In the 16th century the term daimyo became limited in its application to territorial lords having lands (han) assessed at…, Eventually, the Tokugawa family managed to ally the majority of the han on its side, establishing the Tokugawa shogunate in 1603. The downfall of the Tokugawa Shogunate in 19th century Japan was brought about by both internal and external factors. The sudden influx of foreign people, ideas, and money severely disrupted Japan's lifestyle and economy in the 1850s and 1860s. As a result, Emperor Komei came out from behind the "jeweled curtain" to issue an "Order to Expel Barbarians" in 1864. From 1633 onward Japanese subjects were forbidden to travel abroad or to return from overseas, and foreign contact was limited to a few Chinese and Dutch merchants still allowed to trade through the southern port of Nagasaki. The production of fine silk and cotton fabrics, manufacture of paper and porcelain, and sake brewing flourished in the cities and towns, as did trading in these commodities. The Tokugawa Shogunate was the shogunate in modern Japanese history, which succeeded in centralizing the power of the nation's government and people during its 265-year rule. Tokugawa period, also called Edo period, (1603–1867), the final period of traditional Japan, a time of internal peace, political stability, and economic growth under the shogunate (military dictatorship) founded by Tokugawa Ieyasu. Confucianism was the promoted religion. …the official doctrine of the Tokugawa shogunate (the hereditary military dictatorship through which the Tokugawa family ruled Japan from 1603 to 1867). Meanwhile, the Sword Hunt ensured that nobody but the samurai had weapons. Since the title of shogun ultimately came…, The Tokugawa shogunate viewed the Manchu as barbarians whose conquest sullied China’s claim to moral superiority in the world order. Tokugawa control extended over more of the archipelago, and was stronger and firmer in its control, than previous shogunates. One of the primary goals of the Tokugawa shogunate was to keep Christianity away from Japan, and the 300,000 Japanese Christians were heavily persecuted. Afterward, Japanese Christians were exiled, executed, or driven underground, and Christianity faded from the country.

Japan: The enforcement of national seclusion. The Tokugawa Shogunate defined modern Japanese history by centralizing the power of the nation's government and uniting its people. The Tokugawa period lasted more than 260 years, from 1603 to 1867.

Faced with a growing threat from the Choshu and Satsuma, Yoshinobu relinquished some of his powers. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login).

Despite…, …Japanese port permitted by the Tokugawa shogunate (military government) between 1639 and 1859 when all other ports were closed.
Social order was officially frozen, and mobility between classes (warriors, farmers, artisans, and merchants) was forbidden. Cognizant that the colonial expansion of Spain and Portugal in Asia had been made possible by the work of Roman Catholic missionaries, the Tokugawa shoguns came to view the missionaries as a threat to their rule.

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Their primary source of income was a fixed stipend tied to agricultural production, which had not kept pace with other sectors of the national economy. Several attempts at fiscal reform were made by the government during the late 18th and 19th centuries, but the financial strain on the warrior class increased as the period progressed. Corrections? Samurais, who were essentially professional warriors, were the primary leaders in this period, but all of them were governed and ultimately controlled by shoguns from the Tokugawan clan. Numerous members of the warrior class, or samurai, took up residence in the capital and other castle towns where many of them became bureaucrats. During this time Tokugawa Ieyasu established a government at Edo (now Tokyo), where Japan’s central government remains today. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox.

The national economy expanded rapidly from the 1680s to the early 1700s. The punitive expedition was a disaster for the Tokugawa. However, it was too late for Japan to retreat once more into isolation. The Tokugawa period is regarded as the final period of Japanese traditional government (the shogunate), preceding the onset of Japanese westernization. After the Tokugawa family had reconstituted Japan’s central government in 1603, the head of the Mōri family became the daimyo, or feudal lord, of Chōshū, the han (fief) that encompassed most of the western Honshu region. Although his participation in the restoration made him a legendary hero, it also, to his mortification, relegated his samurai class to impotence. In 1603, the emperor bestowed upon Ieyasu the title of Shogun. In 1868 discontented daimyo, led by men from the two large anti-Tokugawa fiefs of Satsuma and Chōshū, overthrew the regime and established…. …a chief adviser to the Tokugawa shoguns in the early years of the 18th century. Ironically, both the Choshu rebels and the Tokugawa troops began programs of rapid modernization, adopting many western military technologies.

Then, in the Meiji Restoration, Shimazu warriors, together with warriors loyal to the Mōri family in Chōshū, overthrew the Tokugawa in 1867 and established the new Imperial government. Then, in the Meiji Restoration, Shimazu warriors, together with warriors loyal to the Mōri family in Chōshū, overthrew the Tokugawa in 1867 and established the new … The Shimabara Rebellion, made up mostly of Christian peasants, flared up in 1637, but was stamped out by the shogunate. It was the last of the shogunates. The Edo shogunate was the most powerful central government Japan had yet seen: it controlled the emperor, the daimyo, and the religious establishments, administered Tokugawa lands, and handled Japanese foreign affairs. Measures to expel them from the country culminated in the promulgation of three exclusion decrees in the 1630s, which effected a complete ban on Christianity. All sectors of society were confined to their traditional roles much more strictly than in the past. When agitation against the Tokugawa family began in the mid-19th century, the head of the Yamanouchi family, Yamanouchi Toyoshige (1827–72), tried to negotiate a favourable settlement for the….
She has taught at the high school and university levels in the U.S. and South Korea. When the bakufu,…, In 1866 the Tokugawa mobilized a large force in an attempt to crush Chōshū, but the daimyo of Hiroshima—the domain that was to be the staging area of the invasion—openly defied the shogun and refused to contribute troops. The Tokugawa period is regarded as the final period of Japanese traditional government (the shogunate), preceding the onset of Japanese westernization. The Tokugawa Shogunate defined modern Japanese history by centralizing the power of the nation's government and uniting its people. He would be the fifteenth and last Tokugawa shogun. The Tokugawa imposed a four-tier class structure that included strict rules about small details—such as which classes could use luxurious silks for their clothing.

The powerful southwestern tozama domains of Chōshū and Satsuma exerted the greatest pressure on the Tokugawa government and brought about the overthrow of the last shogun, Hitosubashi Keiki (or Yoshinobu), in 1867.

Although the Tokugawa tolerated the existence of the Mōri in Chōshū,…, Throughout the Tokugawa shogunate (1603–1867), the Yamanouchi, unlike many of the other great lords, remained loyal to the Tokugawa.