Japanese history

Japanese history

Sakoku

In simple terms, Sakoku refers to a closed country (Jansen, 79). It was a policy initiated by the Tokugawa Shogunate, also known as Edo Bakufu (A Japanese military government), limiting Japan from external contact. This started between 1633 and 1639 and was in effect until 1854 when America forced the opening of Japan to American and hence western trade through a series of treaties. Under the Sakoku policy, Christianity was banned, and nearly all diplomatic and trade relations with other nations were prohibited under this policy. That is, most foreign countries were not allowed into Japan for any purpose.

Yamaga Soko

He was a Japanese military strategist and philosopher. Yamaga Soko was born on September 21, 1622, and died on October 23, 1685. He played a crucial role in defining the role and missions of the Samurai or the Shido during the Tokugawa Shogunate. In particular, he described the code of conduct for the Samurai, also known as Bushido (code of warriors). He also encouraged the use of both martial and profound intellectual training by the Samurai. Under this code, he defined the identity and values that became the standard of Samurai. This includes; martial spirit, weaponry skills, loyalty to one’s lord, a sense of personal honor, devotion to duty, and a willingness to sacrifice one’s own life.

Toyotomi Hideyoshi

He was a prominent warrior, and military commander, remembered as a unifier during the Sengoku period when he was a politician. Hideyoshi was born on March 17, 1537, and died on September 18, 1598. Hideyoshi is also remembered for the restriction of weapon possession among the Samurai. He was also a feudal lord and the chief imperial minister between 1585 and 1598. During this period, Hideyoshi was able to complete the 16^th-century unification of Japan begun by Oda Nobunaga. He achieved this through successful invasions, the building of fortifications, and the destruction of castles that could be used by the enemies.

Kokudaka

It was a system used during the Edo-period Japan (1600-1868) to determine the land value for taxation purposes. The value was then expressed in terms of koku of rice, where a koku represented the amount of rice consumed by a single person in one year (Jansen, 38). This system was used between 1582 and 1596 until the Land Tax Reform was implemented between 1873 and 1881. The revenue collected from every region was different because taxation was based on the estimated economic yield of the land in question. For other farm products apart from rice, their value was converted to the equivalent value in terms of rice.

Gonin-gumi

This was a group of five households that were held collectively responsible for the lawful and orderly behavior of the entire group (Jansen, 155). The Gonin-gumi was started in 1725 as an integral part of the Japanese policy meant to reinforce organized family villages. The Gonin-gumi members were also required to watch over one another, and to also watch over each other’s tenants and employees. The main aim of this policy was to prevent social crimes and issues such as robbery and homelessness. Each Gonin-gumi had a leader who was selected from amongst the member and sometimes elected from above.

Malthusian trap

It is also referred to as a population trap, which is the state in which excess population would stop growing due to a shortage of food supply, which would then lead to starvation. An excellent example of the Malthusian trap occurred in Japan between 1720 and 1850s. In 1752 and 1853, the population in Japan had remained at a constant level of twenty-six million and twenty-seven million, respectively. This figure increased when there was good agricultural produce and fell when the farm produce was low. However, to control the population further, the Tokugawa used strategies such as contraception, abortion, infanticide, and prostitution.

Shimabara

It is a Japanese city located along Kyushu island. It is commonly referred to as a castle town and was the capital of the Shimabara domain during the Edo period Japan. It was conducive to foreign trade and missionary activities. However, it suffered from poor governance and the persecution of Christians (Jansen, 77). The government increased taxes to fund the construction of the Shimabara castle. Christianity was banned, and those who refused to abandon it were persecuted. The modern-day Shimabara was founded in 1941 by merging its older version with surrounding villages. The city of Shimabara has a history of massive volcanic eruptions that have led to the death of many people.

