Greer, James

Socioeconomic change in Tokugawa Japan Research Proposal

A Beyond the Surface Look into Life in Tokugawa Japan

1

Introduction

Japan, located to the far edges of East Asia just across the ocean from Hawaii contains

much beauty in its landscape and culture but also has had quite a unique history and structure. It

is a major cultural center that is really eye catching and so very diverse and today remains one of

the United States strongest allies economically and militarily. However, long ago this very same

country was so different that any historian looking at earlier periods of Japanese history would

have multiple questions as to how a country so isolated developed into the booming economic

and social center it is today. Japan roughly divides its timeline into periods and eras as within

each ruling family period are a set of eras.

Unlike China, Japan does not always have a single ruling family for each period so

therefore one cannot define the period I am focusing on as the Tokugawa Dynasty as you will

see why by the charts below. The Tokugawa period is also called the Edo period and lasted from

about 1603-1867 C.E. The shogunate family that defined this time period was the Tokugawa

shogunate. The reason why this may also be called Edo period is the city of Edo was growing

2

during this stage in Japanese history and is seen as a massive economic center for trade and

commerce during this time. A common era you will see referenced in my research is the

Genroku era as this was seen as the era in which some of the most significant socioeconomic

changes occurred. “Why is all this relevant?” is a question that many people would ask. Well if

you look at the economic situation in the 1980’s in which Japan was a huge contributor to the

world market economy and how that economic status declined going into the 2000s’s then there

may be need in the near future for socioeconomic reforms again. Furthermore, as far as Japanese

culture is concerned then one could say that the culture itself has influenced many other parts of

the world and the demand for Japanese goods like video game consoles, anime merchandise,

computers, television sets, clothing like yukatas/kimonos, and other profitable imports is still

enormous today.

The primary sources I found were letters mostly and some documentation from a book

titled Sources of Japanese History by Lu, David J. and another book titled Sources of Japanese

Tradition Volume 2 1600 to 2000 compiled by W.M. Theodore De Bary, Carol Gluck, and

Arthur E. Tiedemann. In these letters several merchants describe their experiences and how they

viewed concepts of Tokugawa Japan. The describe certain concepts such as class relations and

relationship between merchants and samurai as well as their views on how a merchant should

think in terms of religion and philosophy. These letters were only the start of my research and

were very helpful in assisting me with which secondary sources I should look at as well as my

overall theme of religious and non-religious ideology and their influence on socioeconomic

change during this time period. In addition they gave me insight to the economy and how the

economic system changed over time.

Edo period (1603–1867)161 元 Genna also Genwa

3

5 和1624

寛永 Kan'ei Empress Meishō, 1629–1643;[72] Emperor Go-Kōmyō, 1643–1654.[73]

1644

正保 Shōhō

1648

慶安 Keian also Kyōan

1652

承応 Jōō also Shōō; Emperor Go-Sai, 1655–1663.[74]

1655

明暦 Meireki also Myōryaku or Meiryaku

1658

万治 Manji

1661

寛文 Kanbun Emperor Reigen, 1663–1687.[75]

1673

延宝 Enpō also Enhō

1681

天和 Tenna also Tenwa

1684

貞享 Jōkyō Emperor Higashiyama, 1687–1709.[76]

1688

元禄 Genrok

u

1704

宝永 Hōei Emperor Nakamikado, 1709–1735.[77]

1711

正徳 Shōtoku

1716

享保 Kyōhō Emperor Sakuramachi, 1735–1747.[78]

1736

元文 Genbun

1741

寛保 Kanpō also Kanhō

174 延 Enkyō Emperor Momozono, 1747–1762.[79]

4

4 享1748

寛延 Kan'en

1751

宝暦 Hōreki also Hōryaku; Empress Go-Sakuramachi, 1762–1771.[80]

1764

明和 Meiwa Emperor Go-Momozono, 1771–1779.[81]

1772

安永 An'ei Emperor Kōkaku, 1780–1817.[82]

1781

天明 Tenmei

1789

寛政 Kansei

1801

享和 Kyōwa

1804

文化 Bunka Emperor Ninkō, 1817–1846.[83]

1818

文政 Bunsei

1830

天保 Tenpō also Tenhō

1844

弘化 Kōka Emperor Kōmei, 1846–1867.

