Tokugawa And Early Meiji

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Compare how the two states in eras of Japanese history, Tokugawa and early Meiji, ruled and what flow on effects it caused on the people The change from Tokugawa Japan to Meiji Japan is often called the most remarkable transformation ever undergone by any people in so short a time’. (Palmer and Colton) This essay will compare the two states and their ways and method of ruling and the flow on effects it had on the people, the economy or commerce. Tokugawa period started after the central authority was given to Tokugawa Ieyasu after the battle of sekihagara and he became the shogun in 1603. Tokugawa Ieyasu and the third shogun, Tokugawa Iemitsu, developed established a new social and political order. These changes were set up for very a specific reasons: So the whole nation would be under the Tokugawa family’s control and secure their reign.(Hane 1986:23) (Tsukahira 1966:1) Central to this is the bakuhan taisei, also known as the bakufu. This involved the land being divided into Hans, or domains, and allocated a feudal lord, a daimyo, to the domain. Each daimyo is semi-autonomous in his own domain. A domain was locally self-sufficient, taxing was the lords choice and economically decentralised from the government, having no financial obligations. (Tsukahira 1966:20) In order to maintain unity and prevent rebellion and uprisings, Tokugawa had a few measures to keep the daimyos in check. First of all, all daimyos were required to leave their family at the capital as hostages (Tsukahira 1966:1). Secondly, he ranked the daimyos into three categories: Shinpan, meaning Related Daimyo, who were the Ieyasu’s sons or relatives, fudai, meaning Vassal or hereditory Daimyo, who were Ieyasu’s vassals before 1600, that is before Ieyasu came into power, before the battle of Sekigahara and tozama, meaning Outside Daimyo, who became allies after the battle (Hane
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