Reading Questions
Objective #1 Explain how rulers used a variety of methods to legitimize and consolidate their power in land-based empires from 1450 to 1750.
Objective #2 Explain how and why various land-based empires developed and expanded from 1450 to 1750.
Medieval Japan
Objective #2 Explain how and why various land-based empires developed and expanded from 1450 to 1750.
Medieval Japan
- In what ways was Medieval Japan similar and different than Medieval Europe?
- How did the political decentralization facilitate the spread of Buddhism?
- How did the Tokugawa Shogun consolidate power? Name as many ways as you can.
- How were Samurai paid?
- Explain the two ways the Shogun isolated Japan
- What was the economic effect of Tokugawa peace?
Medieval Japan 1189 CE to 1600 CE (Sengoku)
The medieval period of Japan is considered by most historians to stretch from 1185 to 1603 CE. Japan saw long periods of decentralization similar to Europe. Large land owners called daimyo fought for control while emperor struggled to unify Japan. This was also the period where the Samurai warrior came to prominence. The emperor had no real control. The Daimyo and Samurai class became the real rulers of Japan. The supreme military leader called the Shogun ruled in place of the the emperor who was only a figure head. To help defend themselves, Daimyos built castles. From these castle they were able to also control the land around them. The Samurai followed an ethics code called Bushido. The Code of Bushido was based on samurai strength and rested on strong group loyalty and discipline The Code of Bushido is still something that is respected and revered today.
Shoen (manors)
Similar to Europe, the Economy was in chaos. Japan's economy remained an economy heavily dependent upon agriculture but there was low productivity. The reason for this was because the Daimyo owned large tracts of land called Shoen similar to European manors. These manors were not only self sufficient but were NOT required to pay taxes to the emperor making them independent.
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Buddhism
Buddhism, which holds that life is full of suffering, spread from the elite to the common people. Daimyos sponsored Buddhist temples facilitating this process. The spread of Buddhism helped ease the "darkness" of the Dark Ages of Japan. Shinto and Confucianism remained strong influences in Japan.
Tokugawa Shogunate
Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542-1616) would establish the Tokugawa Shogunate, that governed for more than 250 years, after the battle of Sekigara. In the battle of Sekigara, the Shogun took control of the sliver mines. Once the Shogun controlled the silver mines, he was able to unify the country. With the silver the Shogun was able to purchase gun powder weapons from the Portuguese. Once the country was unified he consolidated power in various ways. First the Tokugawa created a much stronger bureaucratic military government in the capital of Edo. He also established the 5 Routes or the five official roads that led to and from Edo connecting the capital to the rest of Japan's main island. Additionally, he crated a system of Alternate Attendance. Daimyos were required to live in the capital of Edo for one year while living in their own lands the other. To make sure people complied, the Shogun required the Daimyo to leave their wives and first born sons at the Edo residence. The Shogun also confiscated all weapons from the everyone including the peasants except the Samurai. The samurai began to be paid with rice and gold instead of land and were forbidden to deal with foreign merchants. The Daimyo maintained some control This created a long period of peace lasting until the Meiji Restoration of 1868.
Isolation
Additionally, Tokugawa Leyasu isolated Japan. When shipwrecked Portuguese missionaries and those who followed them first got to Japan, they were well received. The Tokugawa saw Europeans as a threat. As a result they expelled Christian missionaries and violently suppressed all Christian practices. This included torturing and killing 62 missionaries and their followers.
Furthermore, similar to the Chinese, the Tokugawa Shogunate restricted trade. They banned Japanese citizens from traveling abroad. They passed Act of Seclusion of 1636. Only the Dutch are allowed to conduct trade in a small outpost near Nagasaki. Even though the Japanese isolation continued for the next 250 years until the US's Commodore Perry forced them to open their ports, merchants continued to trade in the region. |
Economic Growth
After the Tokugawa united Japan, they would enjoy a period of peace facilitating economic growth. Under the Tokugawa, agriculture and commerce thrived. Peasants used improved farming techniques such as new insecticides and seed selection. An agricultural surplus led to urbanization, helped by the building of a highway network connecting the provinces with the capital. By 1700 CE one million people lived in Edo. During this time, the Japanese population soared. Subsequently the population growth led to the rise of the merchant class. The Edo merchants supplying the military became richer than the samurai, many of whom lived in poverty.
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Cultural Changes in Tokugawa Japan
Before Tokugawa Ieyasu, Edo was a remote fishing village of little significance. But once the Tokugawa bakufu moved in, Edo became the center of political and cultural life — so much so that the duration of Tokugawa rule is also known as the Edo period (1600-1868). Below you can see some videos on some of the most iconic examples of Japanese culture during this period.
Woodblock printing
Bunraku Puppets
Ukiyo (Floating World)
The licensed pleasure quarter of Edo, known as Yoshiwara, famed for its government-sanctioned brothels, kabuki theater, fashionable restaurants, and street entertainment, was a principal inspiration for many Ukiyo-e artists. It was here -- in this "floating world" of pleasure and entertainment -- that the confines of social class could be pushed aside. Various forms of entertainment, particularly kabuki theater and the pleasure quarters, lured monied patrons who were eager in turn to acquire the vivid images of celebrated actors and exquisite courtesans created by Ukiyo-e artists.
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