Talk:History of Japan

Late Edo period (1673-1754)

Late Edo period
1673–1754
Monarch(s)	Reigen Tacacawa Comei Nagazono
Leader(s)	Çunaxige Çunajoxi Joximitxi Iehiro Quijohime Iejuqui

The last eighty years of the Edo period was defined by the introduction of civil governance, Dutch and Russian interference in Japanese politics, and the rapid decline of the Tocugawa xogunate leading to the 1754 crisis.

Xogunal politics

The xogunal politics of the Late Edo period can be characterized as struggle between two main political factions; the Traditionalists and the Radicals. This competition was also accompanied by the decline of the xogun's authority, with senior fudai families and collateral Tocugawa branches exerting their power over the national government.

Çunaxige, under the unwavering influence of senior fudai (notably the Sacai family), and Çunajoxi (independently) would rule in the traditional authoritarian Confucian sense.

Xogun		Branch	Policies
			Method	Ideology	Economics	Class
Çunaxige	1663-1687	Hidetada	Authoritarianism	Neo-Confucianism	Interventionism	Classism
Çunajoxi	1687-1717	Hidetada
Joximitxi	1717-1728	Owari	Coercion & consent
Iehiro	1728-1741	Hidetada	Authoritarianism		Interventionism	Classism
Quijohime	1741-1745	Owari	'Benevolent ruler'	Reformis	Laissez-faire
Iejuqui	1745-1754	Qui	Coercion & consent	Neo-Confucianism	Interventionism

Foreign interventions

During the early 18th century, the Dutch East India Company began involving themselves in the domestic affairs of Japan and neighboring Corea. The Dutch established a factory in the coastal city of Poesjan in 1710 and formed political and economic bonds with several southern Japanese lords. This rise in direct interference was termed the poussée-hollandais by the French - translated as the 'Dutch Rush'.

In response to the establishment of Dutch Poesjan, explorers employed by Russia launched an expedition in 1739, establishing a basic commercial relationship with northern Japanese domains. A school of Japanese studies was founded in Irkutsk and was staffed by descendants of Japanese fishermen.

Taquexima Dispute
Location Sanin region, Japan Oelloeng-to, Corea Result Confiscation of Tottori Estate Rise in Dutch power in East Asia
Belligerents
Corean fishermen Dutch East India Company	Tottori Estate Japanese fishermen	Tocugawa government Çuxima Estate
Commanders and leaders
Petrus Hoekstra	Iqueda Joxinobu	Hoxu Amenomori

Taquexima dispute

The islands of Taquexima and Maçuxima, both uninhabited since 1438, became a major focus of Corea-Japan relations in the late 17th century. Japanese from Oqui entered into a serious dispute with Corean fishermen in the 1690s, when they abducted two Coreans and brought them to Japan to protest their fishing rights. Petrus Hoekstra, a VOC employee in Poesjan, reported the diplomatic dispute to officials in Desjima in 1694 and advocated Dutch intervention.

After several aristocrats and sailors under the Lord of Tottori ignored a Tocugawa ban on fishing near Taquexima, Hoekstra wrote to a Poesan magistrate, saying that “...the audacious Japanese attitude is an insult to the nation… the Wa-djin must be disciplined…”. When negotiations resumed in 1696 through the Lord of Çuxima, an Dutch ship accompanying the Corean delegation intentionally veered off course, heading towards the Maçuxima and Oqui isles.  

The Dutch ship, manned by Petrus Hoekstra, fired upon Japanese sailors as they headed towards Taquexima (Oelloeng-to) and threatened to personally report the Tottori estate for disobedience against the Xogun. A Japanese sailor from Oqui was captured and brought back to Corea, where he later was coerced to testify to the corruption in the Tottori domain. As a result, the Tottori domain was confiscated by the central government and reassigned to the Lord of Ocajama.

