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【History of Japan explained by a Japanese guide】 Edo period, samurai's final age | Talk about Japan | YouTubeToText
YouTube Transcript: 【History of Japan explained by a Japanese guide】 Edo period, samurai's final age
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The Edo period (1603-1867) was a transformative era in Japanese history, marking the final centuries of samurai rule under the Tokugawa Shogunate, characterized by over 250 years of peace, cultural flourishing, and eventual societal upheaval leading to the end of feudalism.
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Japan enjoyed over two centuries of
peace following the bloody Sangoku
period. For the first time in the
country's history, commoners took the
leading role in shaping its culture
and Japan became panicstricken when the
US naval fleet arrived at the mouth of Eday.
Eday.
These are some of the events that took
place in the Edeto period, the final age
of samurai rule. [Music]
[Music]
Hello and welcome to another edition of
Talk About Japan. I'm Mitsaki, your
guide to Japan.
Japan's long and rich history is divided
into different periods and eras. Today
we'll focus on Edo period.
Edo was the final age of the samurai
rule and was marked by over two
centuries of peace and stability.
The period also saw the flourishing of
vibrant urban culture.
In this video, we'll be looking at some
of the key events and cultural
[Music]
Edo period refers to the roughly 260
years from603 to 1867
when Japan was ruled by the Tokugawa
Shognate. Shogun Knight means the
government of Shogun or the military
ruler in feudal Japan.
The period name comes from the city of
Edo, the seat of the Tokugawa Shogun government.
government.
The Tokugawa Shogun Knight was the third
of the three Shogunate governments in
Japanese history. The other two were the
Kamakura Shogun Knight and Ashkaga also
known as Muramachi Shogunate.
The Shogun Knight was founded by
Tokugawa Yayasu in6003 who had
established Hijgemony after defeating
the rival warlords in the battle of
Seigara three years earlier.
Edo, a remote swampy backwater at the
time Easu started the shogunate grew
into the world's largest megalopolis,
today known as Tokyo.
Yayasu's first challenge after
establishing his government was to
confront the Toyotomy clan whom he had
previously served as a vessel.
For Iasu, the Toyotomy were the last
remaining obstacle to the domination of Japan.
Japan.
The confrontation culminated in the
siege of Osaga which began in 1614 and
was divided into two phases. The winter
campaign and the summer campaign.
Toyottomy Hideori the son of Hideoshi
held up in the supposedly impregnable
Osaka Castle but couldn't withstand the
massive attack of the Tokugawa forces.
The castle fell in the summer campaign
of 1615. Hideori and his mother
committed a suicide in the burning Osaka Castle,
Castle,
marking the end of the Toyotomy clan.
With the Totomy eliminated, the Tokugawa
family no longer had any enemies to
oppose them.
Yayasu and his descendants ruled Japan
for 15 generations as shoguns until 1867.
1867.
The Edo Japan remained free from war or
rebellion for over two centuries except
for occasional peasant uprisings.
This marked the stark contrast to the
previous Sangoku period which saw
incessant war across the country. But
how was this possible? The answer lies
in the measures implemented by the
shognate to maintain control and order.
The basic structure of the Takugawa
shogunate was the Bakuhan system in
which the Baku or the shogunate became
the ruler of the country while some 300
daimo or feudal laws throughout the
country administered their han or
domains under the shogunate.
The shognit granted the daimo a certain
degree of autonomy and territorial
security in exchange for their loyalty
to the shogunate.
But once the daimo became disobedient,
the shogunate punished them by
confiscating or reducing their territories.
territories.
The shogunate divided the daimo or the
feudal lords into three categories.
Shimpan the relatives of the Tokugawa
Hudai the loyal daimo who had been the
vassels of the Tokugawa before the
battle of Sigahara
and Tosama or outside the daimo who
became vassels of the Tokugawa only
after the battle of Sigahara.
Shimpan and Fudai were placed in key
locations around Edo, Kyoto and along
the main highways while Tozama or the
outside daimo were located in remote
provinces to prevent them from rebelling
against the shogunate.
In addition to the Bakuhan system, the
Tokugawa shogunate introduced various
measures to tighten control over the
daimo and the general populace.
the sanking kotai or alternate
attendance system which required the
daimo to alternate between living in
their domains and the shogunate capital
of Edo every other year. The daimo were
also required to keep their legal wives
and children permanently in Edo to serve
as hostages.
The sanking cortai system strengthened
control over the daimo by placing them
under the constant supervision of the shogunate.
shogunate.
The one castle per domain system forbade
the daimo from having more than one
castle in order to curtail the military
power. This led to the demolition of
many castles across the country.
Christianity was banned because the
shogunet suspected that the missionaries
were serving as the spearhead for the
colonization of Japan by Spain and Portugal.
