Tokugawa shogunate

The Tokugawa Shogunate, also known as the Tokugawa Bakufu (徳川幕府) and
the Edo Bakufu ( 江 戸 幕 府 ), was the last feudal Japanese military government,
Tokugawa Shogunate
which existed between 1600 and 1868.[3] The head of government was the 徳川幕府
shōgun,[4] and each was a member of the Tokugawa clan.[5] The Tokugawa Edo Bakufu
shogunate ruled from Edo Castle and the years of the shogunate became known as 江戸幕府
the Edo period.[6] This time is also called the Tokugawa period[3] or pre-modern 1600–1868
(Kinsei (近世)).[7]

Contents
Flag
History Crest

Government
Shogunate and domains
Relations with the Emperor
Shogun and foreign trade
Shogun and Christianity
Institutions of the shogunate
Rōjū and wakadoshiyori
Ōmetsuke and metsuke
San-bugyō
Capital Edo
Tenryō, gundai and daikan
(Shōgun's
Gaikoku bugyō residence)
Late Tokugawa shogunate (1853–1867) Heian-kyō
(Emperor's
List of Tokugawa shōguns
palace)
See also
Common languages Early
Notes Modern
References Japanese
Further reading Religion Shinbutsu-
External links shūgō
Government Monarchic
feudal
History stratocracy
Emperor
Following the Sengoku period ("warring states period"), the central government had • 1600–1611 Go-Yōzei[1]
been largely re-established by Oda Nobunaga during the Azuchi–Momoyama • 1867–1868 Meiji[2]
period. After the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, central authority fell to Tokugawa Shōgun
Ieyasu.[3] • 1600–1605 Tokugawa
Ieyasu
Society in the Tokugawa period, unlike in previous shogunates, was supposedly • 1866–1868 Tokugawa
Yoshinobu
based on the strict class hierarchy originally established by Toyotomi Hideyoshi.
Rōjū
The daimyō (lords) were at the top, followed by the warrior-caste of samurai, with
• 1600–1614 Ōkubo
the farmers, artisans, and traders ranking below. In some parts of the country, Tadachika
particularly smaller regions, daimyō and samurai were more or less identical, since • 1868 Tachibana
daimyō might be trained as samurai, and samurai might act as local rulers. Taneyuki
Otherwise, the largely inflexible nature of this social stratification system unleashed Historical era Edo period
disruptive forces over time. Taxes on the peasantry were set at fixed amounts that • Battle of 21 October
did not account for inflation or other changes in monetary value. As a result, the tax Sekigahara 1600
• Siege of Osaka 8
revenues collected by the samurai landowners were worth less and less over time.
November
This often led to numerous confrontations between noble but impoverished samurai 1614
and well-to-do peasants, ranging from simple local disturbances to much larger • Sakoku Edict 1635
rebellions. None, however, proved compelling enough to seriously challenge the • Convention of 31 March
Kanagawa 1854
established order until the arrival of foreign powers.
• Treaty of Amity and 29 July
Commerce 1858
A 2017 study found that peasant rebellions and collective desertion (“flight”)
• Meiji Restoration 3 January
okugawa shogunate.[8]
lowered tax rates and inhibited state growth in the T 1868

