Tokugawa shogunate

The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the Tokugawa bakufu (徳川幕府), and the Edo bakufu (江戸幕府), was a feudal Japanese military government.^[2] The heads of government were the shoguns.^[3] Each was a member of the Tokugawa family.^[4]

Tokugawa shogunate 徳川幕府
1603–1868
Flag Mon of Tokugawa family
Capital	Edo
Government
• Emperor	Go-Yōzei (first) Meiji (last)
• Shōgun	Tokugawa Ieyasu (first) Tokugawa Yoshinobu (last)
Establishment
• Battle of Sekigahara	21 October 1600[1]
• Shogunate established by Tokugawa Ieyasu	1603
• Meiji Restoration	3 January 1868
Preceded by Succeeded by Azuchi–Momoyama period Tokugawa clan Empire of Japan Republic of Ezo

The Tokugawa Shogunate had its center in Edo castle.

These years are known as the Edo period. The period takes its name from the city where the Tokugawa shoguns lived.^[5] This time is also called the Tokugawa period^[2] or pre-modern (Kinsei).^[6]

History

Before the Tokugawa shogun was the sengoku era. During this time, many people controlled small areas of land. Oda Nobunaga began to join these small areas. After he died in 1582, Toyotomi Hideyoshi took over for him.^[7] Hideyoshi died in 1598.^[7] When he died, the people under him fought for control. The last battle in this was the Battle of Sekigahara where Tokugawa Ieyasu won.

Tokugawa Ieyasu needed permission from the Emperor of Japan to take control. The emperor gave him this permission, making him the Shogun, in 1603. He established a military government in Edo, now Tokyo.^[2] He won against his last enemies in 1615 at the Battle of Osaka Castle.^[8]

The Tokugawa ruled in peace until the middle of the 1800s.^[8] During this time period, much of common Japanese culture was created. This includes high literacy rates, kabuki theater, the Japanese tea ceremony, sumo wrestling, woodblock printing, and sushi.^[8]

The Tokugawa shogunate ended with the Boshin civil war. Instead of choosing a new shogun, Emperor Meiji ruled directly. The changes he made are named the Meiji Restoration.^[9]

Structure

The Tokugawa government is sometimes known as the bakuhan system because it had two parts. The first part was the bakufu, the shogun's government. The second part was the hans. Hans were small areas of land led by daimyo leaders. The shogun did not control minor events in hans.

List of the Tokugawa shoguns

1. Tokugawa Ieyasu, r. 1603–1605^[10]
2. Tokugawa Hidetada, r. 1605–1623^[4]
3. Tokugawa Iemitsu, r. 1623–1651^[4]
4. Tokugawa Ietsuna, r. 1651–1680^[11]
5. Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, r. 1680–1709^[12]
6. Tokugawa Ienobu, r. 1709–1712^[11]
7. Tokugawa Ietsugu, r. 1713–1716^[2]
8. Tokugawa Yoshimune, r. 1716–1745^[12]
9. Tokugawa Ieshige, r. 1745–1760^[11]
10. Tokugawa Ieharu, r. 1760–1786^[4]
11. Tokugawa Ienari, r. 1787–1837^[11]
12. Tokugawa Ieyoshi, r. 1837–1853^[2]
13. Tokugawa Iesada, r. 1853–1858^[11]
14. Tokugawa Iemochi, r. 1858–1866^[11]
15. Tokugawa Yoshinobu, r. 1866–1867^[13]

Related pages

• Kamakura shogunate
• Ashikaga shogunate
• Meiji Restoration

References

The hollyhock symbol of the Tokugawa family.

1. "The Story of the Battle of Sekigahara". Retrieved 2021-05-28.
2. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric (2002). Japan Encyclopedia. Harvard University Press. p. 978. ISBN 978-0-674-01753-5.
3. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric (2002). Japan Encyclopedia. Harvard University Press. pp. 878–879. ISBN 978-0-674-01753-5.
4. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric (2002). Japan Encyclopedia. Harvard University Press. p. 976. ISBN 978-0-674-01753-5.
5. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric (2002). Japan Encyclopedia. Harvard University Press. p. 167. ISBN 978-0-674-01753-5.
6. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric (2002). Japan Encyclopedia. Harvard University Press. p. 525. ISBN 978-0-674-01753-5.
7. Huffman, James L. (2010). "Peace--And Its Benefits (1550-1850)". Japan in world history. The new Oxford world history. Oxford New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-536808-6.
8. Vaporis, Constantine Nomikos (2021). Voices of early modern Japan: contemporary accounts of daily life during the age of the Shoguns (2nd ed.). Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY: Routledge. p. xxiii. ISBN 978-0-367-42793-1.
9. Walthall, Anne; Steele, M. William (2016-12-30). Politics and Society in Japan's Meiji Restoration: A Brief History with Documents. ISBN 9781319054120.
10. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric (2002). Japan Encyclopedia. Harvard University Press. pp. 977–978. ISBN 978-0-674-01753-5.
11. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric (2002). Japan Encyclopedia. Harvard University Press. p. 977. ISBN 978-0-674-01753-5.
12. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric (2002). Japan Encyclopedia. Harvard University Press. p. 979. ISBN 978-0-674-01753-5.
13. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric (2002). Japan Encyclopedia. Harvard University Press. pp. 979–780. ISBN 978-0-674-01753-5.

Other websites

Media related to Tokugawa Shoguns at Wikimedia Commons

• Political system of the Tokugawa Shogunate Archived 2008-05-04 at the Wayback Machine
• SengokuDaimyo.com website of Anthony J. Bryant on Japan
• Japan