Edo Japan Period

RESEARCH



The first section of research is an overview if you wish. Later sections of research will look into specific areas such as culture and civilisation.

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/179371/Edo-culture

Edo, the former ancient name of Tokyo. The term Edo means, the mouth of bay. This cultural period of Japanese history corresponds to the Tokugawa period of governance (1603 - 1867).

http://www.grips.ac.jp/teacher/oono/hp/lecture_J/lec02.htm
From the late 12th century through the 17th century, Japan was ruled by samurais (military leaders) but politics remained unstable. Internal wars and power shifts were very frequent, especially during the late 15th century to the end of the 16th century (called Sengoku Jidai, or warring period).

Finally, Ieyasu Tokugawa unified the country after the decisive Battle of Sekigahara (located between Nagoya and Kyoto, visible from Shinkansen) in 1600 and the attacks on Osaka Castle in 1615 where the rival Toyotomi family perished. Ieyasu established a new government in Edo and became the first shogun of the Edo Bakufu in 1603. Edo, a sleepy little town until then, was transformed into a huge political city by aggressive public works including land reclamation, new canals and clean water supply systems. The Tokugawa family ruled the country in the next 264 years (15 shoguns in all). Ieyasu Tokugawa was deified and worshiped in Nikko Toshogu Shrine (even today).

Japan's economic development from the Edo period because pre-conditions for later industrialization and modernization were created internally during this period (moreover, quantitative data for earlier periods are very limited). The following are the pre-conditions that were generated:

1. Political unity and stability
2. Agricultural development in terms of both area and productivity
3. Development of transportation and the existence of nationally unified markets
4. The rise of commerce, finance and the wealthy merchant class
5. The rise of manufacturing (food processing, handicraft, etc.)
6. Industrial promotion by central and local governments (sometimes successful but not always)
7. High level of education

These are the features of the Edo period which are commonly cited by many researchers. The remainder of this lecture discusses them in detail. Note that some of these conditions are not achieved even today in some countries. In fact, developing countries that are equipped with all these conditions are relatively rare.