How Did Oda Nobunaga's Contribution To The Reunification Of Japan?

In Japan, during the end of the first millennium, the samurai went to war with the emperor. This war is known as the Genpei War and the Emperor was defeated by the Samurai. This led to the first established shogunate. During the Edo period (1603-1868) or also known as the Tokugawa shogunate, there was an era of stability that led to the rise of shoguns. Shoguns were considered the single ruler of Japan although, the emperor was above the shoguns on the social class. Tokugawa Ieyasu ruled Japan for 15 generations, controlling about 25% of the peoples land, leaving the rest of the 75% to be put into domains, ruled by 275 daimyos. The shogun of Japan controlled government, however, when the Meiji Restoration began in the 19th century, Japans stable society ended and the Shoguns lost all power, due to Matthew Perry. Matthew Perry was a Christian who was seen as a threat to Japan as he wanted to create a divide within Japan. Japan was split into two sections, one being the shogunate and its supporters to remain in power and the Japanese nationalists who wanted the Emperor to regain power. This divide in Japan led to a civil war known as the Boshin war or the

These sources tell readers that in the early Tokugawa period, the Shogun/Bakufu placed emphasis on the creation of a moral, secure, and precise suzerain/vassal state. With rigid rules, the Shogunate attempted to create a state of accountability where individuals and groups served their specific place in society. From these sources, readers learn that the Shogun place strict restrictions on almost all Japanese persons concerning many aspects of everyday life.

He founded a dynasty of military rulers called the Tokugawa Shoguns. This began a time of peace and isolation in Japan lasting from 1603 to 1867 (Japan and the West Slideshow). After the Tokugawa shoguns gained power, they reimposed centralized feudalism, closed Japan to foreigners, and forbade Japanese to travel overseas (Japan Modernizes). From then on for more than 200 years, Japan developed in isolation. By the 1800s, discontent was felt all throughout Japan.

Tokugawa Ieyasu, the third of Japan’s unifiers, was able to create a stable regime that brought peace to Japan for 250 years. Under his system, “the centralization of feudal state and society went much further than it had in the earlier periods.” (Sources, 121). During this time, Shogun and roughly 260 feudal lords, called daimyos, ruled Japan. According to law, the positions of daimyos were inherited, which meant that a daimyo would be succeeded by one of his sons and this succession would be approved by the Shogun. The Shogun was theoretically selected by the emperor, who fulfilled his role as the “final legitimizing authority in Japan” (sources 121).

During the post classical period, 650 C.E to 1450 C.E, Japanese leaders were confronted with several issues that threatened political order in Japan. The problems that arose during that time included a lack of respect for Buddhism, for example, monks were not taking their vows seriously. Another problem included the division between classes in the social structure, one instance was when the lady-in-waiting in the temple showed disdain for the peasants in a lower class than her. Ultimately, one last problem was the lack of overall respect for the government. Samurais were not being properly trained and the Daimyo were fighting among themselves simply for power. The issues that presented themselves during this time period can be solved in many ways. Buddhism, a unified religion, reestablishing Confucian values and relationships, and properly training the Samurai are just

One of the biggest changes that happened in the Japanese society because of the Meiji Restoration was the change in social structure. Instead of being dictated their roles in life by the Tokugawa Shogunate, “millions of people were free to choose their occupation and move without restrictions” (AFA, 2014). However not all previous social roles were allowed to continue on under Emperor Meiji. The Samurai social class was made obsolete (ABC Splash, 2016). Instead a new army, modelled on the superior strength of the American army was formed. By making people free to choose their

The Feudal Period in Japan ended in a decline of central power, which led to the centralized feudal system of government in the Tokugawa Period in late 1500. There were three main leaders who helped reunite Japan including Oda Nobunaga, Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu. Oda Nobunaga was successful to an extent, but was not successful in uniting the entire country. After the country once again became reunited from Tokugawa Ieyasu, a second wave of cultural diffusion occurred from the Europeans. They introduced guns and Christianity in early 1600.

