JAPAN The Political System

The Political System

Japan's political story begins with an emperor who ruled from Kyoto. But by the twelfth century, real power had slipped out of the emperor's hands into those of the shoguns — military rulers who, in theory, governed in the emperor's name. From 1603 to 1867, the Tokugawa family held the shogunate, a period of over two and a half centuries of stable rule.

The country was carved into more than 250 domains, each under a lord called a daimyo. The shogun kept these lords in check by ordering them to spend long periods at the capital, Edo (modern Tokyo), so they could not plot rebellion. He also directly controlled the major cities and the mines. Beneath the shoguns and daimyo stood the samurai, the warrior class, who formed the ruling elite and served their lords in exchange for status and protection.

Three Changes That Shaped Japan's Future

In the late sixteenth century, three measures laid the pattern for everything that followed.

• Disarming the peasantry — Only samurai were allowed to carry swords. This ended the frequent wars of the previous century and brought peace and order to the land.
• Confining the daimyo — Lords were ordered to live in the capitals of their own domains, where they enjoyed a large degree of autonomy. This kept them busy at home rather than plotting against the shogun.
• Land surveys — Surveys identified who owned land and who paid taxes, and graded land productivity. This gave the state a stable revenue base.

The Rise of Cities and Commerce

The daimyo's capitals grew steadily larger. By the mid-seventeenth century, Japan had the most populated city in the world — Edo — along with two other great cities, Osaka and Kyoto, and at least half a dozen castle-towns with populations above 50,000. By contrast, most European countries of the time had only one large city.

This urban growth sparked a commercial economy. Financial and credit systems developed, and a person's merit began to matter more than his birth status. In the towns, a vibrant culture flourished. The fast-growing merchant class patronised theatre and the arts. Reading became so popular that gifted writers could earn a living purely by writing. In Edo, one could rent a book for the price of a bowl of noodles — a small detail that reveals the scale of printing. The Japanese printed with wood blocks, and they deliberately avoided the regularity of European printing.

Trade and Economic Strain

Japan was considered rich because it imported luxury goods — silk from China and textiles from India. But paying for these imports with gold and silver strained the economy. The Tokugawa responded by restricting the export of precious metals and by developing a domestic silk industry at Nishijin in Kyoto to reduce imports. Nishijin silk came to be known as the best in the world. Other signs of economic change included the increased use of money and the creation of a stock market in rice.

Questioning Chinese Influence …