The Shogunate is an absolutist regime in Japan. Tokugawa Shogunate

Causes and spiritual basis of the Minamoto Shogunate

As you know, a society in which there is no stability craves change. In the last decades of the emperor's reign, feudal fragmentation became the main characteristic of political events in the country. The lack of centralization and unity led to severe economic consequences and frequent military riots, which only ruined the already unstable Japan. The main reasons for the change in the political system were:

• feudal fragmentation;
• lack of strong economic ties between regions;
• weakening of the emperor's power.

The first shogunate existed from 1192 to 1335. Changes in the life of the country with the increasing influence of the teachings of Zen Buddhism. This teaching gradually became widespread among military circles. It was the combination of the religious basis and military power of the samurai that led these circles to understand that they should rule the country. Samurai had a significant influence on the development of Japan.

The Shogunate was a period of significant change in Japan

Until the beginning of the 13th century, the level of development of the country remained extremely low. This stagnation would have continued further if there had not been a change in the thinking of some representatives of the military-feudal aristocracy who came to power at the end of the 12th century.

What changes occurred after the arrival of the shoguns? Let us note that life did not immediately improve, because this is simply impossible. At that time, as now, a lot depended on trade activity. With many islands and a small land area, successful trade could only be achieved with a developed fleet. The most important achievement of the shoguns was the development of port cities and the increase in the merchant fleet. For example, in the 11th century there were only 40 more or less large cities, and already in the 16th century the number of cities approached 300.

The era of the shogunate is the flowering of crafts. As you know, in medieval Europe there were craft workshops. The craftsmen who entered the workshop could work successfully. So here, too, associations of artisans gradually began to form. The same unions were formed among representatives of trade. Obviously, it is safer to do business with partners, so the effect of the formation of such alliances was obvious.

The undoubted achievement of the era of the first shogunate was the overcoming of feudal fragmentation. The main type of land ownership in the state became small samurai plots, which they received for military service.

Tokugawa Shogunate - Briefly

Introduction

The 16th century in the history of Japan remained as a dark chapter, filled with feudal fragmentation and internecine strife. In such a situation, the emergence of a strong leader was a matter of time. Ieyasu Tokugawa
became such a leader .
The reign of the reigning dynasty was by no means short. For almost 3 centuries, the Tokugawa clan was the authoritarian ruler of Japan,
pursuing a strong internal policy aimed at the unquestioning submission of the Japanese people.

The beginning of the formation of the shogunate

Japan, weakened by civil wars, began its unification by 1600
.

,
supreme power passed into the hands of Ieyasu Tokugawa, who by 1603 completed the process of unifying the state
. Ieyasu held the title of shogun. This is the ruling rank that had actual power (unlike the emperor). During the military campaign, the new ruler conquered many peasant lands, which made him the most powerful feudal lord. Having reached the heights of power, Tokugawa did not lose his vigilance and continued to destroy all those who disagreed with his ascending regime. The Japanese Emperor remained the formal head of Japan throughout the entire period of the shogun dynasty, officially transferring the right to rule to the Tokugawa clan.

Main characteristics of the shogunate

In imposing its unquestioning power, the shogunate created a rigid system of bureaucracy.
There were two levels of management.
1st
is the supreme one.
It has the powers of a shogunate, which controls smaller feudal lords and has military power. The 2nd
is local, where local feudal lords could safely impose their positions on the citizens living on their land. The rulers of the land paid taxes to the treasury of the shogun, in exchange for which they secured his military support.

In matters of foreign policy relations, the Tokugawa clan was cautious and suspicious. This led to a policy of complete isolation of Japan from the outside world.

Trade outside the country, the entry of foreigners into Japanese lands and the departure of Japanese from the territory of the state were prohibited.
Issues of religion were of particular concern to the shoguns. Fearing Christianity, active repression was carried out against it
.
Over time, this spread to all religions except Confucianism, which was interpreted in the Japanese manner by the philosopher Zhu Xi
. This worldview was based on blind submission and faith in the rightness of the “elder,” and the opinion about the inviolability of the existing order. The successors of these ideas came to the conclusion that the Japanese were superior to other nations.

Intrusive control over all spheres of life of the population generated discontent among the masses, forcing them to increase their power and create underground movements with an ideology aimed at overthrowing the Tokugawa shogunate.

