Japan Background Essay 6:

Ieyasu Tokugawa, the Ultimate Shogun and the Closing of Japan

 

A Fox to Watch the Chickens:

A few years before Hideyoshi died, he met with former enemy Ieyasu Tokugawa on the hills above Edo (the city we now call Tokyo ). Slowly and silently, Hideyoshi drew his sword. But instead of using it to remove Tokugawa’s head, Hideyoshi handed the sword to him, a symbol that Hideyoshi was placing great trust in the strong and clever warlord who had once been his worst enemy. Together, they discussed plans for the future of Japan . Hideyoshi was especially worried about his son, who he wanted to be the next military leader of Japan . His son was only a young boy, and in those days, children were sometimes killed to clear a path to power for another. Hideyoshi wanted to make sure that after he died, his son would be safe. Hideyoshi asked Tokugawa to be the leader of a five-regent council entrusted to care for the boy and run the government until Hideyoshi’s son was old enough to take charge. This was like assigning a fox to watch the chickens, since Tokugawa was a power-hungry man, but Hideyoshi knew that Tokugawa was wise and capable. If anyone could protect his son, Tokugawa could.

 

Rise to Power:

When Hideyoshi died, his son was six years old. The regents took control of the government, but it wasn’t long before they were feuding with each other. Two side emerged, with Tokugawa and his allies going to battle against another regent and his allies. Tokugawa won a major battle in 1600, forcing the other regent to flee to the castle at Osaka . With his enemies now contained, Tokugawa requested that the emperor name him shogun of Japan , which was granted in 1603.

 

Seige of Osaka Castle :

Although he was now the supreme leader of Japan , Tokugawa could not rest knowing that his enemies still lived securely in the huge castle at Osaka with Hideyoshi’s son and his mother. The castle was built so solidly that it was thought impossible to capture. However, Tokugawa attempted to overrun it with a direct attack and a constant bombardment of cannons. When this failed, Tokugawa got a better idea. Knowing which part of the castle Hideyoshi’s son and his mother lived, Tokugawa ordered his cannons to fire only at that area. The continual barrage of cannonballs frightened the family so much that they eventually surrendered. Tokugawa assured the safety of the family, but instead, he launched a second surprise attack on the castle when the defenders were unprepared. During this attack, Hideyoshi’s son was killed. There was now no one left to threaten the supreme power of Shogun Tokugawa.

 

Society Organized:

During the period that Ieyasu Tokugawa was shogun, a system known as feudalism was used to organize Japan . The shogun granted control of different territories to daimyos (lords), who were usually the shoguns’s friends, family, or loyal generals. The richest farmland was a prize awarded to the shogun’s most trusted friends. The daimyos allowed their peasants to farm the land. Each daimyo let his peasants keep half of what they grew and took the rest in taxes to increase his wealth. In this feudal system, peasant farmers were loyal to their daimyo, and the daimyo pledged loyalty and military support to the shogun.

 

Three Classes:

In feudal Japan , all people belonged to a certain social class, and the class was not allowed to change. There were three major classes. The highest rank was nobility, which included the emperor and his family. Second was the military class known as samurai. The shogun was at the top of this class, followed by daimyos, then the regular foot soldiers. The third class of people were the commoners, or peasants. Even they had social ranking. Farmers and artisans were the highest ranked common people, because they made important supplies like food and weapons. Merchants were below them, because all they did was buy and sell. (Most samurai considered it disgusting to work with money.) The lowest of the peasants were the eta, or bone-pickers. These were beggars, homeless, thieves, trash-pickers, etc. Whatever level you were born into, that was generally where you remained your whole life.

 

Entertainment:

During the Ieyasu Tokugawa period, a favorite form of entertainment was to attend a play. Two types of plays existed. One style was called Noh. This was entertainment specifically for royalty and the highest ranking military families. Noh actors wore wooden masks. Because they could not change facial expressions, the actors’ costumes and body movements were important to telling the story. Usually, Noh plays were about gods and military heroes. A second, more popular form of theater was Kabuki, which was developed to entertain the commoners. Kabuki had more action, more music, and was generally more fun to watch. Women were forbidden to be Kabuki actors, so men played the roles of women. This added humor to the performances. Colorful costumes and exciting stories made Kabuki a popular form of entertainment.

 

Tokugawa’s Powerful Shogunate:

Although Tokugawa possessed wealth beyond imagination, he didn’t care about showing off with gold or silver, the way Hideyoshi had. Tokugawa was only interested in keeping total power. To keep the peasants under control, Tokugawa made sure they lived in poverty. He said, “Give the peasants neither life nor death,” meaning feed them only enough to keep them from starving to death, but no more. They would then be too busy worrying about food to think of rebelling. He kept the daimyos under control by requiring that their families lived near Tokugawa’s headquarters at Edo . This way they could easily be captured as hostages if a daimyo decided to turn against the shogun. Tokugawa also banned the recently introduced religion of Christianity in favor of the Chinese philosophy Confucianism. Confucius taught that all people should obey their superiors. Children should obey parents; soldiers should obey their military leaders. Tokugawa liked this because it helped him keep the population under control.

 

Closing Japan :

Finally, to eliminate any outside influence, Tokugawa closed Japan to all foreigners. He allowed no trade outside the country. Only the harbor at Nagasaki was left open to limited trade with the Dutch and Chinese. No other country was allowed. When some sailors from Portugal asked it they too could trade in Nagasaki , Tokugawa had them beheaded, sending a clear message that everyone should stay away from Japan . Tokugawa carefully planned all parts of Japanese society and also planned to control the future of Japan after his death. His son was allowed to become shogun before Ieyasu died, so he could assure a stable transfer of power. The title of shogun remained in the Tokugawa family for more than 250 years, and Japan remained closed to the rest of the world during the entire time. Because of this, Japan hardly changed at all, while the rest of the world moved forward.

 

Questions on Ieyasu Tokugawa

 

  1. What was the capital of Tokugawa’s government?

 

  1. What religion did Tokugawa ban in Japan ?

 

 

  1. What did Tokugawa care about the most?

 

 

  1. What religion did Tokugawa like, and why?

 

 

  1. What was feudalism?

 

 

  1. What was the difference between Noh and Kabuki theater?

 

 

  1. What were the three major classes in Japanese society?

 

 

  1. Why did Japan hardly change for 250 years?

 

 

  1. What was the only port where Tokugawa allowed trade?

 

 

  1. How did Tokugawa finally succeed in conquering Osaka Castle?