The Russians in the northwest

In the economically declining Dewa province, the Jonezawa and Xonai domains, ruled by the Uesugi and Sacai respectively, competed for a head start in Russian trade relations. Both contested the key port of Sacata. The Lord of Jonezawa won militarily, but failed to establish relations with the Russians due to infighting and corruption within the Uesugi family. Mori Toxima, a guard employed by the Uesugi family, defected to the Sacai family. The Lord of Xonai’s relative, the Lord of Obama, offered to lend him the port of Maizuru, which was granted to the Sacai in 1666. 1755 marked the year in which Russian merchants began routinely trading in Maizuru, threatening Dutch monopolies. The Russo-Japanese Trading Company (RYT) was formed in 1756. The Lord of Xonai also ruled over the trading post of Texio in northwestern Ezo, which became an important port of call for Russian traders.

Çunajoxi's tenure

In 1687, the son of the third xogun Iemiçu, Çunajoxi, was installed as xogun. He succeeded his politically weak brother, Çunaxige, who had been controlled by strongman tairo Sacai Tadaquijo since his ascension in 1663. He was a staunch neo-Confucian, believing in meritocracy, authoritarianism, and the relentless centralisation of Japan. He was known to European observers as the 'Louis XIV of Japan', owing to his extreme policies in defiance of the wishes of the court.

He also was the first to use the office of Grand Chamberlain (sobajonin) in order to bypass the Council of Elders (rodju). This antagonized the rodju, who subsequentially lost much of their authority they gained during the tenure of the fourth xogun Ieçuna. Çunajoxi ended his thirty-year reign in 1717 when he passed away at the age of 71. His adopted son and heir presumptive, Tocugawa Çunetomo, was ignored by numerous lords in favor of Tocugawa Joximitxi of the Owari branch.

Policies

The xogun was opposed to the Canbun Reforms of the previous century and took measures in order to reverse many of the changes made during that period. Several other ordinances were also enacted in line with Çunajoxi's neo-Confucian ideology.

• The 1663 Edict prioritizing the continuation of the main Tocugawa-Hidetada line over the maintenance of absolute authority was repealed, enabling xoguns to exert their authority in both the public and private realms of Japanese society.
• While never formally being patronized by the state, the Hajashi school of neo-Confucianism continued to be sponsored. In turn, it led to a decline in Christian and Buddhist influence in the government that was facilitated in the 1660s.
• Several sumptuary edicts were passed in order to regulate consumption and enforce social hierarchies. Çunajoxi was concerned that the social hierarchy established in the 17th century was collapsing and was intent on reinforcing class divides, especially with maintaining a distinct samurai identity.
• The Laws for the Examination of Sects were enforced, strengthening military control over population by providing the government with a register of persons.

Cioho Reforms

Xogun Tocugawa Çunajoxi introduced a series of reforms and policies (1716-1728) in order to restore the financial well-being of the state, control the market economy, and assert the moral authority of the samurai class. He aimed to 'return to Iejasu's legacy' through moral injunctions and institutional interventions. Çunajoxi largely rejected controlling activities of merchants through existing institutions and insisted upon an authoritarian policy with heavy state intervention.

Upon Çunajoxi's death the following year, his successor Joximitxi vowed to carry on the program. Xogun Joximitxi, the great-nephew of Çunajoxi through his sister Txijohime, became xogun in 1717 despite his female-line descent. While maintaining much of his predecessor's ideology, Joximitxi aimed to mix coercion and consent to control the townspeople, questioning previous punitive policies. However, his moderate approach is considered a failure due to several factors including polarization of social classes, the negative reputation of the liberal Canbun Reforms, indiscriminately harsh implementation, and heightened anxiety surrounding Russia and the Netherlands.

Coercion and consent

Joximitxi aimed to control the commercial economy while granting freedoms and autonomy to the townspeople, such as giving them an opportunity to state their opinions publicly with petition boxes. However, due to the absence of new land surveys and failure of commercial registration to bring the economy under institutional control, Joximitxi implemented a vastly unpopular annual taxation system (djixi). This led to civil unrest and a sharper divide between the samurai class and elite townspeople (who had acted as indirect economic auxiliaries of the state), leading to economic disarray and a rise in unsupervised commerce.

