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EDO JIDAI
江戸時代
Edo Period
In the late 1500s, Edo was a remote, sparely populated fishing village in eastern Japan. Edo rose to prominence as Japan’s de facto capital under the Tokugawa shoguns. The reign of the Tokugawa shoguns (1603-1867) is usually called the Edo Period, and this time marks a distinct phase in Japanese political and cultural life. Although the Tokugawa shoguns have passed into history, Edo is still the center of power in Japan. Edo is now the modern metropolis of Tokyo.
Tokugawa Ieyasu Selects Edo as his Capital
Edo’s ascent from obscurity began when the warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi gave one of his subordinates, Tokugawa Ieyasu, control of the eight provinces of the Kanto plain. Hideyoshi was the most powerful warlord in Japan, and Ieyasu was one of his most trusted vassals.
Ieyasu’s first task was the selection of a capital in the Kanto region. Edo was by no means the only choice, nor even the obvious one. Ieyasu had a range of options, including the already fortified town of Odawara, and the bustling city of Kamakura.
Despite its small size, though, Edo had a number of distinct advantages. The village lay at the intersection of several major highways, which would be an advantage not only for trade, but also for mobilizing troops in the event of an attack. Edo also fronted a large, calm bay that was perfect for shipping facilities.
After deciding to locate his capital in Edo, Ieyasu began some major construction projects. The area was prone to flooding, so he had to build a series of canals. He also had to redirect several rivers. There was a castle in Edo, but it was in a miserable state of disrepair. Ieyasu began reconstructing and fortifying the structure.
After the death of Ieyasu’s superior, Hideyoshi, in 1598, there was a struggle for power among his former subordinates. Ieyasu emerged victorious from this struggle, as was named shogun (military ruler of Japan) in 1603. As the home of the emperor, Kyoto was still the official capital of Japan. But Edo soon became the real seat of the country’s political power. This attracted commerce and population. By 1750, Edo had a population of 1.5 million people, making it by far the largest city in Japan.
On its way to becoming present-day Tokyo, Edo suffered a number of serious setbacks. The city was destroyed by fire in 1657 and subsequently rebuilt. Other major fires destroyed much of the city in 1772 and 1806. In the twentieth century, Tokyo was destroyed once by an earthquake, and once by firebombing late in the Second World War.
The Edo Jidai in Perspective
The Edo Period is most remembered for two developments: the unification of Japan, and the country’s period of willful isolation. Both of these were important factors in the creation of modern Japan.
From the early 1500s through the early 1600s, Japan was in a state of almost constant civil war, as rival warlords, or daimyos, battled for control of the nation. Tokugawa Ieyasu scored a decisive victory over his opponents in 1600, thereby ending the worst of the fighting. But organized resistance to his power still existed even as he was being named shogun in 1603. Ieyasu did not completely subdue the country until 1615.
In the 1500s, Portuguese and Spanish missionaries had widely proselytized in Japan, and won many converts to Christianity. European traders also established bases in the country. Shortly after the establishment of Tokugawa rule, however, Europeans were banned from Japanese soil, and Christianity was outlawed. Japan remained closed off from most Western influences until 1853.