Japan Under the Shogun

The Shogun •The shogun, or military ruler of Japan, sent for Lord Asano and other nobles to meet with a representative of the emperor. A court official, Lord Kira was assigned to teach Asano the correct way to behave. When Asano didn’t give Kira a large enough payment for his help, Kira insulted him in front of the other nobles. Asano became angry, pulled his sword and cut Kira’s arm.

Asano knew he had committed a forbidden act - he had drawn his sword in the Edo castle and wounded an important official. As a result on order of the shogun Asano took his own life. Now that Lord Asano was dead, his 47 samurai became ronin, that is warriors without a master. They had lost their honour and their position in society. Out of loyalty to their master, they swore to avenge his death.

They launched a surprise attack and killed Lord Kira in his home They launched a surprise attack and killed Lord Kira in his home. They had fulfilled their duty in avenging their master, but duty now demanded they kill themselves. The 47 ronin are buried side by side in Sengakuji Temple in Tokyo. Today, they are remembered as great heroes in Japan.

Power and Control They say that “to understand the story of the 47 ronin is to understand Japan.” The story of ronin took place during the Edo or Tokugawa period of Japanese history, which lasted from 1600 to 1868. Edo the present day city of Tokyo was the capital and the Tokugawa shogun were the rulers

In the hundred years war before the Edo period, Japan was locked in constant warfare. Powerful landowners, nobles known as daimyo competed with one another for territory and power.

Unifying the Land Tokugawa Ieyasu became the most powerful man in Japan after he defeated a rival daimyo and generals in a great battle. Three years later in 1603, the emperor made him the shogun. This means he technically ruled the land, the shogun really held all the power.

In order to hold onto power he needed to create a strong shogunate where no one would challenge him or his descendants. He wanted to create a long lasting government How? By controlling the daimyo.

How to Control the Daimyo Alternate attendance: Every second year the daimyo had to live in Edo. The cost was high to go back and forth. They were essentially hostages to the shogun. If there was any rumours of a plot of uprising family members would be killed.

Sharing Power: The bakuhan of two levels of government was established. The shogunate was similar to our federal government that controlled foreign matters. The daimyo controlled local affairs.

Strict Laws: Laws established by the shogunate controlled many aspects of the daimyo’s lives such as dress and marriage. The daimyo had to pay for projects in their territory such as roads and buildings.

Power Struggle Increasing Shogun P Decreasing Daimyo’s P Banned peasants from having weapons Network of secret police to watch population ¼ of land owned by shogun Decreasing Daimyo’s P Without weapons peasants were useless to fight daimyo Needing permission to marry or to change castles the daimyo couldn’t build up defences Local daimyo were given villages to govern, collect taxes, keep order and build and protect from floods, natural disasters

A Feudal Society Hierarchy similar to Renaissance Europe Emperor The Nobility The Samurai Peasants Rigid social structure to help the shogun rule. Membership was hereditary (by birth). People couldn’t change situation but some did by hard work, talent or gaining wealth.

Strict Rules 216 strict rules of regulating dress Example: Upper class women had to wear 12 silk kimono with all the right colors showing. Peasants were not allowed to wear silks.

Honour and Duty Extremely important in Japanese society. Example the story of the ronin. Obedience to authority was important, but avenging their masters death was more important than the law.

Towards a Harmonious Society The Tokugawa shogun did not create the Japanese social structure. However they used its values and social controls to support their rule. Social controls are the rules and customs in a society that regulate people’s behaviour. The purpose of social controls is to maintain order in a society.

Confucianism Important role in Japanese society (class distinctions) Confucius was a chinese scholar brought over by Buddhist monks Taught everyone that they had a place in society If everyone took that place there would be peace and order Famous saying “What you do not wish for yourself, do not do to others.”

Confucius taught five basic relationships Ruler Father Husband Older Brother Friend Duties and Obligation: to be a wise and just leader to support and provide for the other to protect the other Subject Children Wife Younger Brother Friend Duties and Obligations: to obey to respect to honour

In Edo Japan, samurai schools and commoners stressed Confucian ideals of duty, especially what is called filial piety, or faithfulness and devotion to parents.

Group Responsibility and Shame As masters of the farmers, artisans, merchants…the samurai used their power to keep order. They organized lower classes into groups of five families called goningumi. Members of these groups were supposed to help each other. Each person was considered responsible for the behavior in their group. Everyone in the group could be punished if one was disobedient, did not show respect or work hard enough.

First Contact with the West Known as Southern Barbarians. Portuguese explorers who set up trading posts. 1543 a shipwrecked ship off the shore of Japan. Known as the Southern Barbarians because they came from the south. Followed by Spanish and Dutch, then Christian Missionaries. At first favourable impressions but many differences (cultural and religious) Portuguese society (Renaissance) had humanist values and ideals, favoured competition, the individual and a more flexible social structure

A New Kind of Belief 1549 Missions were sent to convert Samurai, upper classes and the daimyo Franciscan priests worked with the poor and lower classes Japanese believed in Shinto and Kami and Confucianism Some basic similarities to Christianity Both had ethical codes rules about right and wrong Example both believed murder and stealing were wrong Idea of one god was new to the Japanese Christians taught loyalty should be to God not a hiearchy The Shogunate knew right away that Christianity stood for very different beliefs to the ones that were considered essential for Japanese identity.