Meiji Restoration.

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Sudeep Desaraju

Meiji Restoration

The Tokugawa shogunate or Tokugawa bakufu  (a de facto central administration) was a feudal military dictatorship established in 1603 by Tokugawa Ieyasu. After the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, central authority fell to Ieyasu who received the title of Sei-i-tai-shogun (“Great Barbarian Quelling General”). This was originally an imperial title bestowed on the commander of armed forces employed against the turbulent frontier tribes of the north, i.e., against the indigenous Ainu. Imprisoned in the Tokyo Imperial Palace and virtually under ‘house arrest’ the emperor was forced into a powerless de-jure role while the Shogunate conceived strategies to permanently retain their power. In an effort to isolate enemies and maintain rule, the Tokugawa initiated a process of land relocation where Han (domains) were divided into fuadi daimyo (friends-direct vassals) and tozama daimyo (‘outside’ daimyo). 

One way of ensuring a static society was to reduce social mobility to a minium by rigidly separating the various classes of society and forbidding movement between them. A caste system developed comprising of daimyo (land lords) followed by, samurai (warriors), nomin (peasants), chonin (townspeople/ merchants) and eta (untouchables). The samurai had a hereditary superiority over the other three lower classes and enjoyed the privilege of kirigesute-gomen- the right to cut down with one of their two swords any non-samurai who insulted them. Samurai devoted their body and soul to their master daimyo in accordance with the religious code of honour, the oral code of Bushido. The nomin and chonin formed more than 90% of the population and shouldered the burden of supporting the state through excessive taxation. Strongly encouraged by the bakufu, Confucian teaching treated rulers as uniquely fitted to govern and provided an ethical backing for the demand of absolute loyalty.

The re-allotment of fiefs after Sekigahara left samurai without an overlord and many became ronin, literally ‘wave men’-masterless warriors. A morbid fear existed in the bakufu that the ronin and hostile daimyo in the southwest would invoke foreign help to create civil disruption and threaten the Tokugawa hegemony. To maintain political stability, reinforce the total prohibition on Christianity and prevent ‘subversive’ Western ideas, the Shogunate adopted sakkoku (isolationism) from 1630, severing Japan’s connection with the world. The result was that foreigners were permanently ejected and Japanese themselves were not permitted to leave the country or build ocean-going ships. Trade with Europe however continued, albeit limited to annual contact with the Dutch on Dejima Island under strict surveillance in Nagasaki Harbour. Sakkoku consolidated power and removed short-term threat of foreign values but at the cost of widening the technological gap between Europe and Japan. It inhibited the development of effective production systems and the generation of wealth through the production of specialised goods.

The narrow aperture of the Dutch trade allowed the principles of science and technology (including those of Robert Boyle and Isaac Newton) to filter through and so although Japan was closed it meant neither cultural stagnation nor complete isolation. Japan was different from China in its technical receptivity for the according to a Dutch trader “the Japanese are sharp witted and quickly learn anything they see”. Curiosity about the outside world has always been a Japanese trait – the Chinese, on the other hand regarded knowledge of countries beyond China as superfluous- evident in its reaction to foreigner ideas. The shogunate supported Rangaku (Dutch Studies) and established notable research centres that translated and studied Western works on science, geography, medicine, military science, and other subjects. These studies allowed Japanese to be exposed to Western technology and ideas, which facilitated the transition of Japan to a modern country in the Meiji period.

In addition, the shogunate established a policy of sankin-kotai (alternate residence), a permanent hostage system where every daimyo was compelled to reside alternately for at least six months in Edo (renamed to Tokyo in 1869) leaving behind his family. The shogunate intended to prevent any one daimyo from amassing or retaining excessive wealth and so created the prototype of the absolute police state. Travel and conspicuous consumption forced daimyo to sell their surplus rice and obtain necessary funds.  A system of promissory notes replaced rice as the means of exchange due to its inconvenience, leading to the rise of the money economy and increasing influence of the bourgeoisie or merchant class who gained vital entrepreneurial skills. This merchant class arose and prospered lending money to the daimyos who were systemically ruined by their continual and costly journeys. Due to the daimyo indulging in a luxurious lifestyle the became heavily indebted to the merchants and in serious financial hardship. Edo (1 million population) and Osaka (750 000) were the great centres of consumption, sustained by financial and mercantile arrangements, which had grown enormously in scale and complication since the 17th century. Profiting from both trade and money they began to improve their social status by marrying into samurai families or by acquiring land. J. Hollyday says, "The anger of Osaka merchants could strike into the hearts of daimyo." Thus, even before the end of the period of isolation traditional class lines were blurred with the hierarchical social structure beginning to crack.

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The development of a modern agriculture trade through the increase in cash crops (e.g. cotton, tea, sugarcane, tobacco), extensive road networks, tradehouses, and transport infrastructure, redistributed wealth as peasants made the transition from subsistence farming to cultivation of commercial crops for sale in markets. This economic boom and rapid urbanisation resulted in proto-capitalism and the preliminary accumulation of economic resources required for investment or long-term growth.  Foreign trade in the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries promoted greater circulation of coins, since the main export from Japan in the vessels of the Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch, and English was gold and ...

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