Chapter 13:
Japan Under the Shogun
GRADE 8 SOCIAL STUDIES
Power and control
 Edo or Tokugawa period of Japan (1600-1868)
 Edo= present day Tokyo, Japan
 Tokugawa= shogun rulers (military rulers)
 Before the Edo period, Japan was locked in constant
warfare
 Powerful landowners or nobles, known as daimyo
competed amongst each other for territory and
power
 What do you think was needed to end the chaos?
Unifying the Land
 Tokugawa Ieyasu became the most powerful man in
Japan after he defeated the rival daimyo in a great
battle
 Emperor made him shogun
 Even though the emperor technically ruled the land,
the shogun held most of the power
Building a stable Japan
 The shogun’s plans were to create a strong, long
lasting government that would bring stability to
Japan
 His plans included:
1) Alternate attendance
2) Sharing power (bakuhan system)
3) Strict laws
Why do you think these laws were directed towards the
daimyo’s?
Results of Shogun power
 Despite the efforts of the Shogun, there were many
peasant disturbances and urban riots during the Edo
period over taxes and food shortages
 Tokugawa shogun maintained control over Japan
A Feudal Society
 The rigid social structure was hereditary and you
could NOT work your way up in ranking
 What worldview is this consistent with?
Samurai
 Much respected warrior class
 Lived in towns controlled by the shogun or daimyo
they served
 Subdivisions in Samurai class- lowest were ronin, the
samurai without masters
 Although they had high status, Samurai were
forbidden to become involved in trade or business
 The samurai code of honour dictated that they live
simple and thrifty lives
Peasants
 Farmers considered important in Edo Japan because
they produced the food that sustained society
 Laws controlled every aspect of peasants life
 They needed permission to travel outside their
district.
Artisans
 Craftspeople usually lived in towns or cities
 An artisans son was restricted not only to the class of
his father, but also the particular craft that his father
practiced
 Although Artisans were extremely skilled their status
was lower than peasants. The reason for this is
because they were not primary producers; their work
required materials produced by others.
Merchants
 Merchants bought items from artisans to trade or
sell to others
 Because rice was used as currency during most of the
Edo period, merchants performed a function similar
to bankers
 Since they didn’t produce anything, merchants were
officially at the bottom of the social order.
Women in Edo Society
 In Edo Japan, the class that women were born into
determined their responsibilities, as it did for the
men
 Women in rural areas had more freedom than upper
class women, because they were able to work in the
fields, harvest crops etc.
 In the overall hierarchy in society, women were
always considered lower than men
Outside of Edo Society- Outcasts
 Outcasts were people who were shunned or ignored
by all the other classes because of their work.
 Usually they had occupations that involved death
 Under the Tokugawa shogun, outcasts had to live
apart from the rest of society, not allowed to change
their jobs, or be in the city after 8 pm
Outside of Edo Society-Ainu People
 Ainu people are also separate from the feudal
hierarchy
 They were excluded from Japanese society
 In 1997 the Ainu people finally officially recognized
by Japanese government as an Indigenous people
 Ainu do not feel this legislation goes far enough- still
unsatisfied
Honour and Duty
 How important are ideas of “honour” and “duty” to
your life? For example: do you think the actions of
your family members affect the honour of your
family as a whole? Do you ever find yourself thinking
that other people’s behaviour dishonours you?
 Honour was very important in Edo society
 Ex: Story of the 47 ronin at the beginning of the
chapter
Confucianism
 Teachings of Confucianism played an important role
in Japanese acceptance of class distinctions.
 Confucius was a Chinese scholar whose teachings for
moral, that is right living were brought over to Japan
by Buddhist monks.
 Confucianism taught that everyone had a proper
place in society
 If everyone accepted their duties and obligations
there would be peace and order, if not there would be
chaos and suffering.
First Contact with the West
“The Southern Barbarians”
 Portuguese traders approached Japan from a
southerly direction, the Portuguese became known
as the “southern Barbarians.”
 Portuguese said they were here to exchange things
they had with things they didn’t have.
 They were soon followed by Spanish, Dutch and
British traders and by Christian missionaries
Portuguese and Japanese Relations
 Portuguese and Japanese were very different from
one another. – Both cultural and religious
 Portuguese society had been influenced by
renaissance values, favoured competition and the
individual.
New Kind of Belief
 Francis Xavier, a Jesuit arrived in Japan in 1549 to
start missions to convert the upper class (daimyo
and samurai) to Christianity.
 The Portuguese also sent Franciscan priests to work
with the lower classes
 There were some basic similarities between the
beliefs of the Christians and Japanese values. Both
had rules or ethical codes about right and wrong
behaviour, however Christian idea of one god was
new to the Japanese.