The Tokugawa Period

The young warriors were taught to sacrifice everything for the emperor or lord. In Japan, the emperor represented the laws and the state and was considered divine. Loyalty was an ethical demand stemming from this political theory. A samurai was obligated to appeal to the wisdom of his lord by committing seppuku.

Katsu Kokichi’s autobiography, “Musui’s Story,” documents the life of a samurai in Japan’s late Tokugawa period who adopted the name Musui in his retirement. Katsu is something of a black sheep within his family, being largely uneducated and deemed unfit for the bureaucratic office 's samurai of his standing were expected to hold. As such, he typifies in many ways the lower ronin, or masterless samurai, many of whom famously led roaming, directionless lives and wreaked havoc among the urban poor and merchant classes. The novel addresses the decaying power of samurai throughout the Tokugawa period and depicts their struggle to find purpose. Throughout the story, Katsu is impacted by three interconnected systems of power that impact his life

We can also see the decline of the bushido way of life of the samurai by looking carefully at Katsu's life. The ideal samurai was supposed to be self-sacrificing, pure, modest, frugal, honorable and affectionate. With these values in mind Katsu could almost be seen as the antithesis to the samurai way of life. He stole from others, fought people for no reason or for prideful reasons, lied often and it seemed as though the people closest to him didn't really like him at all. He also spent times in the Edo red-light district and was actually the self-proclaimed

To back up my first statement, the Shogunate’s had many large armies around Japan, this did help the Shogunate’s protect their land from the Mongol Empire, who at the time were one of the biggest empires in the world. This compared to the puny Polynesian armies which mostly consisted of twenty to thirty warriors from different tribes on the islands. These small armies could never put up such a fight like the Shogunate’s did and also win. The Polynesian would of been finished as quick as a fire spreading through a dried out forest. The Shogunate armies consisted of about 5,000 to 10,000 footman and cavalry, this let the Shogunate’s attack from different angles and fight in different terrains which helped let them win their wars. The Polynesian’s

The Tokugawa period signified the beginning of an eventual shift from Fascism in Japan. This  was possible through the growing supremacy of the ruling class that brought about this change.   The country went through many serious transitions during this period. Peace was enforced by a Shogun that demanded absolute loyalty from his daimyos.

The time from 1600 to 1868 is known as the Tokugawa period in Japanese history, this was a period of time where Japan experienced peace and stability. The Tokugawa period was a time in history where elite and distinctive government order ruled the Japanese people. The elite and distinctive government order was founded and formed in 1603 by a shogunate named Tokugawa Ieyasu. Tokugawa and a long line of his family ancestors formed and control a distinctive and efficient military Government System. The military Government system ruled and controlled the Japanese people for over 200 years.

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

Tokugawa leyasu was born 1543.When leyasu .When leyasu 4 year old, he got the education suitable for a nobleman. In 1605 he received the title of shogun from Emperor Go-Yōzei. After being shogun few years he created the Tokugawa shogunate, which ushered in the Edo period, and was the third Shogunal government. In 1609 leyasu chose to distance Japan from European influence. Few year later leyasu died at age 73 , his tomb was in a pubic place ,people can worship him in there. We can see leyasu was a powerful person in japan.

The first humans arrived to Japan around 35,000 B.C. Japan has a history of being locked out to the outside world, refusing to open its borders to foreigners. In 1633, the Sakoku Policy, issued a “locked country” law that banned immigrants from entering Japan on penalty of death and disallowed Japanese from leaving Japan. The first historic papers mentioning Japan date to around the 5th century, legend holds that Emperor Jimmu was the primary emperor of an imperial line that is still in place today. Archaeological proof gathered by a number of scholars implied the imperial rule started later, the third to seventh centuries AD, during the Kofun period. Tokugawa Ieyasu moved to re-join the country and effectively founded the Tokugawa Shogunate.

