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When Tokugawa Ieyasu,
succeeded Hideyoshi in 1598, it was with
the intention of passing the regency to Hideyoshi's young son, Hideyori.
After the battle of Sekigahara, Hideyori
was installed at Osaka Castle and given a number of provinces.  In
1603, Emperor Go-Yozei declared Ieyasu
the first of the Tokugawa shoguns; they were to rule Japan for the
next two and a half centuries. Ieyasu retired in 1605 giving the
title to his son Hidetada, now forgiven
for his bad judgement at Sekigahara.
Edo Shogunate established
: 1603
Tokugawa Ieyasu, became shogun this gave him direct authority over
the military. Whilst the imperial capital remained at Kyoto, he established
his military government at Edo (present
day Tokyo). The great Edo Castle was built
and people soon gathered to the new capital which grew into a metropolis
of more than a million population. Soon after Ieyasu, retired to Shizuoko
where he had a new castle built. His son, Tokugawa Hidetada, became
the next shogun although Ieyasu remained in control.
The Battle of Osaka
castle: 1615
The only enemy left for Ieyasu was, Toyotomi
Hideyori at Osaka Castle. At first, Ieyasu was prepared to
leave Hideyori as a minor daimyo, but Yodo,
the mother of Hideyori, intrigued to restore her son to power. Ieyasu's
plan to reduce the threat of possible rivals through the redistribution
of land and property left many daimyo dispossessed, and they rallied
to Hideyori. This dangerous situation finally convinced Ieyasu of
the need to annihilate the house Toyotomi, and so he attacked Osaka
Castle in 1615. There were two battles. The 'Winter
Battle' of 1615, and the 'Summer Battle'
in 1616. Although Ieyasu dominated the 'Winter Battle', the strong
defences made the attack costly. Finally a reconciliation was brokered
on condition that Ieyasu would only destroy the outer moat of the
castle (Japanese castles of the day had two moats, an outer and
an inner). This however was a subterfuge, Ieyasu's envoy destroyed
not only the outer but also the inner moat. This rendered the castle
almost defenceless. Next year, the 'Summer Battle' ensued and Ieyasu's
army took the castle. Hideyori evaded capture by committing seppuku
(ritual suicide). House Toyotomi was annihilated.
Edo soon became
the greatest city in the empire, developing culturally, economically
and politically. Ieyasu brought the feudal organisation that had
been planned by Hideyoshi to fulfilment. The daimyos and administrators,
as well as the emperor and his court, were now under the strict
control of the shogunate.
Sankin Kotai:
The shogunate feared daimyo rebellion, constant accusations and confiscation
of their lands led many accused daimyo to commit seppuku. The
daimyo's samurai then lost their occupation, becoming 'lordless samurai',
known as ronin. |
Ieyasu still feared
that some daimyo might become powerful enough to threaten his shogunate.
And so, to 'ensure their loyalty' he established a number of laws
to control them.
Sankin Kotai was the most effective: All
daimyo were required to alternate their living accommodation between
Edo and their home province. Thus, a daimyo would spent a year at
his country residence, then the following year he had to travel to
the capital to spend that year in his Edo mansion (these residences
were called daimyo yashiki). The
often long journey to Edo was an event in itself. Fitting his station,
the daimyo would travel with a retinue of more than 200 men, assorted
carriages and supplies.
More than an inconvenience, this was an enormous financial burden
for the daimyo. This was the strategy of Ieyasu; not only did the
law provide a way to keep daimyo under observation, it also constrained
growth by depleting their coffers.
The law also brought an advancement to Japan's infrastructure. The
frequent travelling of large groups required an improved traffic system.
Kaido (major travelling routes),
developed. Many shukuba-machi (inn-towns)
grew up along kaido, to provide travellers with lodgings, supplies
and sustenance. The Tokaido was the busiest
and most famous kaido, connecting Edo and Kyoto along the Pacific
coast. There were 53 shukuba-machi on the Tokaido. Local cultures
and crafts were brought to Edo, businesses boomed and the population
grew. The Sankin Kotai did much to make Edo (Tokyo) the cultural centre
that it is today.
Imposed isolation, Sakoku: 1638
Another result of Tokugawa domination was the imposed isolation of
Japan from the Western world. The first Europeans to visit Japan were
Portuguese traders who had landed on an island near Kyushu about 1543.
