How Did The Tokugawa Culture Influence The Culture Of Japan?

Each of these lords hired warriors called Vassals and became lesser lords. In exchange for military service they got land from their lords. The Vassals became lords of their own land and gave land to samurai or knights in exchange for military service. The knights and samurai were more similar than different because, they both served a feudal lord, had similar training, and lived by a similar code.

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.

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.

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.

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

Japanese Feudalism - a social system founded upon a strict hierarchy with the daimyo at the top, followed by the samurai, then farmers and fishermen, artisans, and finally merchants and shopkeepers.

Tokugawa Japan had similar roots in Confucianism as the political systems in China during Ming and Qing dynasties. However, both Chinese dynasties were administered by a tightly centralised state that was governed through bureaucracy, overseen by Confucian scholars (Murphey, 2015) and was a meritocratic system; whereas in Tokugawa Japan, the ruling class consisted of warrior elites (the samurai). Status depended upon one’s family and its connections. In short, the most significant difference between Tokugawa Japan political rule and the Ming or Qing dynasties of China is class structure, as stated by Declan and Thanaree.

Throughout History, there have been many different groups or events that are still widely known today. Groups of people such as the Indians or Vikings are popular groups which are referenced constantly in today’s society. However, none of these groups is more known or referenced than the Japanese Samurai. Originating in 646 AD, these Japanese warriors developed from a loose organization of farmers to the dominant social class in Feudal Japan. Along with their dominant military and political standing, the samurai brought with them a unique code or moral belief that became the core of Samurai culture. Because of this, the Samurai and their principles still affect modern day Japanese society with social customs today

Samurai’s were next in the system, they are in the warrior class. Samurais’ were paid by daimyos, they were paid domains. The job of the samurai was to collect taxes and keep order between the peasants. The warrior class was called shi. Shi included daimyos and

The ‘Sengoku period’ or the ‘warring states period’ is known as the period of time before Japan’s unification. Once unified, the government was known as the Tokugawa Shogunate which continued from 1603 to 1867. Unknown author of popular Japanese website, Nakasendoway

The resulting Tokugawa period “saw Japan move from a country divided by civil war to a unified, stable, and mature state” (Earns, Lane). This was accomplished through Ieyasu’s establishment of a central authority through a new shogunate in Edo, or present-day Tokyo. A more organized government, the Tokugawa shogunate introduced regional authority by daimyo, brought social classes to working order, and resulted in a more flourishing economy through urbanization (Earns, Lane). This was the first step towards a more modernized Japan as it decreased conflict and created an increased orderly

While ongoing change became the status quo in late-Tokugawa era Japan the ideals of the samurai—and the respect they receive—endured. And, because samurai could still fall back on the prestige their class represented, members of society still

For seven centuries, the samurai ruled Japan as the powerful warrior class. As a class of warriors and knights, they led society in feudal Japan. The loyalty to his lord was much more important than his allegiance to his friends, family and even the emperor. Their philosophy was one liberated him from fear, and for these reasons, the samurai came to be the dominate force throughout medieval 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

Meiji Restoration was a significant historical event not only in Japanese history but also in world history. A study (Hunt, Lynn, Thomas, & Barbara, 2009) concluded that the word “Meiji” means “enlightened rule” and the goal was to combine “modern advances” with “eastern” values. This event restored practical imperial rule to Japan under Emperor Meiji in 1868 (“Meiji Restoration”, 2017). As a result, it led to the tremendous changes in political and social structure of Japan, and spanned both the Late Tokugawa period and the beginning of the Meiji period (“Meiji Restoration”, 2017). The main causes of Meiji Restoration can be analyzed from the following different aspects.