1848

嘉永 Kaei

1854

安政 Ansei

1860

万延 Man'en

1861

文久 Bunkyū

1864

元治 Genji

186 慶 Keiō

5

5 応

In addition to understand where each location that may be mentioned is I have also

included a map below:

Historical Question and Thesis

The question I wish to ask is “To what extent was socioeconomic change in Tokugawa

Japan actually driven by conflict or could it actually have been embedded in the ideas of the

culture itself?” In which I propose the argument that concepts of each Buddhism and

Confucianism together influenced the formation of the class system that therefore resulted in

certain behaviors from and between each class leading to a questionable degree of

socioeconomic “progress” throughout the Tokugawa period.

Historiography

6

Tokugawa Japan research all things considered is very recent and though one of the first

recorded books to tackle the subject was written in 1931, actual canon research did not start until

roughly the 1950’s then went dead through parts of the 1960’s and picked back up again in the

late 1970’s-1987. More recent articles, books, and dissertations were written in or around

roughly 1993-2007. As a result of viewing different perspectives considering factors that in

different ways may have influenced the shaping of the political economy and socio-economic

relations of Tokugawa Japan I noticed several patterns that different historians have noticed in

regards to the subject. However, I personally believe there is a connection between an

individual’s thought process and how he or she relates with others of the same class or one of a

higher level and a lower level that results in unique sometimes socially oppressive behavior as

well as how they react in the political economy.

I first started to see patterns in how historians have approached this subject by looking at

how Thomas. C. Smith argued how agricultural elements and land tax laws impacted grain and

trade during the time period. He records a collection of his thoughts and arguments in a book of

articles titled Native Sources of Japanese Industrialization 1750-1920. In one of these articles

titled “Farm Family By-Employments in Preindustrial Japan” Smith shares details about the

structure of one of Japan’s islands named Kaminoeski and the structural duties of the average

farm family and bring forth an argument of three possible theories as to exactly what kind and if

the families did any extra work such as in the textile, smith, or other available industries. This

approach tended to go into much detail about what exactly the family was like on the surface not

as a collective of a class.1

1 Smith, Thomas C. “Farm Family By-Employments in Preindustrial Japan”, Native Sources of Japanese Industrialization 1750-1920, University of California Press (1988) 81

7

I had seen many reviews of another book that economic historian Charles David Sheldon

during the 1950’s wrote and looked at the book myself In “The Rise of the Merchant Class In

Tokugawa Japan 1600-1868” Sheldon also looks at the class structure specifically the merchant

class though due to the context of when this book was written his research seems questionable as

he defines the social hierarchy as samurai at the top and merchants at the bottom with peasants

and artisans in between.2 His main argument is not clearly stated or written in one single thesis

statement but multiple of them and the book chronologically is confusing. From what I gather he

is arguing that the merchant class was unnoticed or oppressed during this period and the samurai

were highest in the class system even though other historians I have looked at argue otherwise.

Since “The Rise of the Merchant Class in Tokugawa Japan 1600-1868” book did reveal

some information in regards to class relationships I decided to also look into a book of articles

written by several historians titled “The Bakafu in Japanese History” edited by Jeffery P. Mass

and William B. Hausser. Hausser looks at a conflict in his article titled “Osaka Castle and

Tokugawa Authority in Western Japan.” This article demonstrates a sort of tension between the

daimyo, and the Bhakafu in which though this does not tell us exactly about class relationships

with others such as merchants and peasants it does tell us about relationships within a single

class and some of the undermining tension that in the 1950’s was called “The Tokugawa Peace”.

The Tokugawa period by this author’s perspective was not just one of social and economic

progress but the tensions in this time period take that golden mask off. Take for example this

statement “Following the defeat of the Toyotomi forces, Osaka Castle was awarded to

2 Sheldon, Charles D. “The Rise of the Merchant Class in Tokugawa Japan” J. J. Augustin Incorporated Locust Valley, NY (1958), 25

8

Matsudaria Tadaki, a grandson of Ieyasu and a leader in the victorious campaign.”3 In which

clearly demonstrated a struggle for power in Tokugawa Japan.

