TOKUGAWA JAPAN
1400-1800
SETTING THE STAGE 1300s – SHOGUNS (military leaders) struggled to
keep weak Japan unified
1467 – civil war chaos & war result in shogun losing control
territorial lords gaining power over small domains of land
– LACK OF UNITY feudalism
Powerless emperors being controlled by shoguns
SENGOKU PERIOD 1467-1568 – Sengoku :
“Warring States”
SAMURAIS seized control of estates & offer peasants protection for loyalty
strongest samurais became DAIMYO (warrior-chieftains) who want more land & more control
DAIMYO VIPs
ODA NOBUNAGA – seizes Kyoto (capital) in 1568 & Pushes out all rivals with force – 1575 uses firearms for 1st time in Japan
TOYOTOMI HIDEYOSHI – gains control of country by 1590 & invades Korea in 1592
TOKUGAWA IEYASU A daimyo - unifies Japan in 1600
& gains loyalty of all daimyo Becomes shogun – sole ruler
TOKUGAWA’S ACHIEVEMENTS
moves capital to Edo (became Tokyo)
makes daimyo come to capital every other year to keep them obedient & close to his watchful eye
legal policies reformed
strong central government becomes more important than military actions (rule of law over rule of sword)
founder of Tokugawa Shogunate (1600-1867)
WHAT DID THIS DO FOR JAPAN?
Stability, prosperity, & isolation
Food production increases population increases
Merchant class becomes wealthy & powerful, but peasants remain poor & overworked eventually move to cities
CITY LIFE Mid-1700s Japan shifts from rural to
urban society – Edo was world’s largest city
Employment opportunities increase for women in cities (peasants still restricted)
Traditional culture thrived› KABUKI theater gains popularity:
dramas w/elaborate costumes
› HAIKU– poetry that expresses images
EUROPEANS ARRIVE IN 1500’s
Japanese eager to trade w/ Portuguese: clocks, eyeglasses, tobacco, & firearms (for muskets & cannons)
Missionaries want to convert people BUT Tokugawa believed they looked down on Japanese culture/ religion (Shinto & Buddhism)
Eventually missionaries arebanned & Christians are persecuted
Closed all ports except Nagasaki “CLOSED COUNTRY POLICY”