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Edo Period

Decent Essays

Japan is not only a major economic power, it is one of the most economically developed countries in the world. Japan’s economic development begun between the 12th and 17th century, in a period of time that the Japanese refer to as the Edo period. Although specific economic structures didn’t exist at the time, the conditions, both socially and politically, set the Japanese up for a later successful industrialization and modernization. During the Edo period, the ruling government was known as the bakufu. The bakufu had absolute political power over smaller, local governments, however, they lacked a consistent economic stance. Therefore, the local governments, known as the han, were allowed to decide how their people would be taxed, and how administration would work, along with education, industrialization, and issuing paper currency as long as it was not directly prohibited by the bakufu. …show more content…

Many peasants worked on farmlands, from which they were usually taxed rice, and although they were not officially allowed to leave, many relocated to avoid high tax burdens. Agricultural expansions led to various rebellious acts from farmers who were unhappy with taxes, government officials, and inflation. The government at the time received funds from the rice tax, a monopoly on mining, foreign trade, and financial contributions from merchants seeking monopoly and cartel rights. Due to an increasing economy and the demand of resources from merchants, the government had to resort to printing a financial currency, which leads to inflation, increase taxes and cut spending. Towards the end of the Edo period, the bakufu monopolized foreign trade, rendering it impossible for any Japanese to leave Japan and gain knowledge or trade with other countries. After much disagreement, the Japanese government decided to reopen trade with diplomatic countries such as the United States, and the bakufu government was removed from

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