Tokugawa Period Essay

918 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Differences and similarities between the "feudal system" in europe and japan essay

The Tokugawa period was a time of peace and prosperity following a harsh period of civil war, as well as the last period of traditional feudal government, society, and culture, in Japan. It was a culturally bright period ruled by shoguns, each a member of the Tokugawa clan, who reigned between 1603 to 1867. Tokugawa Ieyasu became the most powerful man in Japan after Toyotomi Hideyoshi, a general who became very respected after uniting Japan in the previous era, died. Hideyoshi intended for a man named Hideyori to succeed him, but, wanting complete control over Japan, Ieyasu overlooked this intention. At the battle of Sekigahara, Ieyasu destroyed all of Hideyori’s followers, leaving him with no enemies. He was made a shogun by the emperor
One of these developments is kabuki theater, one of the three types of classical Japanese theater recognized today. Kabuki theater was characterized by having walkways extending from the stage through the audience for the purpose of dramatic entrances and exits, as well as squared off tatami, or straw floor mats, for the audience to sit on. These theaters were complete with rotating stages and trap doors to quickly and smoothly move props, as well as systems to control lighting and the use of live music. The kabuki actors were originally all women, but the shogunate ruled for them to be all men, as it remains to this day. Kabuki performances are characterized by the actors being clad in bright, flashy costumes and makeup, as well as moving with exaggerated and expressive motions. This animated movement is arguably the most important aspect of modern kabuki theater, because the plays use traditional Japanese that even locals usually cannot understand, and the expression through lighting, music, and the actors’ motion is usually the only way the audience can figure out what is going on. A similar instance is Shakespeare’s plays being performed in the English speaking countries today. Typically a person without a knowledge of Shakespearean plays and language can only vaguely

Show More
Related

  • Essay On What Role Did The West Play In The Downfall Of The Shogunate

    1123 Words  | 3 Pages

    Issues within the Feudal structure of Japan were already occurring, even with the support of their 200 years of peace, which eventually played a role in the downfall of the Tokugawa shogunate. Internal changes were already taking place within Japan with peace for over 200 years under the policy of isolation. This already set in place issues, which helped push the decline of the Tokugawa shogunate over the line after the arrival of Commodore Perry and the Western influence he brought with him. Within the Japanese Feudal System, merchants were

    Read More

  • Chinese Culture Influence On Japan

    615 Words  | 2 Pages

    This became the era of the shogun empire and was the beginning of a new duel government in

    Read More

  • Comparing Britain To Japan

    1099 Words  | 3 Pages

    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 an 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.      From around 1920 a democratic movement gained strength.

    Read More

  • Shogun

    1892 Words  | 4 Pages

    The post of shogun was, in theory at least, purely military, so Yoritomo's administration and those of later military rulers came to be known as the shogunate, bakufu, or "tent government," to distinguish it from the civil government in Heian-kyo. As the samurai clans under the Minamoto began building political power, Japan's political center shifted away from Heian-kyo toward the Kamakura bakufu, leaving Heian-kyo as the symbolic, religious and cultural center of Japan. The Kamakura Shogunate set down a pattern of rule in Japan that would last for some seven centuries.

    Read More

  • Greek and Elizabethan Teather: Kabuki Theatre

    1264 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the history of civilization, there have been many different types of theatre. There is Greek theatre and Elizabethan theater. Some are musicals, some are comedies and some are tragedies. Some types employ realistic techniques while others are more avant-gardes. But one type stands out among the rest, and that is Kabuki theatre. This classical Japanese style of dance and drama is not just theatre. It is a beautiful form of art, which has been carefully crafted over many centuries.

    Read More

  • Shogunate Japan

    804 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Tokugawa Japan

    741 Words  | 2 Pages

    Tokugawa Ieyasu was a great samurai fighter and cunning politician. In battle of Sekigahara Tokugawa defeated his major rivals and established Tokugawa government. His headquarter was established in village of Edo away from the imperial families in Kyoto. Ieyasu and successors choose to rule as shoguns, or feudal lords, demanding loyalty from the daimyo and exercising direct control only over their own territorial domains. The people saw the emperor as divine descent of sun goddess Amatersau, however, established the emperor as the ultimate source of political authority and surrounded the imperial throne with thicket of taboos that protected it from usurpation.

    Read More

  • Literary Sources and Their Significance in Noh

    884 Words  | 2 Pages

    I believe that universally, theater is the concentration of passing down history, whether factual or mythical, to future generations paired with various degrees of artistic dignity. Like many other staged performances, the root of Noh is based off of a storytelling tradition, enhanced or exaggerated to be viewed by a wider audience. In the end, it was supposed to be somewhat entertaining, the viewer perhaps receiving a more dramatic interpretation of a past tale accompanied by dance, music, and visuals. In general, another characteristic not as significant from the original literatures and stories that seeps its way into Noh are the religious undertones and shrinking the distance between the world of the living and the world of spirits. In Zeami’s Atsumori, the play concerns characters from a scene in a probably already overdramatic depiction in Heike Monogatari, bringing in a single frame from Japanese military history into a different context. Sumidagawa has a slightly different way of coming into existence, since it does not depend so heavily on an exact picture from Ise Monogatari, and is only loosely associated with it. Nevertheless, both Atsumori and Sumidagawa have interesting ties to literature from earlier periods that make each unique in their presentation.