In the mid-19th century, an alliance of several of the more powerful daimyō, along
Currency The tri-
metallic
with the titular Emperor, succeeded in overthrowing the shogunate after the Boshin Tokugawa
War, culminating in the Meiji Restoration. The Tokugawa shogunate came to an coinage
official end in 1868 with the resignation of the 15th Tokugawa shōgun Tokugawa system
based on
Yoshinobu, leading to the "restoration" ( 王 政 復 古 , Ōsei fukko) of imperial rule. copper
Notwithstanding its eventual overthrow in favor of the more modernized, less feudal Mon, silver
form of governance of the Meiji Restoration, the Tokugawa shogunate oversaw the Bu and
Shu, as
longest period of peace and stability in Japan's history
, lasting well over 260 years. well as
gold Ryō.
Government Preceded by Succeeded
by
Azuchi– Empire
Shogunate and domains Momoyama of
The bakuhan taisei (幕藩体制) was the feudal political system in the Edo period of
period Japan
Tokugawa
Japan. Baku is an abbreviation of bakufu, meaning "military government"—that is, clan
the shogunate. The han were the domains headed bydaimyō.
Today part of Japan
Vassals held inherited lands and provided military service and homage to their lords.
The bakuhan taisei split feudal power between the shogunate in Edo and provincial domains throughout Japan. Provinces had a
degree of sovereignty and were allowed an independent administration of the han in exchange for loyalty to the shōgun, who was
responsible for foreign relations and national security. The shōgun and lords were all daimyōs: feudal lords with their own
bureaucracies, policies, and territories. The shōgun also administered the most powerful han, the hereditary fief of the House of
Tokugawa. Each level of government administered its own system oftaxation.

The emperor, nominally a religious leader, held no real power; this was vested in the
shōgun. The shogunate had the power to discard, annex, and transform domains. The
sankin-kōtai system of alternative residence required each daimyō to reside in
alternate years between the han and the court in Edo. During their absences from
Edo, it was also required that they leave family as hostages until their return. The
huge expenditure sankin-kōtai imposed on each han helped centralize aristocratic
alliances and ensured loyalty to the shōgun as each representative doubled as a
potential hostage.

Edo Castle, 17th century

Tokugawa's descendants further ensured loyalty by maintaining a dogmatic
insistence on loyalty to the shōgun. Fudai daimyō were hereditary vassals of Ieyasu,
as well as of his descendants. Tozama ("outsiders") became vassals of Ieyasu after
the Battle of Sekigahara.Shinpan ("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. In the end, it was the great tozama of Satsuma, Chōshū and Tosa, and to a lesser extent Hizen, that brought down the
estern Clans, or Satchotohi for short.[9]
shogunate. These four states are called the Four W
The number of han (roughly 250) fluctuated throughout the Edo period. They were ranked by size, which was measured as the
number of koku of rice that the domain produced each year.One koku was the amount of rice necessary to feed one adult male for one
year. The minimum number for adaimyō was ten thousand koku; the largest, apart from the shōgun, was a million.

Relations with the Emperor

Regardless of the political title of the Emperor, the shōguns of the Tokugawa family
controlled Japan.[10] The administration (体制 taisei) of Japan was a task given by
the Imperial Court in Kyoto to the Tokugawa family, which returned to the court in
the Meiji Restoration. While the Emperor officially had the prerogative of
appointing the shōgun, he had virtually no say in state affairs. The shogunate
appointed a liaison, the Kyoto Shoshidai (Shogun's Representative in Kyoto), to deal
with the Emperor, court and nobility.

Towards the end of the shogunate, however, after centuries of the Emperor having Social class during the Shogunate
very little say in state affairs and being secluded in his Kyoto palace, and in the with the Emperor as the nominal
wake of the reigning shōgun, Tokugawa Iemochi, marrying the sister of Emperor ruler
Kōmei (r. 1846–1867), in 1862, the Imperial Court in Kyoto began to enjoy
increased political influence.[11] The Emperor would occasionally be consulted on
various policies and the shogun even made a visit to Kyoto to visit the Emperor
.

Shogun and foreign trade

Foreign affairs and trade were monopolized by the shogunate, yielding a huge profit.
Foreign trade was also permitted to the Satsuma and the Tsushima domains. Rice
was the main trading product of Japan during this time. Isolationism was the foreign
policy of Japan and trade was strictly controlled. Merchants were outsiders to the
social hierarchy of Japan and were thought to be greedy.

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 1603 onward, Japan started to participate actively in foreign trade. In 1615, an Dutch trading post in Dejima, c. 1805
embassy and trade mission under Hasekura Tsunenaga was sent across the Pacific to
Nueva España (New Spain) on the Japanese-built galleon San Juan Bautista. Until
1635, the Shogun issued numerous permits for the so-called red
" seal ships" destined for the Asian trade.