Tokugawa rulers during the 17th century greatly improved a multitude of separate political aspects and as a result, positively impacted the nation and citizens. A primary example of this is Tokugawa’s establishment of the capital at Edo which in present day Japan is called the iconic Tokyo. Additionally, he established a strong central government, along with his shoguns imposing an era of unity, stability, and peace in Japan. The shoguns closely monitored and controlled the local daimyo possessed a relative amount of power but remained to be tested for their loyalty and kept under control by the shoguns who restricted their family and eventually became hostages. The daimyo was required to maintain two residences in an attempt to prevent rebellion because of this wasting factor which prohibited them as they had minuscule amounts of time to construct a powerful army due to constantly needing to defend two residences. The Tokugawa period was an era of peace, stability, and

The shogunate period was the time in Japan from 794 CE to 1867 CE when the Shoguns ruled. A Shogun is a title that was given by the Emperor to the country’s top military commander. During the Heian period (794CE – 1185CE) the members of the military slowly became more powerful than the court officials and they eventually took control of the whole government. “In 1192 the Emperor appointed the head of the Minamoto clan, Minamoto no Yoritomo, as Shogun, to lead the Japanese armed forces.” (History Alive 8). He established the first shogunate or bakufu at his Kamakura headquarters. For 700 years after that, Japan was mainly ruled by Shoguns whose title had been passed on from father to son. Sometimes the Shogun’s family would become weak and a rebellious leader would seize power from them, after which he would start a new ruling family.

It was during the Edo period, also known as the Tokugawa period (1600 - 1868) when Japan made the decision to isolate itself from the rest of the world. The Japanese believed any contact with the outside world would contaminate and disrupt their strictly organized society, which was why they limited their contact with other civilizations. This period of isolation led to many factors such as, no warfare or exchange with other countries. This also meant that there was not any influence from different cultures, knowledge, or economy. For most of the Edo period, Japan was a peaceful place with happy people.

The government: The samurai were forced to become farmers. Emperor Meji wanted a more modernized army, this law was established in 1873.

The death of emperor Hideyoshi and subsequent ascension to the throne of Hideyori in 1598 set into motion events that would alter the political landscape in Japan for the next two hundred and fifty years. Tokugawa Ieyasu, in his quest to become absolute ruler of Japan defeated Hideyori loyalists in the battle of Sekigahara and was appointed Shogun by Hideyori in 1603. This military “coup d’état” effectively gave Tokugawa complete control of Japan and reduced the emperor to little more than a figurehead in the governing of Japan. As history would show, the feudal system of government that Tokugawa created ultimately led to

State of War: The Violent Order of Fourteenth Century Japan by Thomas Donald Conlan tracks the events in Japan between 1336 and 1392. Conlan provides his wisdom on how state and society operated in the Nanbokucho period through various source documents portraying the warriors not by their romanticized “knights of the round table” ideal, but rather showing that while there were alliances of connivence, they could be broken just as easily as they were made, revealing that pragmatism was paramount above all else.

Scholars can agree that the Tokugawa bakufu was marked by stability and a lack of warfare, although diagnosing the particular cause of this stability calls for speculation. After examining W.G. Beasley’s The Japanese Experience and D. J. Lu’s “Tokugawa Peace,” as well as the primary sources contained in the latter, it seems that the Tokugawa’s stability is not merely a coincidence, but the product of a unique, if somewhat unequal, balance between older governmental forms and newer ones. It seems that pairing traditional feudalism with the innovation of a centralized government allowed the Tokugawa to maintain their power peacefully, and this balance was carefully maintained through developments such as closing off the country, subjugating

Son of Oda Nobuhide, Oda Nobunaga successfully succeeded to his father’s estate and soon overpowered his relatives and the principal family of the province. He had proved his brilliant tactics and strategy by controlling all of Owari, as well as defeating the vast forces of Imagawa Yoshimoto. In addition to this, he greatly changed the economic and military side of Japan. Nobunaga successfully controlled all of Japan and greatly impacted the face of its life.