Yoshiwara

It was a famous red-light district in Edo, presently referred to as Tokyo, Japan. This city was famous for widespread male and female prostitution. To control prostitution, the practice was restricted to designated districts. In Edo, prostitution was limited to the Yoshiwara district in 1617 (Jansen, 180). Girls, as young as seven years, in this district, were given to the brothels by their parents under a binding contract. They would then be trained on prostitution and on how to attract high-rank clients until they were old enough to become courtesans. The only way for them to break free was by having a rich man buy their contracts from the brothels and keep them as wives or concubines.

Sankin Kotai

Also known as the “alternate attendance” policy was a policy of the Tokugawa Shogunate during the Edo period Japan (Jansen, 56). The policy was meant to strengthen the central control of the feudal lords. It required these lords to alternate their living between their domain and Edo, the capital, after every one year. Their wives and children were expected to remain in Edo as hostages to ensure the loyalty of the feudal lords. The practice was made compulsory in 1635 for some of the Lords who were considered to be outsiders and 1642 for the other lords.

Fumie

It was a flat image of the Christian symbol of Jesus or Mary, which suspected Christians in Japan were required to step on as a sign of renouncing or forsaking their Christian faith (Jansen, 81). The use of fumie started in 1629 during the Christian persecution in Nagasaki. The suspected Christians who refused to trample over the fumie were declared as practicing Catholics or Christians. These were sent to Nagasaki for persecution. The use of fumie was abandoned in 1858 when ports were officially opened to foreigners. However, some continued to use them until the Christian teachings were brought under protection during the Meiji period (1868-1912).

Tani Tannai

He was a low-ranking samurai who illustrated the financial and economic suffering experienced by the people of his class. Although the low-class Samurais’ earned a low income, their superiors would loan money from them and not pay it back. Their superiors argued that since the interests on the loans had accumulated, it was impossible to repay the loans. Hence these samurais had to forfeit their earnings to their superiors without hope of future repayment. As a result, these Samurais’ could not adequately take care of their families. Further, they were forced to forfeit their dignified class above the merchants and peasants for them to earn a living for their families.

Sodai

They were Danka temple representatives, who also functioned as assistants to the chief priests during the Tokugawa regime. They also played an active role in managing temple finances and choosing the chief priests. The functioning of Sodai was protected under the law during the Meiji period until 1951 when they lost their legal standing. In 1927, there was a religion bill requiring their roles to be written in temple bylaws requiring a unanimous sodai vote before temple resources were used. When they lost their legal standing, the Sodai remained as just advisory teams for the head priest. Also, being a sodai became a pre-requisite for being a member of the temple’s BOD.

Oiran

In basic terms, oiran refers to a highly ranked prostitute, due to her wealthy and high-class clients. These women were trained as entertainers in traditional art, and they had the power to select who their clients would be. Some of the traditional art they had to learn to include the Japanese tea ceremony, flower arrangement, calligraphy, and playing traditional musical instruments. Since their audience was mainly the high-class people in Japanese society, their clients would also come from the same class. Their culture rose during the Edo period in Japan (1600-1868). Since their clients were mainly high class, the oiran had to be well educated in such a way that they could converse with learned clients.

Teramachi

It is a historical street in Kyoto, Japan. It is famously known as the temple district because of Hideyoshi had many of the temples favored by people relocated to Teramachi. This happened in 1583 when Hideyoshi made Kyoto his capital city. One of the famous temples in Teramachi is the Honno-ji, which is closely associated with Nobunaga, Hideyoshi’s predecessor. Teramachi is also home to restaurants that trace their origin to the Edo-period japan. Unfortunately, in 1868, the capital was moved to Tokyo, and the Meijo government was against Buddhism. As a result, some of the temples in Teramachi lost their prestige and value.

Buke Shohatto

It is commonly known as the Laws for the Military houses, which was a decree issued by Japan’s Tokugawa shogunate to govern the duties of the feudal lords and samurai warrior aristocracy (Jansen, 56). However, this decree was not just about rules that had to be obeyed but rather a code of conduct to be observed. The order was first read to the feudal lords by a retired military dictator known as Tokugawa Leyasu. This happened at the Fushimi castle in 1615. Some of the issues addressed in the Buke Shohatto included marriage, entertainment, and social interactions.