After 1635 and the introduction ofSeclusion laws, inbound ships were only allowed fromChina, Korea, and the Netherlands.

Shogun and Christianity

Followers of Christianity first began appearing in Japan during the 16th century. Oda Nobunaga embraced Christianity and the
Western technology that was imported with it, such as the musket. He also saw it as a tool he could use to suppress Buddhist
forces.[12]

Though Christianity was allowed to grow until the 1610s, Tokugawa Ieyasu soon began to see it as a growing threat to the stability of
the shogunate. As Ōgosho ("Cloistered Shōgun"),[13] he influenced the implementation of laws that banned the practice of
Christianity. His successors followed suit, compounding upon Ieyasu's laws. The ban of Christianity is often linked with the creation
of the Seclusion laws, orSakoku, in the 1630s.[14]

Institutions of the shogunate

Rōjū and wakadoshiyori
The rōjū ( 老 中 ) were the senior members of the shogunate. They supervised the
ōmetsuke, machi-bugyō, ongokubugyō (ja:遠国奉行) and other officials, oversaw
relations with the Imperial Court in Kyoto, kuge (members of the nobility), daimyō,
Buddhist temples and Shinto 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 (Keiō Reforms), the office was eliminated in favor of Christian prisoners in Edo, 17th
a bureaucratic system with ministers for the interior, finance, foreign relations, army, century
and navy.

In principle, the requirements for appointment to the office of rōjū were to be a fudai
daimyō 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
shōgun, such as soba yōnin (ja:側用人), Kyoto Shoshidai, and Osaka jōdai.

Irregularly, the shōguns 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
Sakuradamon Gate ofEdo Castle
Naosuke, who was assassinated in 1860 outside the Sakuradamon Gate of Edo
where Ii Naosuke was assassinated
Castle (Sakuradamon incident).
in 1860
The wakadoshiyori were next in status below the rōjū. An outgrowth of the early
six-man rokuninshū (六人衆, 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 shōgun.

Some shōguns appointed a soba yōnin. This person acted as a liaison between the shōgun and the rōjū. The soba yōnin increased in
importance during the time of the fifth shōgun Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, when a wakadoshiyori, Inaba Masayasu, assassinated Hotta
Masatoshi, the tairō. Fearing for his personal safety, Tsunayoshi moved the rōjū 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 daimyōs, kuge and imperial court. They were in charge of discovering any threat of rebellion. Early in
the Edo period, daimyōs such as Yagyū Munefuyu held the office. Soon, however, it fell to hatamoto with rankings of 5,000 koku or
more. To give them authority in their dealings with daimyōs, they were often ranked at 10,000 koku and given the title of kami (an
ancient title, typically signifying the governor of aprovince) such as Bizen-no-kami.

As time progressed, the function of the ōmetsuke evolved into one of passing orders from the shogunate to the daimyōs, 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 shōgun. 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, which oversaw temples and shrines, accounting, and
the cities, respectively. 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 lawsuits from several land holdings outside the eight Kantō
provinces. The appointments normally went todaimyōs; Ōoka Tadasuke was an exception, though he later became adaimyō.

The kanjō-bugyō were next in status. The four holders of this office reported to the rōjū. They were responsible for the finances of the
shogunate.[15]

The machi-bugyō were the chief city administrators of Edo and other cities. Their roles included mayor, chief of the police (and, later,
also of 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 Edo machi bugyō have become famous through jidaigeki (period films): Ōoka Tadasuke and Tōyama Kagemoto (Kinshirō) as
heroes, and Torii Yōzō (ja:鳥居耀蔵) as a villain.

Tenryō, gundai and daikan

The san-bugyō together sat on a council called the hyōjōsho. In this capacity, they were responsible for administering the tenryō,
supervising the gundai (郡代), the daikan (代官) and the kura bugyō (蔵奉行), as well as hearing cases involving samurai.

