for unification, were in danger of being splintered yet again into warring factions with separate economic situations and religions, and the Shoganate didn’t want this to happen, and therefore heavily restricted immigration and trade by the Europeans.
... in body and mind, to governing of the Emperors, to the study of the martial arts. Their code of honor and loyalty are traditions that all Japanese respect and try to live up to even today. The self sacrifice of ones own life for a common cause was even seen in World War II when Japanese pilots deliberately crashed their planes into United States ships anchored at Pearl Harbor. This was a devastating attack and can show the horror caused by revenge and their belief in sacrifice and honor. They were even called kamikaze pilots after the famous samurai battle of long ago. The influence of the samurai continues to be seen in Japan today in a positive way with the stories and legends of heroic samurai and the bushido as their guide.
Samurai have played a big part in Japans history. There have been supreme samurai or Shoguns whose rule shaped Japan in early times. These shoguns ruled in different eras or periods. There are three main periods concerning the samurai usage. They are the Kamakura, Ashikaga and the Tokugawa period. The samurai were introduced as a part of the government in the Kamakura period.
In the mid-nineteenth century, the Tokugawa system that had successfully reigned over Japan for over two hundred years was beginning to feel the internal and external pressures of a modern world; ultimately calling for a renewal of the world order (Yonaoshi) (Wilson, 59). That calling came when a series of black ships led by Commodore Perry landed off the port of Uraga on July 8, 1853. After over two centuries of seclusion, Japan was being pried open by Western forces, who though were in search of setting up trading posts in Japan, indirectly served as the catalyst that set off the series of events that helped Japan transcend its fixed and permanent system, into the modern era that was characterized by rapid political, economic, social and cultural change (Wilson, 52-53).
The Japanese medieval age consists of the Kamakura and Muromachi periods (from approximately 1185 to 1600). During this time, the political power was switching from the imperial family to a militaristic government. In addition, civil wars (from 1156 to 1568) were increasing throughout Japan. This change of centrality in society’s focus from court to warriors shifted the perception and style of Japanese literature.
Although Hideyoshi did much to settle Japan and increase trade with the outside world, by the time of his death in 1598 internal disturbances still had not been completely eliminated. The real isolation and unification of Japan began with the inauguration of the great Tokugawa rule. In 1603 Tokugawa Ieyasu, a former associate of both Hideyoshi and Nobunaga, formally became Shogun of Japan, after defeating Hideyoshi's son Hideyori at the battle of Seki ga Hara.
There are many historical aspects of the Japanese, but the most interesting is the history of the Samurai. In Japans history war played a large role in the country. Controlling clans fought for parts of the land and overall control of the country. These clans were powerful families that resided in the country and who all wanted power and control of Japan for themselves. The families that would be in control were known as Shoguns. These shoguns would have warriors that fought for them if any of the other clan families would try to attack him in order to overthrow him and take his power from him. The Samurai followed a code that developed from Chinese beliefs when in battle. The Samurais code was known as the Bushido. This code was also known as “The Way of The Warrior” which was the main belief s...