    Read More

  • Japanese Culture Essay

    1370 Words  | 3 Pages

    Japan has historically taken ideas from the United States on its business, merchandise, or other corporate sectors to improve within its political borders. These practices have become massive cultural and economic movements in Japan. Interestingly, Japan takes ideas and molds them into Japanese culture and style; therefore, these products are “Japanized.” To further elaborate on this statement, Japan has succeeded in its businesses and corporations such as the automobile industries around the world (for example, the NUMMI plant production transcended those of American automobile productions due to an enhanced Japanese corporate culture). Albeit many Japanese industries have roots in the United States, they have expanded globally. The music

    Read More

  • Japanese Culture Essay

    1361 Words  | 3 Pages

    Recently the concerns of women around their equality in society has become a hotly debated topic in the public spot light. Much of the debate concerns women and the ingrained sexism that permeates most cultures. Many women's activists feel that this ingrained sexism has widened the gap between men and women in a political, social, and economic sense. And for the most part they do have strong evidence to support these claims. Women have suffered through millennia of male dominated societies where treatment of women has been, and in some cases still is, inhuman. Women are treated like subhuman creatures that have only exist to be used for procreate and to be subjugated by men for household use. It has only been very recently that women have become recognized as equals in the eyes of men. Equals in the sense that they have the same political and social rights as males. While the situation has improved, women still have to deal with a male oriented world. Often women in the workplace are thought of as inferior and as a liability. This can be due to concerns about maternity leave, or women with poor leadership skills. But also in part it is due because of the patriarchy that controls all aspects and dynamics of the culture, family, politics, and economy. Even developed countries like The United Kingdom, United States, Germany, and France, could be classified as a patriarchies. These countries may not agree with this notion because of expansive, but not complete changes, that have gradually equalized women in society. However, there are developed countries that openly express a patriarchy and have enacted little societal changes to bring equality to women. Japan is one such country, and t...

    Read More

  • Miyamoto Musashi

    1180 Words  | 3 Pages

    Ieyasu established his government at Edo, present-day Tokyo, where he had a huge castle. His was a stable, peaceful government beginning a period of Japanese history which was to last until the Imperial Restoration of 1868, for although Ieyasu himself died in 1616 members of his family succeeded each other and the title Shogun became virtually an hereditary one for the Tokugawas.

    Read More

  • Traditional Japanese Culture Essay

    508 Words  | 2 Pages

    From the interactive oral presentation on the Japanese vs. Western Social norms, I have learned a tremendous amount on how Mishima incorporated traditional Japanese and western influences in the novel to portray the loss of traditional Japanese culture within the Japanese society.

    Read More

  • Essay On Japanese Art

    600 Words  | 2 Pages

    Art in Japan and art in the United States have their similarities and their differences, while also being viewed in different ways. Every work of art is unique in its own way. There are many different types of art, but each work of art has its own meaning. Depending on the eye of the beholder, a work of art can relate to you in many ways, and can be taken apart like a puzzle in your mind to understand the deeper aspect of it, while also deciphering its message. Others may not relate to the work, may only see the basic picture, and not understand the point or meaning of it. The same work of art can get opposite reactions, which shows that people have different ways of seeing the world that they live in.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Chinese Theater

    1081 Words  | 3 Pages

    The performances included opera-styled singing with intricate hand gestures. I used to think that the Chinese theater performances my grandparents watched on TV were too over-the-top and unnatural, but after reading about the history and meanings behind Chinese theater, I’ve developed a new perspective on the style and have come to admire the beauty of cultural differences in theatrical arts. Chinese theater’s “traditional performance” features a synthesis of poetry, singing, and dancing. In present day, “traditional performance” has undergone an improvement toward what can be termed “characterization performance,” which emphasizes the performer’s internal experience of the character played and the artistically truthful portrayal of feelings and thoughts (cite). Different cultures contribute to the varying theater styles. For example, “chinese playgoers are familiar with the stories, characters, and conventions...the objective of the Chinese performer is to meet the high expectations of the playgoers” (cite). Thus, Chinese performers are more conscious of ensuring that their gestures and body movements appear aesthetically beautiful to satisfy their audiences’ expectations. The knowledge of the diverse approaches of theater in different regions is significant for respecting a theater piece, because theater from different cultures than one’s own should be evaluated and appreciated with the viewpoint of that

    Read More

  • Japan Essay

    568 Words  | 2 Pages

    Japan is located in the continent of Asia. This country is made up of many islands. There are four major islands in Japan which are Honshu, Hokkaido, Shikoku, and Kyushu. However, Honshu is the largest and most popular as well as home to Tokyo, Kyoto, and other major cities. Japan is often called "The Land of The Rising Sun” because it is located in the Far East and most peoples know that sun rises in the east. The Japanese also refers to their country as "Nippon" or Nihon" which means "source of the sun". Tokyo is the capital of japan and it is one of the largest cities in the world and also modern, very busy as well as extremely crowded. Japan is a well-developed and modernized country. The population in japan is almost 127 million, which 99 of them are Japanese. There are two main religious in Japan which are Shintoism and Buddhism. In Japan all citizens have Freedom to choose and practice their own religious. The Japanese economy is one of the third largest in the world after USA and China. The main export of Japan are cars, electronic devices and computers wh...

    Read More

More about Tokugawa Period Essay

Open Document