Saint Francis Xavier, the Jesuit missionary,
had brought Christianity to Japan in 1549. Christianity slowly began
to spread. Some daimyo were converted from Buddhism to Christianity
(Oda Nobunaga had been baptised). About
300,000 Japanese were converted to Roman Catholicism, despite disapproval
and persecution by Toyotomi Hideyoshi,
who hated Christianity, and prohibited it's propagation. Trade with
the Portuguese, Spanish, and Dutch continued apace and the volume
of visitors made the prohibition of Christianity ineffective see
Culture: Religion.
Tokugawa Ieyasu considered Christianity a real danger to his shogunate.
He had established a feudal class system in which bushi
ruled other people, but the priests preached human equality, and so
he became set on prohibiting Christianity completely. |
High and low may subscribe to any of the old religions, with the exception
of the abominable religion. Since time immemorial religious strife
has brought
disaster to the world. One must therefore see to it that it ceases
altogether.
Article 29: Tokugawa |
The further suspicion that Christianity was designed to serve as a
preliminary to European conquest led to its being subject to official
persecution, 1612. Many Christians were killed and in 1624, the Spanish
were refused permission to land in Japan. Japanese people were forbidden
to travel abroad and the building of large ships was banned. To further
insure against foreign contamination, Japanese who had been overseas
for more than 5 years were not allowed to return.
Tokugawa Iemitsu, the third shogun, continued
the policy of removing Christianity by every means. In 1638, he ordered
the closure of the country to all foreign countries, with the exception
of China and Holland. He also ordered that any foreign ships approaching
Japanese islands be repelled.
The special dispensation shown to the Dutch, was in part due to the
presence of Will Adams, Anjin-sama
- 'Mr Pilot', (celebrated in James Clavell's
book, Shogun) an English navigator who came to Japan in 1600
on a Dutch ship. He came to Ieyasu's attention and later became an
advisor to the shogun. Even so, the Dutch were restricted to the artificial
island of Dejima in the harbour of Nagasaki
and were continually subjected to indignities and limitations on their
activities. They were allowed to dock only 2 ships a year.
Closed to outside influence, the Japanese grew inward and received
intensive development resulting in extreme nationalism. The objective
was achieved, preservation of the Japanese National identity. This
two century period greatly influenced the culture and mentality of
the Japanese.
Arrival of Admiral Perry: 1853
After two centuries of isolation, four steamships arrived from the
United States of America. The Americans were eager to trade with Japan
and sent Commodore Perry, armed with
four ships they were intent on success. They moored in Edo bay and
were finally allowed to present a letter to the Bakufa
(government). Perry returned the next year for their response, aware
of the reticence of the Japanese and aggression shown to outsiders,
he came this time with 9 warships.
The peace of two centuries had weakened Japanese military strength
and they were without a naval force capable of defending themselves
against the US ships. So the shogunate had no choice but to abandon
sakoku policy of isolation.
In 1854, the Bakufa accepted the USA's request for trade but with
limited access to the ports of Shimoda
& Hakkodate only. Two hundred & fifty years
of isolation were over.
Within 2 years similar treaties with Britain, Russia and Holland were
in place. Japan was suddenly dragged to the stage of world-wide imperialistic
politics. The Japanese lack of diplomatic experience with helped to
produce a most favourable treaty for the United States. Western merchants
brought many goods that were alien to Japan, including the steam engine,
capitalistic economy, and democracy. The people, however began to
lose trust in the shogunate.
Many sought to remove the weak shogunate and restore the emperor to
power. There were revolts in Kyoto and much unrest, then in 1866,
the shogun, Iemochi died. The following
year Emperor Komei died and the new Emperor,
Mutsuhito, took control of an army formed by the Lord's of
Satsuma and Choshu. The Emperor declared the shogunate, traitors to
Japan, an act which seriously damaged the morale of the shogunate
army.
The new shogun, Yoshinobu, with a sense
of self-preservation, accepted the peace conditions proposed by a
coalition, led by the Emperor's allied general Saigo
Takomori, who was poised to attack him at Edo Castle. Yoshinobu,
abdicated (became governor of Surugal) and announced the return of
sovereignty to the Emperor. This ended the 250 years of Tokugawa rule
and brought the bakufa system of government to an end. |
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