Tokugawa period (1600-1867)
The Tokugawa period was an era of great political stability and peace for Japan. While this is an unprecedented accomplishment in Japanese history it was not necessarily a period of happiness for its people. The Tokugawa rulers were able to maintain control over the country by allowing the Daimyos to govern their respective hans, while paying taxes to the Shogun. Additionally, to control the Daimyos they imposed the practice of "sankin kotai" or alternate attendance. This system was used to weaken the daimyos and keep an eye on their affairs. The daimyos couldn't do much without the shougun's permission. Despite its stability the Tokugawa bakufu was also in slow steady decline (Totman 164). The combination of an increasing tax burden on the people, natural disasters, the threat of foreign invasion, and political power struggle among the daimyo's all led to its eventual collapse. The combination of these things and the influence, leadership, and foresightedness of low ranking samurai were primarily responsible for the collapse of the Tokugawa regime and the rise of the early modern era known as Meiji.
As mentioned earlier the Tokugawa period was politically stable, but it was in a steady state of decline. The reasons for this decline are numerous. During that time there were many natural disasters like floods, earthquakes, and periods of famine. The financial situation of the government was deteriorating as well. While at the same time the population was on the rise and a massive urbanization was occurring in the castle towns. This rapid urbanization led to a growing economy, which was becoming more and more consumer based rather than a strictly agrarian economy. Many people moved from the rural areas to the towns surrounding the castles in search of better life. Many farmers moved off the land into towns as well, which may have magnified to a small degree the non-availability of food within the castle towns during the famine years. Edo (Tokyo), the largest of all the castle towns, was the home of the Tokugawa bakufu.
The urbanization movement gave rise to a new class of people the merchants or "chonin" (townsmen). The merchants were thought of as the lowest ranked people in society because they profited from what other people produced, but over time they were to become very wealthy and powerful. They also added to the disenchantment of the samurai class who were at the top of the social hierarchy. During that time the samurai moved off the land and into the castle towns as well. The peasants had hardships too, especially during the famine years, which lead to a few peasant uprisings, but they never threatened the government stronghold.
The samurai were still employed by the daimyos, but with no wars to fight, for over 200 years, they had to find other ways of spending their mostly idle time. Because the skills of a warrior were really not needed many began to serve as bureaucratic officials of the Shogun or his daimyos (The Meiji Restoration). Because the samurai were at the top of the social hierarchy they needed to maintain class distinction; therefore, they tried to maintain a luxurious lifestyle. In doing so however, they became more and more indebted to the merchant class who provided for their needs. Many merchants became wealthy at the expense of the samurai and started to copy the lifestyle of the samurai (Totman 163). Overtime the class distinction became more difficult to tell because of the fusion of the merchant and samurai classes (Sansom 477). Some merchants became so wealthy that they were able to become "quaisai-samurai", who had permission to wear two swords and use surnames when on official business (Totman 160).
By the year 1710, change was beginning to take place because people began to change place in the social hierarchy as mentioned earlier. Farmers became townsmen, townsmen bought farms with their profits, and commoners and farmers both were able to attain rank of samurai either through adoption into a samurai family or by its purchase (Sansom 524-525). This practice was not unusual and shows that money was very powerful and added to the forces of change that were coming. Many low ranking samurai were discontented with the way they were treated and consequently they sought to change the situation and were able to become a driving force for that change. Many realized that a change in government and its policies needed to occur in order for Japan to prosper. As you will see most of those involved in the governmental change were not samurai from their birth.
Many of the samurai involved in the fall of the Tokugawa were low ranking samurai. Many were adopted or purchased their way into the ranks somehow. These men were known as "shishi" or "men of high purpose." There were three main reasons that contributed to the fall of the Tokugawa. First there were wide spread natural disasters like famine, floods, and earthquakes. Second, there was the threat of foreign invasion. And lastly there was the Tokugawa government itself, which had always looked after its own interest at the expense of others especially the peasants and the "tozama" domains. The combination of the three, over time, set the stage for the eventual fall of the Tokugawa bakfu government. With the stage set, these low ranking samurai became imperial activists with strong "SONNO JOI" feelings who thought the Tokugawa had disregarded the emperor's wishes when it signed the Harris Treaty, but after they saw the strength and advanced technology of the foreigners many came to realize that the closed-door policy was not what the country needed. They realized that the only way to prevent the Western countries from colonizing Japan as they had done in China and other countries was to adopt their weapons and style of government. They were instrumental and effective in accomplishing a toppling of an oppressive regime and establishing a new form of government that worked more toward the good of all the people of Japan.