In a second approach to this history I looked at an article titled “Some Misconceptions

about the Economic History of Tokugawa Japan” written by William. B. Hausser. Hausser

brought up the subject of class where in this article that it was just not a matter of the oppression

of the lower classes like other historians have looked at, but rather arguing against the Marxist

sociological history approach to analyzing the Japanese political economy. Ironically enough he

still in some ways reflected a Marxist historian by not attempting to go deeper into the roots of

class system through looking at Japanese cultural and intellectual influence to support his

argument beyond a surface level. However, he did add in details considering city peasants and

crafters as well as some details about how these classes related with the agrarian family that

Thomas. C. Smith touched on.4

Looking at previous documents in my research on Tokugawa Japan I realized that in

order to go deeper in regards to social issues that drove socioeconomic change during this time I

had to start looking at the ideologies of Japanese intellectuals to get a more in depth perspective

on the events surrounding this time period. Japanese Historian Tetsuo Najita in his book titled

“Visions of Virtue in Tokugawa Japan” written in 1987 touches on various subjects in regards to

the class system being rooted in the ideals of Confucianism. Take for example this quote “Out of

the very Confucianism which defined their lowly status, they sought a philosophy defining their

own moral and practical worth.”5 This in contrast to “The Rise of the Merchant Class” by

3 Hausser William B. “The Bakufu in Japanese History: Osaka Castle and Tokugawa Authority in Western Japan” Statford University Press (1985), 158

4 Hausser William B. “Some Misconceptions about the Economic History of Tokugawa Japan”, The History Teacher, Vol. 16, No. 4 (Aug., 1983)5 Najita, Tetsuo. “Visions of Virtue in Tokugawa Japan” University of Chicago Press, Chicago and London (1987), 18

9

Sheldon actually gave a more internal personal thought to why this class system was arranged

and gave more meaning to the merchant class as a people rather than just a class. Naijita also ties

in religious philosophy later in this book when he says this “”The Buddhist belief in universal

human capacity for compassion, for example was used to counter the claim that merchants were

somehow incapable of such action because of their work.”6

Historian Keneth A. Marcure looks at another example of manipulation of Buddhist

ideology for political and economic control/gain and how increased control on the peasants

resulted from such ideas. He highlights a few very good points in his article titled “The Danka

System” in which he describes the relationship and tribute that a peasant would have to pay to a

Buddhist statue if he or she did not comply with the rules. He also describes a sort of tight

relationship between economic allegiance and the temples and an edict that forced households to

register at a temple as part of tribute. This sort of control of the members and households

registered to the temples was very pleasing to the Tokugawa government so Buddhism was very

politically intertwined or as the author states in his own words “The Tokugawa government

patronized Buddhism for its emphasis on rites of passage and its ability to control its members”.7

My Research Plan

Based on the estimated time I have available during the winter break until I start History

401 in Spring 2015 I may be able to do some further research into Tokugawa Japan and gather

together a collection of new secondary sources from browsing engines like Google Scholar,

JSTOR, Historical Abstracts, and SocINDEX. In addition, I will need to read through my

primary sources more carefully and look for clues to link my primary and secondary sources

together. The sub-topics I have to come across so far that I believe would be a good contribution

6 Najita, Tetsuo. Ibid, 227 Marcure Kenneth A. The Danka System, Monumenta Nipponica, Vol. 40, No. 1 (Spring 1985), 39-67

10

to my research are “Christian Persecution/excommunication in Tokugawa Japan”, “The Danka

System”, “Neo-Confucianism in Tokugawa Japan”, “”The Untouchable Class in Japan”, and

“Taxation.”

I will also look into other books by Japanese historians that display similar characteristics

to those found in “Visions of Virtue in Tokugawa Japan” by Tetsuo, Najita. I will then need to

prepare my presentation on my topic splitting the presentation into three main categories of

religion, moral/social code, and society. Other sources I have seen on the library shelves that I

am curious about and may give new insight into opinions on the last years of the Tokugawa

period may be worth looking into are books on Communism in Japan from early 1800s to 1920.

Starting in January I will be going to the library here on Southern Illinois University

Edwardsville campus at least once a week for a greater degree of research and to work towards

my final paper for History 401.