Portugal.
To discover Christians, the shogunet
instituted the practice of fume
literally stepping on picture in which
suspected Christians were ordered to
step on Christian images. If they
refused, they were tortured or executed.
Foreign contacts were prohibited under
the national isolation policy known as
Sakoku, literally chained country,
except for limited trade with the
Netherlands, Ming China and Korea. And
the Shogunet created a strict four class
system that divide the people into four
main categories, namely samurai,
peasants, craftsman, and merchants.
with only the samurai belonged to the
ruling class and were granted the
privilege of carrying swords and using surnames.
surnames.
The longlasting peace led to remarkable
economic growth and the development of
various industries.
The development of new rice patties and
improved agricultural technology led to
an increase in rice yields. The
production of cash crops like malberry,
laca, tea, hemp, and tobacco was also promoted.
promoted.
Handiccrafts such as porcelain, kimono,
and lacaware flourished.
The frequent travels of the daimo due to
the sunking kai led to the development
of the highway and poster towns across
the country.
As the economy grew, so did the
consumption. Many of today's leading
department stores can trace their
origins back to kimono stores from the
Edeto period.
Looking at culture, Edo period was a
golden age of common arts. In contrast
to the previous periods when the arts
were monopolized by the ruling elites
with the development of printing
technology, Ukio were printed in large
quantities at low cost and were
available for purchase by the general
public. The Uku artists created the
prints of all the genres that were
sought after by the common people.
Suzuki Harunobu gained popularity for
his prince of slender dainty girls.
Kitagawa Utamaro was prolific in prints
of mature women. Utagawa Kunoshi was
known for his works depicting legendary
heroes and Tatushika Hukai created 36
views of Mount Fuji, the immortal
masterpiece of landscape Ukio.
In the stage arts, the Kabuki and puppet
theater of Burraku captivated the
audience. In the literary field, many
novels were published for the masses.
Ihara Saiaku was a prolific writer who
produced works on a variety of subjects,
including love, business, and the life
of the samurai, many of which were
adapted into Bumraku puppet plays. While
Matsu Basho raised haiku, the world's
shortest poetry in 575 syllable pattern
to the level of art.
And the period was the time when
education became available to the
commoners. Common children studied in
privatemies known as Terraoa, literally
temple schools which taught reading,
writing and in some cases mathematics
using abacases. Terraa contributed to
the high literacy rate of the Japanese people.
people.
Back to political history. After two
centuries of peace, Japan was thrown
into panic when the US naval fleet under
Commodore Matthew Perry appeared at
Uruga at the mouth of Edu in 1853
demanding opening of Japanese ports.
The arrival of Perry marked the
beginning of the tumultous period known
as baklamatsu or the final years of the shognate.
shognate.
The shognitate was helpless in the face
of a US gumbot diplomacy.
The shognet abandoned its policy of
selfisolation and opened five ports
under the unequal treaty which also gave
the US extr territoriality and the right
to freely set tariffs.
Japan signed similar unequal treaties
with the Netherlands, Russia, Britain
and France. The shogunit's weak need
diplomacy infuriated many samurai
nationwide as the treaties were signed
without the emperor's permission. Enoske
the highest ranking shognet officer who
led the conclusion of the treaties was
assassinated by disgruntled samurai in 1860.
1860.
Outside the Sakura gate of the ed
castle, the shogunate authority collapsed.
collapsed.
The anti-shognet movement was
particularly active in chosu at Tozama
or outside domain in modernday Yamaguchi prefecture.
prefecture.
In 1864, the shogunate launched the
first punitive expedition against the
Chosu which ended in a nominal victory
for the Shogunate. Two years later, the
Shogunate launched the second expedition
to Chosu. But this time, the Chosu
soundly defeated the Shogunate forces
with the secret support of the powerful
Satsuma domain, modernday Kagosima
Prefecture. Satsuma and Chosu were
originally bitter enemies. But Sakamoto
Riyoma, a samurai from Tossa domain,
modernday Kochi Prefecture, broke out a
secret alliance between the two domains
to overthrow the Shogunate.
In addition to the regular army, the
Choshu organized Kihai, an irregular
militia composed of volunteers from all
social classes, including peasants and
merchants who contributed to the
victory. It was unprecedented in the Edo
period when the shogunet imposed a
strict class system.
As the momentum for overthrowing the
shogunate grew, the 15th shogun Tokugawa
Yoshabu decided to give up the
continuation of the shogunite and to
return the governing power to the
emperor in 1867.
This brought an end to the Tokugawa
shogunite and seven centuries of samurai rule.
rule.
Japan now enters Maji era, the age of
modernization, industrialization,
These are some of the events that took
place in the Edo period, the final age
of samurai rule. Thank you for watching. [Music]
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