TOKUGAWA JAPAN 1400 1800 SETTING THE STAGE 1300

TOKUGAWA JAPAN 1400 -1800

SETTING THE STAGE � 1300 s – 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 1 st 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-1700 s 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 are banned & Christians are persecuted � Closed all ports except Nagasaki “CLOSED COUNTRY POLICY”

Japan Matthew Perry Tokugawa End � Click here for video