Chapter 9: Section 4 JAPAN: UNIFIED YET ISOLATED

An All-Powerful Shogunate  Tokugawa Ieyasu Edo  Tokugawa Ieyasu established his shogunate in Edo, now called Tokyo  There he built a nearly indestructible fortress succession  In 1605, turned over the shogunate to his son and established a line of succession, or inheritance, of the shogunate  Tokugawa shogunate lasted for more than 250 years  Under Tokugawa dynasty, each daimyo was required to swear an oath of loyalty to the shogun and to give military aid when called upon  Each daimyo had to spend part of every year in Edo, serving the shogun  Were forced to leave their wives and eldest sons in Edo when they returned to the provinces

Foreigners in Japan  When Portuguese traders reached Japan, they also brought Catholic missionaries  The shogunate saw these foreigners as a threat  Feared the turmoil (religious and political wars) might spread to Japan  The shogunate issued decrees that outlawed Christianity, restricted travel, and banned virtually all European trade  Japan was set on a policy of strict isolation from western influences

Control of the Classes  Four official classes below the shogun and daimyo  From highest to lowest they were samurai warriors, artisans, peasants, and merchants  To keep daimyo in line, the shogun made them swear an oath of allegiance  Shogun took away their lands and instead paid them salaries for their services  Since artisans didn’t threaten the shogun’s control, few restrictions were placed on them  Thrived in towns selling their wares to samurai and merchants  Peasants made up the bulk of the population  Because of their numbers, the government placed many restrictions on them  Forbidden to travel beyond the land they worked and half of their crops were taken by tax collectors  At the bottom were the merchants  Had to live within towns and were excluded from political affairs

The Rise of the Merchant Class  Despite all the restrictions, the merchant class prospered  Merchants were needed to bring food, cloth, and other goods to Edo  Also traded with other cities where the daimyo and their followers might rest  Merchants found money much less bulky to carry than the bushels of rice  Gold and silver coins were in use and by 1700s, Japan’s economy was based largely on money  Merchants controlled the flow of money by setting prices and charging interest on loans  Grew rich from their trade and their power grew with their wealth

A New and Different Culture  Merchants had leisure time and money and spent it on new forms of entertainment  City dwellers could find theaters, teahouses, gambling houses, wrestling, and public baths  Upper classes officially scorned these amusements as lower-class entertainment Kabuki theater  Some of the new cultural forms, such as Kabuki theater, were long lasting  Had origins in performances of wandering ballad singers and dancers who acted out stories by dancing and gesturing  A rich blend of music, dance, and mime, and involved spectacular staging and costumes haiku-  New forms of literature also included epic novels about samurai exploits and short poems called haiku- a poem of three lines that is intended to create a mood or bring about a sudden insight into human existence  Has 17 syllables (first line has five, the second seven, and third five)

Southeast Asia  From early times, Hindu ideas and styles spread into the area affecting ideas about monarchy, law, religion, art, architecture, and language  The states that grew there were often Hindu or Buddhist or both  China ruled Vietnam as a province  China used Vietnamese trade networks and was eager to use the expert sailing skills of the local people to export its silk and spices  Many of the port cities and coastal states welcomed Islam not only as a religion, but also as a way of cementing ties with the Muslim traders  The richest and strongest of the new Muslims states was Malacca  Malacca became the center of trade as it lay at the junction of the Indian, China, and Java seas  When European powers found a direct sea route to Southeast Asia, they began a period of colonization for many Southeast Asian states