Chapter 2: The Reformation

future of Japan, because Ieyasu’s victory gave him near-total control of the country. In 1603, the emperor offi cially recognised Ieyasu as shogun – a military overlord with the right to govern Japan on the emperor’s behalf. This was the beginning of the Tokugawa shogunate, the regime that would rule Japan for the next 250 years. This era of Japanese history is sometimes called the Tokugawa period, after its rulers. More commonly, it is known as the Edo period – named after Tokugawa Ieyasu’s base at the city of Edo. The Tokugawa clan was the biggest landowner and richest family, controlling the main cities and much of Japan’s rice-growing land. The several hundred lesser daimyo owed loyalty to the shogun in exchange for order and protection – a system similar to that in feudal medieval Europe. To ensure their loyalty, all daimyo were required to spend alternate years living in Edo and in their own domains, while their wives and children lived permanently in Edo. This meant their families were effectively kept as hostages. Even so, not all daimyo could be trusted, and the shoguns had to be constantly alert to the threat of rebellion.

Samurai

Japan’s hereditary class of warriors were called the samurai. They were highly skilled swordsmen who lived by a strict moral code called bushido, ‘the way of the warrior’. A samurai carried two swords, symbols of his authority, which he was permitted to use on commoners who did not show him respect. The samurai sword, called a katana, was a beautifully crafted object regarded not only as a weapon but as a work of art.

A samurai was sworn to serve his lord with the utmost loyalty, including by sacrifi cing his own life if necessary. If a samurai had been disgraced, or if he wished to avoid dishonour following defeat in battle, he might commit seppuku – ritual suicide by slicing open his own stomach with a katana. If a samurai was masterless (usually because his lord had died without an heir), he became a ronin: a wandering warrior, who might look for a new master or, sometimes, work as a mercenary. Before the Tokugawa period, non-samurai could sometimes rise to become samurai themselves. There was even a Black African man, named Yasuke, who became a samurai after coming to Japan with an Italian mission in 1579.

Samurai armour and katana on display in the British Museum, London

Fact

Female warriors named onna-musha also fought alongside samurai men. They used a weapon called the naginata, a long pole with a curved blade.

Check your understanding

1. Who held power in Japan before the rise of Toyotomi Hideyoshi? 2. How did Hideyoshi attempt to regulate Japanese society? 3. Why was Tokugawa Ieyasu in a good position to take power when Hideyoshi died? 4. What values were important to samurai warriors? 5. How did Tokugawa Ieyasu take and keep control of Japan?

Unit 10: Edo Japan Knowledge organiser

1549 First Jesuit mission to Japan under Francis Xavier

1600 Battle of Sekigahara 1639 Completion of the policy of restrictions on foreign visits

1583 Toyotomi Hideyoshi begins the unifi cation of Japan 1603 Creation of the Tokugawa shogunate

Key vocabulary

Battle of Sekigahara Decisive victory for Tokugawa

Ieyasu against followers of the Toyotomi Bushido The moral code followed by samurai, meaning ‘the way of the warrior’ Civil service The permanent staff of a government, responsible for overseeing the business of the country Daimyo Regional lords in medieval and Edo Japan Dejima Artifi cial island in Nagasaki harbour, used by the Dutch as the only legal trading post for

Europeans in Edo Japan Domain The estate of a daimyo and the main administrative division in Edo Japan Edo City (now named Tokyo) that was the unoffi cial capital of the Tokugawa shogunate, giving its name to the period Great Peace Name commonly given to the twocentury period of stability and peace in Japan under the Tokugawa shogunate Haiku Short form of poetry consisting of a fi vesyllable line, a seven-syllable line, and then another fi ve-syllable line Jesuits Elite Catholic order that carried out missionary work all over the world during the Early Modern period. Their religious fanaticism sometimes resulted in violence against non-

Catholics Kabuki Form of Japanese theatre developed in early

Edo times and aimed at a popular audience Katana Sword used by samurai Meiji Restoration Political and social transformation in which the Tokugawa shogunate was overthrown and a government by the emperor and leading noble families was established Mercenary Professional soldier who fi ghts for anyone who pays them Missionaries People who go out to spread their religion to others, particularly in a foreign country Nagasaki Major port city in south-west Japan, where Dutch and Chinese trade was permitted during the period of international restrictions Oligarchy Government by a small group of people, often members of a rich elite Regnal name Name taken by a king or emperor while on the throne, which is different from their personal name