Debt and debasements

Several domains were in debt since the mid-17th century. Lords took loans from merchants and businessmen and often couldn’t pay them back, leading to several lawsuits against samurai families. In 1720, the state passed the Mutual Settlement Ordinance which relieved the samurai of their debts owed to Japanese merchants. However, it did not cover loans (often obtained illegally) taken from foreign merchants - most notably Dutchmen, Chinese, and a few Coreans. Lords and retainers had to cut costs and increase taxes to secretly pay back these debts, not drawing the attention of the Xogun. This increased the dissatisfaction of the peasantry and stalled important infrastructure projects.

Joximitxi also pursued currency debasements like his predecessors Çunajoxi and Çunaxige in order to offset expenditures and to finance resultant budget deficits. This expansion of the money supply was designed to counterbalance the loss of coins that flowed out of Nagasaqui, Maizuru, Cagoxima, and other export terminals. These debasements triggered inflation, a shortage of silver, and anxiety about Japan's economic future, leading to an economic crisis.

Samurai identity crisis

Traditionally, samurai were subject to a number of restrictions which came into question during the Late Edo period and the rise of commerce.

• Social mobility was severely restricted due to geneaology and geography,
• Expected to be morally superior public examples,
• Banned from engaging directly with commerce,
• Caught between identifiying in the local traditions of his domain or belonging to the larger political system centered on the central government.

Jamamoto Çunetomo (1659-1721) of the Nabexima estates in Quiuxu viewed himself as a 'private samurai', identifiying with his domain and shunning the traditional roles of the Edo samurai. This contrasted with the idealistic 'public samurai' of Çunajoxi and Joximitxi's policies. Frustration surrounding this identity crisis would contribute to many senior families becoming disillusioned with the Tocugawa regime in the mid-18th century.

Bunca era (1729-1741)

The grandson of the fifth xogun Çunaxige, Iehiro, replaced Joximitxi in 1728. While he mirrored many of Çunajoxi's policies, he was a weak administrator greatly influenced by strongmen within his government. His reign has marked by several instances of revolt and political malfeasance - for example, in 1735, a major 80,000-farmer uprising was suppressed with soldiers from at least ten different domains.

Attempt to create a civil code

Throughout Tocugawa history, the Buque xohatto - a series of brief articles outlining conduct between the xogun and the daimios - was the most significant legal document. Taking inspiration from the administration of colonial Tauland, Iehiro ordered a committee be formed in order to investigate the formation of a code. This committee, led by Goto Morixima, traveled to New Hague in 1738 in order to explore the concept of a Western legal code.

In 1740, the Public Law Code (民法), a fragmentary compilation of laws, was presented to the xogun. The draft code attempted to explain the authorities of the xogun and the local domains, preserve old customs and traditions, and lay down groundwork for the true centralization of the state inspired by the Confucian Tang Code of China. Its progress was halted the following year with the ascension of xogun Quijohime, who disestablished the committee.

Quijohime's tenure

Quijohime, the half-brother of xogun Joximitxi and Lord of Owari, criticized the conservatism and excessive frugality of xogun Iehiro in his political treatise, the Ontxi seijo.

Collapse of the state

From the Ki branch of the Tocugawa family, xogun Iejuqui's nine-year administration (1745-1754) attempted to maintain the stability of the xogunal government. In 1749, the confiscation of estates (caiequi) policy failed for the first time when two daimio families directly disobeyed orders to vacate their estates.

Maruoca-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.

Meiwa Restoration

A series of disturbances plagued Japan after the diminution of xogunal power in the 1750s and 1760s. A riot broke out on Nacasendo highway due to high taxes, amassing 250,000 peasants. Several fires broke out in Edo and Osaca, while hordes of samurai and merchant guilds vied for supremacy. The Lord of Xinano-Nigita was overthrown and a peasant republic ruled the domain for several months.

