Edo society
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Edo society refers to the
Edo society was a
The Tokugawa shogunate ruled by dividing the people into four main categories. Older scholars believed that there were Shi-nō-kō-shō (士農工商,
The bakumatsu from 1853 on led to growing opposition to the Edo system and it was dismantled after the Meiji Restoration in 1868.
Historical context
The Taika Reforms were the "legal glue" deemed necessary to thwart future coup d'etat attempts, and the Ritsuryō system led to the formation of
The
Ieyasu founded the
Tokugawa class system
Aristocracy
Emperor
The Emperor of Japan was the official ruler of Japan at the very top of the Tokugawa class hierarchy. However, the Emperor was only a de jure ruler, functioning as a figurehead held up as the ultimate source of political sanction for the shōgun's authority. The Emperor and his Imperial Court located in Kyoto, the official capital of Japan, were given virtually no political power but their prestige was invincible.
Court nobility
The court nobility, the kuge, were the civil aristocracy of Japan. Similar to the Emperor, the kuge were incredibly prestigious and held significant influence in cultural fields, but wielded very little political power and served functions only for symbolic purposes.
Shōgun
The shōgun was the
Daimyō
The
The daimyō held significant autonomy but the Tokugawa policy of sankin-kōtai required them to alternate living in Edo and their domain every year. The daimyō were separated into the shinpan, relatives of the Tokugawa, the fudai daimyō, who filled the ranks of the Tokugawa administration, and the tozama daimyō, those who only submitted to the Tokugawa after the Battle of Sekigahara.
Four classes
The Tokugawa government intentionally created a social order called the
Samurai were placed at the top of society because they started an order and set a high moral example for others to follow. The system was meant to reinforce their position of power in society by justifying their ruling status. However, the shinōkōshō does not accurately describe Tokugawa society as Buddhist and Shinto priests, the kuge outside of the Imperial Court, and outcast classes were not included in this description of hierarchy.[6]: 7
In some cases, a poor samurai could be little better off than a peasant and the lines between the classes could blur, especially between artisans and merchants in urban areas. Still, the theory provided grounds for restricting privileges and responsibilities to different classes and it gave a sense of order to society. In practice, solidified social relationships in general helped create the political stability that defined the Edo period.[7]: 135–136
Samurai
Instead, the samurai maintained their fighting skills more as an art form than to fight. Samurai were paid a stipend from their lord, limiting their ties to the economic base. In addition, samurai could not own land, which would have given them income independent from their duty. Samurai generally lived around their daimyō's castle, creating a thriving town or city environment around the middle of a domain.
There were social stratifications within the samurai class: upper-level samurai had direct access to their daimyō and could hold his most trusted positions, with some achieving a level of wealth that allowed them to retain their own samurai
Positions within the samurai class were largely hereditary and talented individuals could not rise above a few social steps beyond their birth.[6]: 30
Peasants
According to Confucian philosophy, society could not survive without
The peasant class owned land, but rights to tax this land were given to the local daimyō. Peasants worked to produce enough food for themselves and still meet the tax burden. Most agriculture during this time was cultivated by families on their own land in contrast to the plantation or hacienda model implemented elsewhere.[6]: 45 Peasants could amass relatively large amounts of wealth but remained in the same class because of their association with the land. Wealthier families and those that held their own land and paid taxes were held in much higher regard and had more political influence in village matters. However, the survival of the village depended on every household cooperating to meet the tax burden and overcome natural disasters such as famines. During the reign of the third shōgun, Tokugawa Iemitsu, farmers were not allowed to eat any of the rice they grew. They had to hand it all over to their daimyō and then wait for him to give some back as charity.[citation needed]
Artisans
Artisans typically lived in urban areas, and by 1800, as much as 10% of the population of Japan may have lived in large urban areas, one of the highest levels in the world at the time.[6]: 43 The daimyō and their samurai did not produce any goods themselves, but they used the tax surplus from the land to fuel their consumption. Their needs were met by artisans, who moved to be around the castles and were restricted to living in their own quarter.
Merchants
Merchants grew increasingly powerful during the Edo period, in spite of their social standing, and the top merchants commanded a certain amount of respect, with Osaka and later Edo having concentrations of the merchant class.
Wealthy merchant houses arose to organize distributors and hold legal monopolies. As their wealth grew, merchants wanted to consume and display their wealth in the same manner as the samurai, but laws prevented them from doing so overtly. Still, their consumption combined with that of the samurai served to reinforce the growth of the merchant and artisan classes.
Untouchables
Underneath the merchant class were various communities and levels of outcasts not included within the official Tokugawa class system. These people were "untouchables" who fell outside of mainstream Japanese society for one reason or another, and were actively discriminated against at the societal level.
Burakumin
The
Although technically commoners, the burakumin were victims of severe ostracism and lived in their own isolated villages or ghettos away from the rest of the population.
Ethnic minorities
Role of women
A Japanese woman's life varied immensely according to her family's social status. Women in samurai families were expected to submit to their male heads of household, but as they aged, they could become the ranking household member if their husband died. Children were taught to respect both of their parents, even as adults. Women from the lower classes were much less restricted by social expectations and could play an integral part in the family's business.[6]: 15 Peasant women were expected to do household chores in the early morning before working in the fields with their male relatives and, regardless of age, were important, working members of their families.
Marriage was not based on romantic attraction. Families tried to use marriage as a way to increase their social standing or, among wealthier groups, to increase one's influence and holdings. Most often, however, marriage occurred between two families of equal status.[6]: 14 Female virginity at marriage was important in the samurai classes; it was much less important to the lower classes.[6]: 14 After marriage, women were restricted from taking additional sexual partners. Males of the upper classes, however, were able to take concubines and have relations with unmarried women. Divorce was common, and a woman from a poor household could very easily leave her husband and return to her original family.
Decline
The foundation of Edo society was its stable social order, but changes to Japanese society over the next two centuries began to challenge the Tokugawa system. Increasing
Some Japanese scholars began to question the Confucian beliefs that provided the foundation of Edo society.
In 1853, the beginning of the
The new
References
- ^ a b 「士農工商」や「四民平等」の用語が使われていないことについて. Tokyo Shoseki (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 30 November 2023. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
- ^ a b c 家格. Kotobank (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 7 March 2024. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
- ISBN 0-8047-0815-0
- ^ 第35回 教科書から『士農工商』が消えた ー後編ー 令和3年広報うき「ウキカラ」8月号. Uki, Kumamoto (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 30 August 2023. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
- ^ 人権意識のアップデート (PDF). Shimonoseki (in Japanese). Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 June 2023. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
- ^ OCLC 38228076.
- ^ OCLC 6277572.