Japan became the very first country outside of the Western world to become industrialized despite being considered an isolated country for hundreds of years leading up to the modernity of Japan. The Tokugawa period in Japan lasted for hundreds of years under relative peace compared to the war torn centuries that had dominated Japanese history when territories were dominated by shoguns. How did Japan go from a so called backwards isolated country to being a world economic power in such a short amount of time? Were the Japanese really as backwards as history has portrayed them to be? To further understand why Japan was able to industrialize and become modern so quickly one must consider what it means to be modern.

Kotoku was born in 1871 in rural Tosa and matured in the hectic reform years of the Meiji period. During his maturity, Japan was undergoing changes that lead to impending dangers. The years of the Meiji Restoration in 1868 changed from feudal system of the Edo period to a compulsory system of equal education and enlistment to the army. Japan underwent intense reforms that changed its social, political, and economic aspects. The reforms shook the foundations of the dying regime and gave birth to a new society. The social Caste system was toppled, and the day to day lives of the Japanese changed with a revolution. This achievement was shortly thereafter betrayed by the ruling party. The ruling elite’s imperialistic pursuit was viewed as a betrayal to the Meiji Restoration. The revolution promised a fair society in submission of universal ideals. While in Tosa, Kotoku was educated in the new educational system and its new political ideals, which had opened up due to radical Meiji reforms. He was known as a socialist and anarchist because of his distaste towards the political leaders as he felt betrayed by the promise of the Meiji restoration. The revolution became a restoration of the past and reinstated the emperor as the one true ruler. Kotoku believed in completing the revolution that had

In ancient Japan the imperial court became too large for the Emperor to control, to fix this the Emperor's men broke into different clans. However, because the leaders all wanted the most land civil wars soon broke out. 2 of the biggest clans (Taira and Minamoto) gained power due to the support of factions. By 1185 this lead the leader of the Minamoto people, Minamoto no Yoritomo formed a military gout, in which the people had to obey him as the shogun. Therefore the Emperor ruled over the Shogun, however the Shogun had the power over the people and made the decision. To conclude, the Emperor is the figurehead of the land much like the Queen in modern day society, and the Shogun is the Emperor’s speaker, much like the Governor General, in the 21st century. This solution to the civil wars of Japan was only meant to be a temporary solution, this was not however the case as for the next 700 years the Shoguns ruled Japan. How did the Shoguns

However, there were several elements from the Edo period that were present in the Meiji society that helped Japan to succeed. Many aspects of the Tokugawa system provided the Japanese people with a common social and cultural background, which facilitated the transition of Japan in the Meiji period to a modern nation-state and world economic power. The alternate attendance (sankin kôtai) system not only stimulated economic development but also provided Japan with a shared culture and allowed a common socialization process to occur in the capital of Edo. The Tokugawa hierarchical structure of emperor, shogun, daimyô, and the four classes of samurai, peasants, artisans, and merchants applied to essentially all people of the four main islands of

Japanese unification started in the late 16th century by Nobunaga Oda and continued by Toyotomi Hideyoshi. When Tokugawa Ieyasu took the power the ‘unified Japan’ was just at the beginning, therefore, as the great strategist who was, his first aim was to centralise and increase power of the shogunate in order to facilitate Tokugawa control throughout the country while at the same time eliminate any potential threat. This obsession with order can be seen in any aspect of the Tokugawa shogunate and therefore, besides society and politics, in foreign trades. However, the first century of the Tokugawa period was not marked by isolation. In fact, after Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s death and as Tokugawa Ieyasu won over the western daimyo at the Battle of

During the Tokugawa era Noh continued to be an aristocratic art form supported by the shogun, the feudal aristocrats or daimyo, as well as several wealthy and more sophisticated commoners. While kabuki and joruri, popular to the middle class, focused on new and experimental entertainment, Noh strived to preserve its established high standards and historic authenticity and remained mostly unchanged throughout the era. To capture the essence of performances given by great masters, every detail in movements and positions is reproduced by others, generally resulting in an increasingly slow, ceremonial tempo.