Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543-1616) was a retainer shōgun, who had strict control/ intimidating tactics and gained power during a time of political instability in Japan, by being chosen as one of the five to balance out the lack of a new emperor (since the son next in line was too young) and as he had tried to restore unity and order in Japan. For example on how achieved intimidating authority and control was the succession of The Battle of Sekigahara, where trained musketeers used firearms in a strategic lined formation one after the other. After this win, he banned and hid away these weapons, in order for there to be no way they can be used against him. Terrified and paranoid of assassination and loosing his power, Tokugawa retreated and hid away, essentially, to the tower of Edo Castle that he created, making it impenetrable. His design incorporated very few entry points and various waterways surrounding the inner areas; the country was made up of a network of strictly confined and lightly populated provinces (Mikawa, Tōtōmi, Suruga, Shinano, and Kai), managed and controlled by lords and samurai. This was his idea of controlling people and preventing attacks and rebels (making sure they cannot organize against him), while also restricting when and where people can go, which made it difficult to gather resources to fight back. There was also no marriages or relations with other provinces, thwarting any possibly of alliances nor time to even think about rebelling; every six months everyone in the provinces were forced to spend half of their year performing service at the palace. Each province travelled to the castle, in order to handle their affairs, in a specific way, according to their status; the wife/children stayed at Edo castle and went their separate ways from the rest of their family, having to live apart and wait for service to end. The journey to the castle consisted of various parades of samurai and people traveling back and forth ( but no matter what, there was always someone at Edo to make sure everyone was behaving and doing their tasks) and if someone tried to rebel, they would be killed, along with the wife and children waiting in the castle. Created a road and bridges network of five. Tokugawa’s rule was characterized by extreme strict control and a strong desire to maintain his power. He was worried and paranoid about assassination and rebellion, which led him to take extreme measures to prevent anyone from challenging him. While his tactics were effective in maintaining stability, they also restricted people’s freedom and prevented the development of more democratic forms of government, which had many negative effects on Japan. Although it prevented civil war and rebellion, his tactics were highly restrictive and controlling, limiting freedom and opportunities for a sense of control and meaning in people’s lives (and pursuing their own goals and career paths). This led to a lack of cultural and economic growth; the lack of social mobility and limited opportunities for people in the lower classes prompted Japan to have a slow lack of progress and contributing to the global economy, compared to other nations. The fear the Japanese felt toward Christianity is reflected in the renunciation of the Christian faith reproduced in Document 16.
Regarding incoming foreigners, who have dangerous weapons and christian faith overwhelmed Tokugawa and he forced to get rid of any sense of these things. Christians used to be okay because it was new to them, but now things became gruesome, as they were thrown in pits of fire and their ashes were scattered in the sea. Christians became very disliked and this led to murder and the sea even needed to be purified. Not all foreigners were banned (mostly christian’s); the Dutch stayed because they disliked the british and christian’s, and said they were interested in making money. One head man was appointed to be held accountable for the Dutch as a whole. They reported to the shogun in Edo once a year and everyone else has to stay on the island. During this time, no japanese were allowed off of islands to travel until the 1850’s, although things were still imported: phrase books to learn dutch, anatomy, medicine, and astronomy . The decision to close the country was set in place in order to gain stability and peace that Tokugawa sought. The prohibition of Japanese ships to trade overseas in Document 13 eliminated competition against the Dutch trade. The policy of seclusion1 (closed country) from 1633 to 1853 was mainly driven by the fear of Christianity and the desire to monopolize all the benefits from foreign trade (which the Dutch then took advantage of this by monopolizing trade).
Xavier and the Western Princes on Horseback [an example of how westerners were depicted by the Japanese] — I also touched upon this in my show and tell 4
Policy of Seclusion, or ‘sakoku’ is the Japanese term for closed country. The Japanese policy consisted of a series of directives implemented over several years during the Edo Period, or ‘Tokugawa period’ during 1603–1867, that enforced self-isolation from foreign powers in the early 17th century. Munez, Everett. “sakoku”. Encyclopedia Britannica, 18 Apr. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/topic/sakoku. Accessed 23 April 2023.
“Control of Vassals.” In David John Lu. Japan: A Documentary History, 203-208. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, 1997.
“Closing the Country.” In David John Lu. Japan: A Documentary History, 220-228. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, 1997.
“Japan Emerging: Premodern History to 1850.”, edited by Karl F. Friday. New York, NY: Routledge, 2018.