Bibliography

I. Smith, Thomas C. “The Land Tax in the Tokugawa Period.” Native Sources of

Japanese Industrialization 1750-1920, 50-70. Los Angeles: University of California

Press, 1988

II. Smith, Thomas C. “Farm Family By-Employments in Preindustrial Japan.” Native

Sources of Japanese Industrialization 1750-1920, 50-70. Los Angeles: University of

California Press, 1988

III. Hausser, William B. “Some Misconceptions about the Economic History of

Tokugawa Japan.” The History Teacher, Vol. 16, No. 4 (August 1983): 569-583

IV. Hausser William B. “The Bakufu in Japanese History: Osaka Castle and Tokugawa

Authority in Western Japan” Statford University Press (1985)

11

V. Sheldon, Charles D. “The Rise of the Merchant Class in Tokugawa Japan.” J. J.

Augustin Incorporated Locust Valley, NY (1958)

VI. Vlastas, Stephen “Peasant Protests and Uprisings in Tokugawa Japan.” [Review by:

Smith, Tjomas C.], The Journal of Economic History, Vol. 19, No. 3 (Winter, 1986),

509-511

VII. Maruyama, Masso; Hane, Mikiso “Studies in the Intellectual History of Tokugawa,

Japan.” [Review by: Bolitho, Harold] Monumenta Nipponica, Vol. 30, No. 3 (Autumn

1975), 317-318

VIII. Hausser, William B. “Economic Institutional Change in Tokugawa Japan” O’saka

and the Kinai Cotton Trade.” [Review by: Shimazu, Ryoji] Journal of Economic

Literature, Vol. 13, No. 1 (March 1975), 60-62

IX. Hausser, William B. “Economic Institutional Change in Tokugawa Japan” [Review

by: Hanley, Susan B.] Pacific Affairs, Vol. 47, No. 4 (Winter 1974-75)), 542-543

X. Rozman, Gilbert “Urban Networks in Ch’ing China and Tokugawa Japan” [Review

by: Edmonds, Robert L.], American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 81, No. 3 (Nov, 1975),

693-694

XI. Smith, Neil S. “Tokugawa Japan: Materials on Japanese Social and Economic

History” [Review by: P. J.], International Affairs (Royal; Institute of National Affairs

1931-1939), Vol. 17, No. 5 (Sep-Oct 1938), 746

XII. Brown, Richard H. “Industrial Capitalism in Early Tokugawa Japan”, Journal of

Asian History, Vol. 6, No. 1 (1972), 1-13

XIII. Sheldon, Charles D. “Merchants and Society in Tokugawa Japan”, Modern Asian

Studies, Vol. 17, No. 3 (1983), 477-478

12

XIV. Henderson, Dan F. “Village Contracts” in Tokugawa Japan”, Public Affairs, Vol. 49,

No. 1 (Spring 1976), 143-144

XV. Howell, David L. “Territory and Collective Identity in Tokugawa Japan”, Daedalas,

Vol. 127, No. 3 Early Modernites (Summer , 1998), 105-132

XVI. Broadbridge, Seymor “Economic and Social Trends in Tokugawa Japan”, Modern

Asian Studies, Vol. 8, No. 3 (1974), 347-372\

XVII. Oishi, Shinzaburo “Tokugawa Japan: The Social and Economic Antecedents of

Modern Japan by Chie Nakane”, [Review by: Blackford, Mansel G.] Business

History Review, Vol. 67 No. 2 (Summer 1993), 363-365

XVIII. Bolitho, Harold “Bereavement and Consolation: Testimonies from Tokugawa Japan”

[Review by: Childs, Margret H.] The Journal of Asian Studies Vol. 64, No. 1

(February 2005, 190-192

XIX. Moore, Ray A. “Adoption and Samurai Mobility in Tokugawa Japan”, The Journal of

Asian Studies, Vol. 25, No. 3 (May 1970), 617-632

XX. Leop, Gary P. “Servants, Shoplands, and Laborers in the Cities of Tokugawa Japan”,

Journal of Japanese Studies, Vol. 19, No. 2 (Summer1993), 469-473

XXI. Najita, Tetsuo “Visions of Virtue in Tokugawa Japan” The University of Chicago

Press, Chicago and London (1987)

XXII. Lu, David J. Sources of Japanese History, Mcgraw-Hill (December 1974)

XXIII. Theodore De Bary, W.M. Gluck, Carol and Tiedemann, Arthur E. Sources of

Japanese Tradition Volume 2 1600 to 2000, Columbia University Press ( 2005 )