The shogun directly held lands in various parts of Japan. These were known as shihaisho (支配所); since the Meiji period, the term
tenryō ( 天 領 , "Emperor's land") has become synonymous.[16] In addition to the territory that Ieyasu held prior to the Battle of
Sekigahara, this included lands he gained in that battle and lands gained as a result of the Summer and Winter Sieges of Osaka. By
the end of the seventeenth century, the shogun's landholdings had reached four million koku. Such major cities as Nagasaki and
Osaka, and mines, including the Sado gold mine, also fell into this category.

Gaikoku bugyō
The gaikoku bugyō were administrators appointed between 1858 and 1868. They were charged with overseeing trade and diplomatic
relations with foreign countries, and were based in thetreaty ports of Nagasaki and Kanagawa (Yokohama).

Late Tokugawa shogunate (1853–1867)

The late Tokugawa shogunate (Japanese: 幕末 Bakumatsu) was the period between
1853 and 1867, during which Japan ended its isolationist foreign policy called
sakoku and modernized from a feudal shogunate to the Meiji government. It is at the
end of the Edo period and preceded the Meiji era. The major ideological and
political factions during this period were divided into the pro-imperialist Ishin Shishi
(nationalist patriots) and the shogunate forces, including the elite shinsengumi
("newly selected corps") swordsmen.

Although these two groups were the most visible powers, many other factions
attempted to use the chaos of the Bakumatsu era to seize personal power.[17] Samurai of the Shimazu clan
Furthermore, there were two other main driving forces for dissent; first, growing
resentment of tozama daimyōs, and second, growing anti-Western sentiment
following the arrival of Matthew C. Perry. The first related to those lords who had fought against Tokugawa forces at Sekigahara (in
1600) and had from that point on been exiled permanently from all powerful positions within the shogunate. The second was to be
expressed in the phrase sonnō jōi ("revere the Emperor, expel the barbarians"). The end for the Bakumatsu was the Boshin War,
notably the Battle of Toba–Fushimi, when pro-shogunate forces were defeated.[18]

List of Tokugawa shōguns

 Name
# Picture Shōgun From Shōgun Until
(Born-Died)

Tokugawa Ieyasu
1 1603 1605
(1543–1616)

Tokugawa Hidetada
2 1605 1623
(1579–1632)

Tokugawa Iemitsu
3 1623 1651
(1604–1651)

Tokugawa Ietsuna
4 1651 1680
(1641–1680)

Tokugawa Tsunayoshi
5 1680 1709
(1646–1709)

Tokugawa Ienobu
6 1709 1712
(1662–1712)

Tokugawa Ietsugu
7 1713 1716
(1709–1716)

Tokugawa Yoshimune
8 1716 1745
(1684–1751)

Tokugawa Ieshige
9 1745 1760
(1712–1761)

10 Tokugawa Ieharu 1760 1786

(1737–1786)
 Tokugawa Ienari
11 1787 1837
(1773–1841)

Tokugawa Ieyoshi
12 1837 1853
(1793–1853)

Tokugawa Iesada
13 1853 1858
(1824–1858)

Tokugawa Iemochi
14 1858 1866
(1846–1866)

Tokugawa Yoshinobu
15 1866 1867
(1837–1913)

Over the course of the Edo period, influential relatives of the shogun included:

Tokugawa Mitsukuni of the Mito Domain[19]

Tokugawa Nariaki of the Mito Domain[20]
Tokugawa Mochiharu of the Hitotsubashi branch
Tokugawa Munetake of the Tayasu branch.[21]
Matsudaira Katamori of the Aizu branch.[22]
Matsudaira Sadanobu, born into the Tayasu branch, adopted into theHisamatsu-Matsudairaof Shirakawa.[23]

