Tokugawa Japan and Korea
Created by Jeremy, Shay, and Brandon
The Three Great Unifiers
Japan was in chaos by the end of the fifteenth century. A dramatic reversal would soon unify Japan. The unification process began in the sixteenth century with three powerful political figures. The first political figure was Oda Nobunaga, Nobunaga seized the imperial capital of Kyoto and took control of the reigning shogun. The second figure Toyotomi Hideyoshi became a military commander and located his capital at Osaka. In 1590 Hideyoshi persuaded most of the daimyo on the Japanese islands to accept his authority. Tokugawa Leyasu was a powerful daimyo of Edo who took command of Japan. He took the title of shogun in 1603. The rulers of Tokugawa completed the restoration of central authority begun by Hideyoshi and Nobunaga. Until 1868 Tokugawa shoguns remained in power at their capital at Edo. Tokugawa rule brought a long period of peace called the "Great Peace".
Tokugawa Rule
The rulers went to establish control of the feudal system that governed Japan for over three hundred years. like before the state was divided into 250 separate territories known as hans or domains. Each was ruled by a daimyo.
Tokugawa Culture
In the era of the Tokugawa a new set of cultural values began to show up especially in the cities and popular areas.
Literature
Most of the popular literature of this Era was intended to please it's audiences. Most literature was lighthearted whereas poetry remained a serious form of literary expression. The greatest examples of new urban fiction in the seventeenth century are the works of Ihara Saikaku who was considered one of Japan's greatest writers.
Lets learn sorta: Japanese social structure during the tokugawa shogunate.