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Shogunate Japan: The role of the Tokugawa Shogunate

A resource guide for the Year 8 History Samurai assignment

Source: Chikanobu Toyohara 

The Tokugawa Shogunate defined modern Japanese history by centralizing the power of the nation's government and uniting its people. Before the Tokugawa took power in 1603, Japan suffered through the lawlessness and chaos of the Sengoku ("Warring States") period, which lasted from 1467 to 1573. Beginning in 1568, Japan's "Three Reunifiers"—Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu—worked to bring the warring daimyo back under central control. In 1603, Tokugawa Ieyasu completed the task and established the Tokugawa Shogunate, which would rule in the emperor's name until 1868. Read through the resources below to learn more about the Tokugawa Shogunate.


Edo (Tokugawa) Period (1603 - 1867) (Facts and Details, 2016, September)

The Tokugawa (or Edo) Period (1603-1867) began when Tokugawa Ieyasu became shogun in 1603 after a victory at Sekigahara in 1600 and brought 200 years of stability to Japan. This article gives a very detailed look into this period of Japan's history, and includes lots of links to further reading.


Japan - memoirs of a secret empire (PBS, 2003)

Commanding shoguns and fierce samurai warriors, exotic geisha and exquisite artisans—all were part of a Japanese renaissance between the 16th and 19th centuries when Japan went from chaos and violence to a land of ritual refinement and peace. But stability came at a price: for nearly 250 years, Japan was a land closed to the Western world, ruled by the shogun under his absolute power and control. Japan: Memoirs of a Secret Empire brings to life the unknown story of a mysterious empire, its relationship with the West, and the forging of a nation that would emerge as one of the most important countries in the world.


Shoguns rule Japan with an iron fist (ABC, n.d.)

Who were the shoguns and how did they rule Japan? In Japanese history, the time from about 1600 to 1868 is called the Edo period. In 1600, after centuries of wars, Japan came under the control of shoguns from the Tokugawa clan. They continued to rule until 1868, when they were overthrown. View this clip to discover how these shoguns maintained their power. This clip is first in a series of six.


Tokugawa period (University of Pittsburgh, n.d.)

This website gives a very brief overview of the Tokugawa period in Japan, including how it started and ended, and some of its cultural achievements.


Edo period timeline (University of Southern California, Pacific Asia Museum, n.d.)

A timeline of the major events during the Tokugawa Shogunate.


Art of the Edo period (1615 - 1868) (The Metropolitan Museum of Arts, 2003, October)

In the harshly controlled feudal society governed for over 250 years by the descendants of Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542–1616), creativity came not from its leaders, a conservative military class, but from the two lower classes in the Confucian social hierarchy, the artisans and merchants. Although officially denigrated, they were free to reap the economic and social benefits of this prosperous age. This article describes some of the art that flourished during this time period.


Tokugawa Shogunate (Khan Academy, n.d.)

Japan may just appear as a series of islands off the east coast of the Eurasian landmass, but these islands are really big and have been thickly populated for many centuries. If you took a snapshot of Japan in 1750, you would see a prosperous country unified under a stable, centralized government. This government, called the Tokugawa Shogunate (1600-1868)^11start superscript, 1, end superscript , was led by a military ruler, called a shogun, with the help of a class of military lords, called daimyō. True, Japan was led by military elite, yet it was still a time of relative peace and stability. This article from Khan Academy describes the Tokugawa Shogunate and includes reflection questions for you to check your learning against.

The edicts of Toyotomi Hideyoshi: Excerpts from 'Limitation on the propagation of Christianity, 1587' & Excerpts from 'Explusion of missionaries', 1587

The unification of Japan and the creation of a lasting national polity in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries required more than just military exploits. Japan’s “three unifiers,” especially Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1536- 1598) and Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543-1616), enacted a series of social, economic, and political reforms in order to pacify a population long accustomed to war and instability and create the institutions necessary for lasting central rule. Although Hideyoshi and Ieyasu placed first priority on domestic affairs — especially on establishing authority over domain lords, warriors, and agricultural villages — they also dictated sweeping changes in Japan’s international relations. The years from 1549 to 1639 are sometimes called the “Christian century” in Japan. In the latter half of the sixteenth century, Christian missionaries, especially from Spain and Portugal, were active in Japan and claimed many converts, including among the samurai elite and domain lords. The following edicts restricting the spread of Christianity and expelling European missionaries from Japan were issued by Hideyoshi in 1587.

Click on the link above to read the excerpts.