Several samurai, lords, & scholars, dissatisfied with the current state of the nation, conspired with the powerful Emperor Momozono to gradually restore de facto imperial rule on the islands. The movement was supported by the proto-nationalist Mito School of Confucianism, the Comagawa martial arts school, and several merchant and peasant associations.

Several domains de jure recognized and revered imperial rule by 1759, yet de facto operated independently. The imperial court only had true power in the Three Cities (Osaca, Miaco, and Edo), which had newly appointed civilian administrations enacting policies in accordance with Mito Confucianism and the benevolent ideology of Tocugawa Muneharu. Imperial rule was nominally recognized until 1803, when the Sacai xogunate murdered the sitting Emperor.

Dutch-Saçuma conflict

A 1771 çunami devastated the Loetsjoe kingdom, an island monarchy subject to China and the Lord of Saçuma simultaneously. Several officials in Dutch Formosa privately encouraged interference and annexation of the Loetsjoe kingdom in order to prevent piracy (as many pirates sought refuge in Oquinawa), control key shipping lanes, and to control the sulfur trade. From 1772, Dutch ships began to obstruct Loetsjoean shipping lanes. During a Dutch embassy to the capital of Sjoeri in 1775, a Dutch official was forcibly installed in Jema County to ‘assist with reconstruction’ after the çunami.

The Dutch launched an invasion in 1779, first taking Jema County and the city of Ishigatsjie. By the end of the year, King Xo Boqu accepted an EIC protectorate. Many senior officials were ousted from their positions and were replaced by Loetsjoean traitors, Coreans, and Dutchmen. The sulfur-producing island of Torixima was annexed directly by Formosa. In 1783, the native Criminal Code was reformed and replaced with a legal system fusing Loetsjoean, Chinese, and Dutch law.

In response, the Saçuma domain launched expeditions against the Formosans over the next few decades, all of which failed to bring Loetsjoe back under their rule. The Saçuma had previously relied on the sugar industry in the Amami islands, trade route profits, and other forms of maritime business. By the end of the century, their annual revenue was 400,000 cocu - a 45% decrease from 1750. As a consequence, the Lords increased revenue by sponsoring Confucian institutes in Cagoxima and establishing tea and sweet potato plantations. A large number of samurai and peasants also illegally emigrated overseas and were employed by the Dutch East India Company.

In 1807, the Ximazu family of Saçuma would be assigned the Cumamoto lordship, which had previously belonged to the Hosocawa clan. Consequentially, the Ximazu now reigned over approximately half of Quiuxu. With their revenue totalling over 1,000,000 cocu, they became one of the most powerful domains in the new xogunate.

Lake Kusuri Ainu revolt

Ainu began fleeing south to Kunashir and the Apasiri area in 1770, when Russia began taking over fishing grounds in the northern Kurils. The sudden influx of Russian traders and the northern Ainu to Ezo created tensions on the island. The Maçumae clan, responsible for most of Ezo, alerted the officials in Edo of a possible Russian naval invasion. The economic and social strain put on the Ainu culminated in a revolt in 1773, starting in the lakeside village of Tescaca and fueled by 3,000 Ainu soldiers. Russian mercenaries were hired by Ainu chieftains, bringing with them European military techniques.

Eventually in 1775, the Tocugawa central administration decided to directly rule Ezo in place of indirect rule via the Maçumae clan. Thousands of Japanese soldiers contained the rebellion and the Russian mercenaries to the rural north of Ezo, massacring or expelling Ainu populations in the south. As the Maçumae lost their power, they started to look for allies elsewhere. They became friendly towards the Russians and their various Japanese allies - such as the rising Sacai clan.

