It was similar to
the European feudal system
What was the Tokugawa shogunate known for?
Tokugawa Ieyasu’s dynasty of shoguns presided
over 250 years of peace and prosperity in Japan
, including the rise of a new merchant class and increasing urbanization. To guard against external influence, they also worked to close off Japanese society from Westernizing influences, particularly Christianity.
What was the structure of society in Tokugawa?
The structure of society under the Tokugawa was
very strict and hierarchical, characteristics drawn from Confucianism
. The shogun sat at the top, followed by the samurai lords, the samurai retainers, peasants and artisans, with merchants at the bottom.
Was the Tokugawa shogunate centralized or decentralized?
Tokugawa political order was exercised through a system of
“centralized feudalism
.” Which means that you have feudal lords with their own domains and yet, there is a centralized state that is, that has the shogun at the head.
How did Tokugawa shogunate legitimize power?
In order to legitimize their rule and to maintain stability, the
shoguns espoused a Neo-Confucian ideology that reinforced the social hierarchy placing warrior, peasant, artisan, and merchant in descending order
. The early economy was based on agriculture, with rice as the measured unit of wealth.
The real social structure was composed of
samurai (侍 shi), farming peasants (農 nō), artisans (工 kō) and merchants (商 shō)
. Samurai were at the top of society, acting as moral examples for others to follow.
The samurai (or bushi) were the warriors of premodern Japan. They later made up the ruling military class that eventually became
the highest ranking social caste of the Edo Period
(1603-1867). Samurai employed a range of weapons such as bows and arrows, spears and guns, but their main weapon and symbol was the sword.
Why was Tokugawa iemitsu concerned about Spanish and Portuguese traders?
The Shimabara Uprising, however, further convinced Iemitsu that foreigners were trying to undermine his authority and Japanese customs. Iemitsu
blamed the Portuguese in particular for bringing so many Christian missionaries to his nations
. In 1639, he banned all Portuguese ships from entering Japanese harbors.
What was the status of merchants in Tokugawa Japan group of answer choices?
What was the status of merchants in Tokugawa Japan?
They had economic wealth but no political power
.
What caused the fall of the Tokugawa shogunate?
Under the Tokugawa rule, the government was a feudal military dictatorship called bakufu, with the shogun at the top. …
The forced opening of Japan following US Commodore Matthew Perry’s arrival in 1853
undoubtedly contributed to the collapse of the Tokugawa rule.
Why did Japan westernize?
The Tokugawa regime attempted to hermetically seal Japan to the outside world to prevent change, the Meiji leaders strove to execute change. The pressure and motivation for this change was the Western threat to
Japan’s sovereignty itself
and the need to reverse the unequal treaties imposed on Japan in the 1850’s.
How did Tokugawa maintain power?
The shoguns maintained stability in many ways, including
regulating trade, agriculture, foreign relations, and even religion
. The political structure was stronger than in centuries before because the Tokugawa shoguns tended to pass power down dynastically from father to son.
Why was it called Edo period?
The Tokugawa (or Edo) period
brought 250 years of stability to Japan
. The political system evolved into what historians call bakuhan, a combination of the terms bakufu and han (domains) to describe the government and society of the period.
Can a peasant become a samurai?
This system wasn’t rigidly enforced until the rise of the
Tokugawa Shogunate
– up to that point, many peasants, artisans, and merchants could take up arms, distinguish themselves in battle, and become samurai (see the case of Toyotomi Hideyoshi).
What does Edo mean Japan?
Edo (Japanese: 江戸, lit. ‘
“bay-entrance” or “estuary”
‘), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo.
The hierarchy can be represented in
a pyramid
; the ruler on the top, and the rest of them represented different kinds of classes. From the bottom up, there are merchants, artisans, peasants, ronin, samurai, daimyos, shogun, and finally, the emperor at the top.