See also
Keian Uprising

Notes
1. Emperor Go-Yōzei started reigning in 1586, after the abdication ofEmperor Ōgimachi.
2. Emperor Meiji reigned until his death in 1912.
 3. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Tokugawa-jidai" (https://books.google.com/books?id=p2QnPijAEmEC&pg=P
A97
8&dq=) in Japan Encyclopedia, p. 978.
4. Nussbaum, "Shogun" (https://books.google.com/books?id=p2QnPijAEmEC&pg=P
A878&dq=) at pp. 878–879.
5. Nussbaum, "Tokugawa" (https://books.google.com/books?id=p2QnPijAEmEC&pg=P
A976&dq=) at p. 976.
6. Nussbaum, "Edo-jidai" (https://books.google.com/books?id=p2QnPijAEmEC&pg=P
A167&dq=) at p. 167.
7. Nussbaum, "Kinsei" (https://books.google.com/books?id=p2QnPijAEmEC&pg=P
A525&dq=) at p. 525.
8. Paik, Christopher; Steele, Abbey; Tanaka, Seiki (2017). "Constraining the Samurai: Rebellion and aTxation in Early
Modern Japan". International Studies Quarterly. 61 (2): 352–370. doi:10.1093/isq/sqx008 (https://doi.org/10.1093%2
Fisq%2Fsqx008).
9. Nussbaum, "Satchotohi" (https://books.google.com/books?id=p2QnPijAEmEC&pg=P
A826&dq=), pp. 826–827.
10. Jansen 2002, pp. 144–148.
11. Keene, Donald Emperor of Japan: Meiji and His World, 1852–1912(2005, Columbia University Press) p. 62
12. Chie Nakane and Shinzaburou Oishi (1990).Tokugawa Japan - The Social and EconomicAntecedents of Modern
Japan. University of Tokyo Press. pp.12.
13. Nussbaum, "Ogosho" (https://books.google.com/books?id=p2QnPijAEmEC&pg=P
A738&dq=) at p. 738.
14. Chie Nakane and Shinzaburou Oishi (1990).Tokugawa Japan: The Social and EconomicAntecedents of Modern
Japan. University of Tokyo Press. pp.24–28.
15. Nussbaum, "Kanjō bugyō" (https://books.google.com/books?id=p2QnPijAEmEC&pg=P
A473&dq=) at p. 473.
16. Nussbaum, "Tenryō" (https://books.google.com/books?id=p2QnPijAEmEC&pg=P
A9610&dq=), p. 961.
17. Shinsengumi, The Shogun's Last Samurai Corps, Romulus, Hillsborough,uttle
T Publishing, 2005
18. Ravina, Mark (2004).Last Samurai: The Life and Battles of Saigo T
akamori. John Wiley & Sons, 2004
19. Nussbaum, "Tokugawa Mitsukuni" (https://books.google.com/books?id=p2QnPijAEmEC&pg=P
A979&dq=) at p. 979.
20. Nussbaum, "Tokugawa Nariaki" (https://books.google.com/books?id=p2QnPijAEmEC&pg=P
A979&dq=) at p. 979.
21. Nussbaum, "Tayasu" (https://books.google.com/books?id=p2QnPijAEmEC&pg=P
A954&dq=) at p. 954.
22. Nussbaum, "Matsudaira Katamori" (https://books.google.com/books?id=p2QnPijAEmEC&pg=P
A616&dq=) at p. 616.
23. Nussbaum, "Matsudaira Sadanobu"(https://books.google.com/books?id=p2QnPijAEmEC&pg=P
A617&dq=) at p.
617.

References
Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéricand Käthe Roth. (2005).Japan Encyclopedia. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
ISBN 978-0-674-01753-5; OCLC 48943301
This article incorporates public domain material from the Library of Congress Country Studies website
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/.

Further reading
Bolitho, Harold. (1974). Treasures Among Men: The Fudai Daimyo inTokugawa Japan. New Haven: Yale University
Press. ISBN 978-0-300-01655-0; OCLC 185685588
Totman, Conrad. The Collapse of the Tokugawa Bakufu, 1862–1868. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 1980.
Totman, Conrad. Politics in the Tokugawa Bakufu, 1600–1843. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1967.
Waswo, Ann Modern Japanese Society 1868–1994
The Center for East Asian Cultural StudiesMeiji Japan Through Contemporary Sources, Volume Two 1844–1882

External links
Japan
Tokugawa Political System
SengokuDaimyo.com The website of Samurai Author and HistorianAnthony J. Bryant
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