Cansei Reunification

Sacai Tadamitxi, Lord of Obama and prominent member of the Sacai clan, rose to prominence as the Tairō in the imperial court in 1779. After the disaster that followed the Tenmei famine, several clans allied with the Sacai in order to reunify Japan. The Maçumae, Mito, Date, Sajama, Ximazu and Maçura - were the earliest to form an alliance with the Sacai by 1785, and would eventually become the new state’s fudai. Notably, Russian merchants and most Japanese Christian lords supported this coalition.

The Dutch, on the other hand, opposed the reunification of Japan and took measures to provide for their allies in Japan, such as the Uesugi, Maçudaira, most crucially the uber-wealthy Hosocawa clan. Hosocawa Toxiçune, of the Cumamoto lordship, became the archrival of Sacai Tadamitxi and claimed the position of Xogun for himself, based on the Hosocawa’s direct descent from Emperor Seiwa.

In 1795, the Netherlands was invaded by France in the Augustine Wars and subsequently lost their ability to project power in eastern Asia. Subsequently, the Sacai coalition hired Russian mercenaries, Yellow Sea pirates, and hordes of discontented rōnin to push for the unification of Japan under their rule. Several notable battles include the Battle of Tacaxima, the Second Siege of Nara, the Battle of Aracawa River, and the collective Battles of Hixu.

Eventually in 1808, the Sacai had established their influence over most of Japan. However, the Tocugawa clan still maintained power in Oxima after expelling the Maçumae clan from their historic territories. Northern Ezo was ruled by Ainu chiefs with small enclaves ruled by Japanese lords. Several fiefs in central and western Japan also held out, protecting their own territories as well as Desjima.

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.

Cumohama period (1809-1895)

The era’s name (meaning ‘cloud beach’) was taken from the coastal 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 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 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.

A few months later, the Imperial Russian Navy seized the ports of Maizuru and Texio as well, which they had been trading at since 1755. Naval battles broke out between the Japanese and Russian fleets, with the Japanese fleet eventually succumbing to Russian demands in 1815 with the Treaty of Sunpu. In 1824, the Russians officially stated their claim on the Sakhalin and Kuril Islands. In 1825, Japan established diplomatic relations with France.

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 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 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.

Imperial period (1895-1936)

Sacura Revolution
Location Japan
Belligerents
Imperial Court	Sacai xogunate

National reforms

A new Constitution

The Quigai Constitution (己亥憲法, quigai quenpō) was adopted by the Japanese government in 1899. It established the Japanese States-General, consolidated the existence of a judiciary, and defined the role and powers of the Emperor and the Chancellor. While recognized as a democratizing force in Japanese history, the Constitution granted the Emperor (and the imperial family at large) significant executive authority, particularly over the judicial branch and the military.

Foreign relations

Conflict over the Loestjoes

In 1895, Tauland formally abolished the Loetsjoean monarchy, ending over a century of autonomy. The Satsuma lords maintained claims on Loetsjoe since Tauland's seizure of the islands in the late 18th century - claims which were carried into the new Japanese government. New Hague began enacting assimilation policies the same year, mandating the use of Dutch in schools, encouraging Tau emigration to the cities of Isjigaci and Nafa, and enabled large corporations to operate on the islands.

This provoked a negative response from the Japanese public and the state, with Empress Sakuramachi issuing a statement on the matter in 1898; "...the Tau, are actively stripping away the ancient culture of Loetsjoe. I implore New Hague to cease their incessant interference with the people of the King of Tsjoozan...". The year after, the Loestjoe Standoff would occur, when both nations would utilize their navies in order to intimidate the other. It was soon followed by a quick diplomatic agreement in favour of Japanese fishermen.

On the tenth anniversary of the abolition of the kingdom, Japan officially renewed its claims to the Loetsjoe archipelago in 1905, sparking a diplomatic crisis with Tauland. While no significant violence occured after 1900, Japan would insist upon its claims periodically, citing historical reasons and concern for the indigenous culture of the area.