Discuss the social order of the Edo period in Japan.

274 JAPAN: A DOCUMENTARY HISTORY

would stand to lose if the measures went into effect. Finally the powerful shimpan of Kii intervened to bring an end to the reforms. The failure of the Tempo reforms underscored the inherent weaknesses of the bahtf" as the ruling power' At the same time, some of the fWestem hanlndmodest success in their own reform attempts, which in tum paved $e way for their enfiy into national politics.

Near its end the Tokugawa bak(fu was also beset by the lack o1 effective leadership at the top, especially inlthe person of the shogun. The succession disputes divided the daimyd into nfo contending parties (Document l3). And when Commodore Perry came to fo/ce open the door of Japan. it further divided the countrry into the camps of jai (efpel the barbarians) and kaikoku (opening the country) groups (Docrments 8 and f. see also Document l0).

The domestic and external proflems gave some of the great tozama han oppornrnities to challenge the s y of the bakufu. The han, unlike the bakufu, were successful rn their infrnal reforms, which included financial re- forms and effective use of able loufr samurai within their own han rnespective of the lineage (Document la). sonf of them arso employed a sysrem of monop- oly to enhance their own financialfosition. In first contesting and later supplant- ing the power of the balatfu, t\ft. han and their samu.ai employed as" their shibboleth Sonno -/oi (Revere the fmperor and Expel the Barbarians). The sonna thought had its origin in the Confrcian ideal of rectification of names, such as that expressed by the Mito I of thought. Initially the proponent of this

the baku-han or feudal system as such, butthought did not seek to o simply attempted to utilize the ca$lytic force of the Imperial Court to infirse new life into the old system and in[tirutions. It was in this spirit that men like Sakamoto Ryoma wo*ed dili to effect a compromise between the con- tending forces of Satsuma-Chosh{ and bakufu (Document l6), And in a srmilar vein, Yamanouchi Yodo, former Lbrd of Tosa, also attempted at the last moment

DECAY OF TH TOKUGAWA SYSTEM

two and a half centuries of peace yhey hardly resembled their forefathers who had won the country for Tokugo*oig"y^u. The long periods of resiience in Edo and in the castle towns made them "soft," less given to martial arts and more to the fine things of ltfe. Documents I and 2 show the luxurious modes of tife they adopted for themselves and the re\tlting corruption. However, their incomes remained on a meager scale (Docur\ent 3), and their morale was generally low (Document 4). \

to forestall the complete overthrowlof the bakufu as an institution. Yet in the end the idea of the supremacy of the irylperial house, as advocated by Yoshida Shoin

T H E E N D O F T H E T O K U C A W A R U L E 2 7 5

g declining economic condit 1821) (Document 5)

the ll/est, hefou the soluti

tural policy that could to remain on their lands.

As the daimyo went deeper ted a larger amount of taxes

from the peasants in thei condition i ribed bv Matsudaira

Sadanobu (17 the First Counci

br the so-called Kansei reforms wAile in ffice (1787-1793) (Documeni

In spite of many attempts to reform, economic conditions continued to deteri- orete, and tax exactions went unabqted. In the frst part of the nineteenth cen- tury, peasant uprisings (hyakusho ikki/ and urban riots (uchikowashi literally destroying stores) became frequent. One of the most unusual uprisings was led by one Oshio HeihachirO (1793-1537) who was an fficial in the Osaka Town Commissioner's Office (Osako Machi-bugyo). After a great famine in 1836, he

first petitioned for general relief of the dispossessed. Wen this was not ap- proved, he sold his personal belongings and gave the proceeds to the poor. In 1837 he resorted to an armed uprising, and attempted to take food and money away from rich merchants in Osaka to distribute them to the poor. He was suppressed within a day, but because of his scholarly reputation and of his

former official position, the uprising attracted nationwide attention. Document 7 is his manifesto callingfor dtrect action.

rious Living of Samurai, lEl6l Concerning the clothes wo1 v is a story coming from the time of the Keicho era 6 r s )

ord Ieyasu ided shirt) made of

ished his long sword to expel the samurai, saying that attainment of peace the man had already indulged in a taste of I ver, nowadays, not only those unim- portant vassals but also samurai, foot soldiers (ashigaru'1, merchants (chanin) and all wear ra silk. The extravagance in clothing can be by this.