End of reign

Among the rebels were representatives of various strata of society, from ordinary peasants to intellectuals and wealthy merchants. In the 19th
century, protests against the authorities began to develop from underground to open ones, then turning into armed clashes.
So in 1863,

a civil war
began in Japan , which lasted until
1867
.
The whole society was divided into two camps. The shogunate, which was supported by part of the feudal lords, and the opposition, consisting of various social strata
.
With the support of the emperor, British and American troops were sent to help the rebellious population. Under heavy pressure, the shogunate's army retreated inland until Keiki Tokugawa, the last of the ruling dynasty, resigned and surrendered. Thus ended one of the most difficult and controversial periods in Japanese history.

Reasons for the revival of the shogunate in the 17th century

The Tokugawa shogunate is the reaction of traditional Japanese society to the events that took place in the state in the mid-second half of the 16th century. The second coming of the samurai to power had its own logical reasons:

• continuation of feudal fragmentation;
• slowdown in the country's economic development;
• the appearance of European ships and the gradual development of trade with Portugal and other European countries.

The most important and painful topic for the samurai was the appearance of foreign elements (Europeans) who came into contact with a traditional society that had been established for centuries, which had previously maintained close contacts with culturally similar China and Korea. Historians believe that the establishment of contacts with Europe became a logical impetus for intensifying the struggle for the creation of a centralized strong state.

Samurai

The Edo period is characterized by a clear division of society into classes.

The class system of this time was called Shinu Kosho and consisted of four main classes:

• these are the samurai classes;
• peasants;
• artisans;
• merchants.

For each of these classes, their position and their capabilities were clearly defined. Every part of Japanese life during this period was clearly prescribed by law.

The leading class was, naturally, the class of samurai, that is, warriors. Samurai had a huge number of privileges. As a matter of fact, an indicator of this is that only they had the opportunity to carry two swords with them everywhere in peacetime, a long and a short one. This showed that samurai had the right to punish at their discretion. In fact, this is true.

If someone from the lower classes behaved inappropriately in the presence of a samurai, then the samurai had the right to execute the offender immediately, on the spot. Samurai made up a tenth of Japan's population and were a formidable force. Terrible, especially since the bloody wars within Japan are soon ending, and the samurai have nothing to do.

Samurai are warriors, they are not adapted to peaceful life, they simply do not know how to do anything peaceful. In this regard, the samurai faced the question of how to retrain, how to find their place in a new situation. Some samurai followed the path of the ronin, that is, in fact they became mercenaries. Others opened martial arts schools and became masters of new fencing styles, including. Finally, some of the samurai retrained as officials, whom the samurai had previously despised and, in some places, even fought with them. Finally, some samurai tried to reverse the course of development of the state in such a way that the times of endless clashes within the country would return again. More than once the shoguns had to suppress samurai uprisings.

Japan in the 17th-19th centuries

The era of the shogunate is a manifestation of absolutism in Japan. Of course, we should not forget about the existence of the imperial dynasty, but the power of these persons was more spiritual than secular. The shogunate regime created a “closed” state. European ships were prohibited from entering Japanese ports. If suddenly such a ship came into port, its crew was subject to execution. This isolation lasted 250 years, until the middle of the 19th century.

If we talk briefly about the Tokugawa shogunate, then this is a period of total pressure on the peasantry. Formally, there was no corvee in the state, but many peasant lands still belonged to large feudal lords. Various taxes and levies on peasants, which were officially introduced, accounted for approximately 60% of the harvest.

The beginning of the formation of the shogunate

Japan, weakened by civil wars, began its unification by 1600. In the same year, supreme power passed into the hands of Ieyasu Tokugawa, who by 1603 completed the process of unifying the state. Ieyasu held the title of shogun.

This is the ruling rank that had actual power (unlike the emperor). During the military campaign, the new ruler conquered many peasant lands, which made him the most powerful feudal lord. Having reached the heights of power, Tokugawa did not lose his vigilance and continued to destroy all those who disagreed with his ascending regime.

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Estate system

The shogunate is a government system that was supposed to preserve the old traditional system. A class system was introduced in the state. The population was divided into 4 groups: peasants, artisans, samurai, merchants. The main goal of such a division: the preservation of the social structure existing at that time, when the power of the shogun and the privileged position of the samurai were to be perceived undeniably.

The merchants were considered the lowest class, but in reality they were more successful than the peasantry and artisans. Cities continued to develop. At this time, Japan already had more than 300 cities and towns. The basis for the development of cities was active trade between the islands and with nearby states (China, Korea), as well as a large number of craft associations.

Content

• 1 First half of the Edo period 1.1 Formation of the Tokugawa shogunate 1.1.1 Tokugawa Ieyasu and the Edo shogunate
• 1.1.2 Relations between the shogunate and daimyo