History of Japan: Difference between revisions
Bascially finished Fudai supremacy: 1651–1675.
(Restructured page, redid the 1651 to 1675 period with new lore, kept old lore until those are updated too.) |
(Bascially finished Fudai supremacy: 1651–1675.) |
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== ''Fudai'' supremacy: 1651–1675 ==
{{Infobox historical era|name=''Geba Shogun'' period|start=1651|end=1675|image=File:Portuguese ship arriving in Japan painting, 17th century.jpg|leaders=Ieçuna <small>(1651–1663)</small> <br> Çunaxige <small>(1663–1675)</small>|monarch=Go-Komjo <small>(1643–1651)</small><br> [[Emperor Go-Sai|Go-Sai]] <small>(1655–1662)</small> <br> [[Emperor Reigen|Reigen]] <small>(1662–1691)</small>}}The 24-year period encompassing the reigns of shoguns [[Tokugawa Ieçuna]] and [[Tokugawa Çunaxige|Çunaxige]] was dominated by the Senior Council, an institution composed of numerous high-ranking hereditary lords (''fudai'' 譜代). Throughout this era, [[Japan]] would experience a complex and tense foreign policy situation, economic growth and transformation, and the beginning of a shift in domestic social conditions.
First established in 1636, the Senior Council initially functioned as an advisory board to the shogun. Under the auspices of three Grand Councillors from the [[Sakai clan]], the power of the shogun gradually declined in favor of the Council and the ''fudai'' families. In order to cement their power, the Sakai clan formed an alliance with the related Hayashi clan (''hajaxi-xi'' 林氏), a family of Neo-Confucian scholars, in the early 1650s. Hayashi scholars, who had acquired their privileged position through their blood relations with the Sakai and Tokugawa, were able to promulgate their ideology and take the lead in the composition of historical records.
The Council also spearheaded efforts at economic reform, especially in order to reduce the export of Japanese silver, which was becoming increasingly rare after the silver boom of 1550–1645. In 1655, the ''itowappu'' system, which provided that Japanese merchants buy Chinese silk at set prices, was abolished. In 1666, the state banned silver exports altogether, instead encouraging the export of copper, gold, and marine products such as abalone, shark fins, and kelp to [[China]] and the [[Dutch East India Company]] (VOC). Despite their labor, these policies did not prevent the illegal smuggling of silver out of Japan by Asian vagabonds, a practice discreetly encourage by the VOC.
[[File:Hayashi Razan.jpg|left|thumb|335x335px|Hayashi Razan (1583–1659), a Neo-Confucian scholar and government advisor with close ties to the [[Sakai clan]].]]
==== The Zeng alliance ====
Shortly before
Subsequently, the shogunate increased its political and economic support of the Zeng maritime organization and allowed periodic raids on Dutch shipping in the East China Sea. In 1658, Koxinga led the Iron Army (''teçuzin'' 鉄人) in an invasion of Namging, attempting to resurrect a Ming state on the Chinese continent. It resulted in defeat due to a number of factors such as the appearance of an unexpected Dutch force, severe weather, infighting within the Zeng family, and the shogunate’s refusal to supply armaments for the military expedition.
Many Ming loyalists fled the armies of the Qing dynasty for the Kingdom of Loetsjoe and from there, Japan. Koxinga and the surviving members of the Iron Army sought refuge with his brother Xicizaemon, head agent of Nagasaki port. Along with them came [[Zu Sugwey|Zu Sugwey, Prince of Ningzing]], one of the last remaining Ming princes and ancestor of the [[Kingdom of Canton|Ye dynasty]] emperors. The Zeng mercantile dynasty remained in good graces with the shogunate for decades due to their importance in maintaining the health of the Nagasaki economy and their function as a counterweight to the VOC. Trade embargoes on [[Tauland|Dutch Formosa]] were maintained by the Tokugawa shogunate for decades thereafter.
==== Manzi era: 1658–1663 ====
[[File:Tiger and Dragon painting by Soga Nichokuan, 17th century.jpg|thumb|Soga Nicokuan (fl. 1620–1660) of the Soga school of art's ''Tiger & Dragon''. ]]
In the late 1650s, some in Japan endorsed the normalization of relations with the Dutch due to their relative patience and irreligiousity compared to their [[Spain|Spanish]] and [[Portugal|Portuguese]] counterparts. However, others postulated the declining profits of the Zeng organization and the ever-successful Dutch colonization of Formosa as reason to find new counterweights to the VOC. The latter view prevailed, with a small base near Kagoxima being given to a group of Portuguese Macanese merchants with instructions to throttle Dutch trade. Soon after, the VOC, Neo-Confucian scholars, and others strongly voiced their opposition to this decision. This in turn led to a revival of anti-Christian persecution, with many lords and stewards opening regional investigations in order to eliminate secret Catholic communities that had survived the Shimabara Rebellion of 1638.