Concerning and drink, when rOju Doi Toshi (1573-1644) visited Sakai T u (1587-1662, who later became taira Iemitsu) at the latter' e, he was treated with cold soup. In those days a habit of

and if a host invited his guests, the guests brought their own and the

rBuyo tnshi, Seyi Kenbunrolu (tYhat I l(itness in This World) (1816) as Ishin Shiryo Hensan Jimukyoku, Ishinshi (A History of the Meiji Restoration), Yol. ( T o k y o : M e i j i S h o i n , 1 9 3 9 ) , p . 3 2 2 .

of the country are described by llsdt side from accepting new lcnowTedge from

in the adoption of an enlightened agicul- ice of infgticide and encourage farmers

the samurall

appeared before hrs ship attired in a sendaihira silk. His

i i s ':;,1 : t i

,til

280 JAPAN: A DOCUMENTARY HISTORY

and lashed, scolded and abused. When they return to their own fields, the weeds may have overtaken the fields and they become uilnuulageable. .. . There are many other instances of severe exactions and oppressive rules which I do not have time to enumerate.

r-7 / Oshio Heihachird's Manifesto. 183710 If the four seas suffer destitu- tion, the beneficence of heaven cannot long survive. If a man of small stature governs the country, calamities become inevitable. These are the teachings be- queathed by the sage of old to the later generations of rulers and subjects. The Deity enshrined in Toshogu [Ieyasu] decreed that to show compassion for the widows, widowers and the lonely is the foundation of benevolent government (jinsei). However, during the past 240 to 250 years of peace, those who were above gradually became accustomed to luxury and they now live in sheer extrav- agance. Those officials who are entrusted with important political affain openly give and receive bribes. Some of them who lack virtue and righteousness still attain high positions as a result of connections they have through the ladies in waiting in the inner palace. They devote their efforts and intelligence to enrich their private coffers. They levy an excessive amount of money from common people and farmers in their own domains or administrative districts. These are the people who have suffered over the years the severe exactions of annual taxes

and various types of corvte labor. Now they propose such nonsensical demands. As the needs of those officials increase, the poverty of the four seas is com- pounded.. . .

The excessive rise in the price of rice today does not deter the commissioner (bugo) in Osaka and his officials from engaging in their arbinary handling of policies, forgetting that everything under the sun is one in the way of human heartedness Qin). They transport rice to Edo, but fail to make any provision for delivery of rice to Kyoto where the Emperor resides. Instead they even arrest

those people from Kyoto who come to buy rice in the amount of ftve to ten q u a r t s ( s f t o ) . . . .

The rich in Osaka have over the years made profitable loans to the daimyd and seized a large sum of gold, silver and stipend rice in interest. They now

enjoy unprecedented riches, and even though they ue chanin they are treated and appointed to positions comparable to elders (karo) in the households of the daimy\. They own numerous fields and gardens and newly cultivated fields and live in plenteous comfort. They observe the natural calamities and punishments

of heaven occurring now, but are not afraid. They see the poor and beggars starve to deattU but do not lift their fingers to help them. . .. Meanwhile they

continue to indulge in their pastime, and act as if nothing has ever happened.

r0Fujimoto Kunihiko, ed., Nihonshi: Shiryo Ensha (A Japanese History: Documentary Exercises)(Tokyo: Tokyo University Press, 1956), pp. 289-291.

THE END OF THE TOKUGAWA RULE 28I

This is not different from King Zhou'sll long night's feast. The commissioner and his officials have the power to control the actions of the above mentioned people and help the lowly. But they do not do this, and day after day deal in commodities. They are bandits stealing the beneficence of heaven, whose actions cannot be condoned by the Way of Heaven or by the will of the sage.

We who are confined to our homes find it is no longer possible to tolerate these conditions. we lack the power of King Tang and King wu.r2 We cio not have the virtue of Confucius or Mencius. For the sake of all under heaven, knowing that we have no one to depend on and that we may impute the punish- ments to our families, those of us who are of like mind are resolved to clo the following: First we shall execute those officials who torment and harass those who are lowly. Next we shall execute those rich merchants in the city of Osaka who are accustomed to the life of luxury. Then we shall uncover gold and silver coins and other valuables they hoard as well as bags of rice kept hidden in their storage houses. They will be distributed to those who do not own fields or gardens in the domains of Settsu, Kawachi, Izumi and Harima, and to those who may own lands, but have a hard time supporting fathers, mothers, wives and other members of the family. The above money and rice will be distributed. Thereafter as soon as you hear that there is a disturbance in the city of Osaka, mind not the distance you must travel, come immediately to Osaka.

What we do is to follow the command of heaven to render the punishments of heaven.

Eighth year of Tempo [837J month, day.

To the village officials ghaya), elders (toshiyori), farmers (hyakusha), peasants and tenant farmers (komae hyakusho) in the domains of Settsu, Kawachi, Izumi, and Harima.

DEBATES OVER THE OPENING OF JAPAN

Wen Commodore Matthew Perry anchored off the shores of (Jraga in 1853, his action was to precipitate one of the greatest debqtes to occur in Tokugawa Japan. In an unprecedented move, the bakufu solicited the opinions of the daimyO, and they were divided. At issue were the questions of joi (expelling the barbsrians) orkaikoku(openingthe country), and of acquiescence to theforeign demands or preservation of the two-century-old tradition of seclusion. In the background were such issues as the declining power of the bakufu, an.l the pending succes sion disputes.

rrThe last king of the Shang dynasty, known for his cruelty and unrighteous acts. r2Respectively, the founder of the Shang dynasty and of the Zhou dynasty.