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[[Emperor Reigen]] declared the new Kanbun era (寛文) in early 1663 in order to mark the disasters of the past five years. Under new Grand Councillor [[Sakai Tadakijo]], the government issued new ''kaikin'' edicts cutting the Zeng family's profit margins and reasserting central government control over foreign trade and foreign residents. International commerce was limited to one million taels (兩) annually in 1671, with 600,000兩 to China, 275,000兩 to the Dutch, and 125,000兩 to the Zeng organization. Additionally, stricter passport controls were created throughout the nation, limiting non-Japanese merchants to the ports of Desjima, Nagasaki, Hirado, and Çuxima.
The VOC, frustrated by Japan's embargoes on Dutch commerce, petitioned for the Kingdom of Scotland to be granted a small trading outpost in Hirado. In 1669, the Royal Company of Scotland successfully received permission to construct said outpost on Hirado Island with the same terms and conditions as the Dutch were operating under in Desjima. This settlement would eventually be dissolved in the mid-1710s due to lack of profit and diplomatic pressure from the shogunate to do so.
== Late Edo period: 1713–1754 ==▼
==== The Dutch Rush ====
The Taquexima incident was the first official instance of Dutch intercession in Corean political affairs. It contributed to the generally positive Corean perspective of the Dutch, which eventually led to the Corean state allowing the formation of the Dutch territory at Poesjan in 1710. Hoekstra became the first administrator of the territory and remained influential until his death in 1719. He was known in Japan for his harsh policy on Japanese traders and the dismissal of a petition to expand Poesjan’s immigrant quarters.
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In 1750, the Mito-Owari coalition successfully deposed Xogun Joximune. Joximune died shortly after. Xogun Muneharu declared and implemented the articles of his political manifesto, the ''[https://escholarship.org/uc/item/4nn6p372#page=66 Ontxi seijo]''. However, huge budget deficits and political opposition arose and decimated widespread efforts at reform. Four years later in 1754, he was assassinated with no male heir. His death is considered as the end of true Tocugawa rule. Despite his short rule, Muneharu’s ideas and policies were the basis for the establishment of modern Japan.
== Maruoka-Odawara period: 1754–1809 ==
Maruoca Castle and Odawara Castle, belonging to the Sacai and Sajama clans respectively, gave their name to this era, mimicking the naming of the Azutxi-Momojama period. The events of this timeframe have an abundance of foreign interventions which had disastrous consequences.
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By 1809, the Sacai were able to establish order in the cities of Edo, Osaca, and Miaco. The Emperor had also recognized Sacai Tadamitxi as the new Xogun. The Tairō, rebranded in Western records as the ‘Chancellor of Japan’, was occupied by the Xogun’s cousin, Sacai Txikaçu.
== Kumohama period: 1809–1895 ==
The era’s name (meaning ‘cloud beach’) was taken from the coastal [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obama_Castle_(Wakasa_Province) Unpin Castle], which belonged to the Lord of Obama of the Sacai clan. While Japan began to modernize during this period, the country was hampered by political unrest, economic strife, and foreign intervention.
==== Russian betrayal & Ainu separatism ====
The [https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%B0%8F%E7%94%B0%E5%8E%9F%E8%97%A9#%E5%A4%A7%E4%B9%85%E4%BF%9D%E5%AE%B6_2 Odawara domain] was still in a state of rebellion in 1809, being ruled by the Maçudaira-loyalist Oqubo clan. A Russian flotilla under Admiral Gunin Ermilov approached the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Izu_Province Idzu peninsula] in order to expel the Oqubo from the province. Russia had established a small post in Itō in 1744 exclusively for shipbuilding purposes. After the Oqubo samurai were expelled from Idzu, Admiral Ermilov did not leave the peninsula when the Xogun ordered him to. The Sacai clan were in debt to Russian merchants and had refused to pay them back instantaneously.
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In 1835, the Sacai military captured Hacodate and executed the Tocugawa Governor of Oxima, reinstating the semi-autonomous Maçumae government on the peninsula. The Sacai army established themselves as far north as [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sorachi_Subprefecture Soratxi] by 1837 when Russian troops declared their support for an independent Ainu state, pushing the Japanese back down to the Oxima peninsula. Diplomatic ties were cut with Russia soon after, and a brief crisis ensued until 1844 when tensions subsided. The [[Russia#The Russian Succession Crisis & modernization period|Russian Succession Crisis]] in 1868 marked a turning point in Russian foreign policy. Two years later, the Russians annexed the Ainu state as a semi-autonomous entity.
▲==== Rise of political opposition ====
== Sempei Restoration: 1895–1951 ==
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