The Edo period started in 1603 and it
ended in 1868, so it lasted about 250 years. Edo is the old name of Tokyo. The Tokugawa shoguns ruled Japan
practically during the Edo period. The subsequent Meiji period ended in 1912.
The primary means of
livelihood of people then was agriculture. There were almost no cars, no
telephones and no TVs.
江戸時代は1603年から1868年の約250年間で将軍が日本を支配し、続く明治時代は1868年から1912年の約40年間である。自動車や電話はほとんどなく、テレビもない農耕社会の中で人々は日々を暮らしていた。
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| Edo & Meiji period, Narita Tourist Pavilion 成田観光館 |
Outline of the Japanese history
Talking about the Japanese history, the emperor became a ruler in the 6th century. The dynasty which is called “Yamato” is still continuing. The dynasty often transferred the capital long time ago. In 710, Nara
became the capital, then Kyoto became the capital in 794. Kyoto was the capital
until 1868, that’s why Kyoto is called “The millennial capital”.
天皇が６世紀ごろに支配者となり、710年には奈良に、794年には京都に都を移した。都は1868年まで京都におかれた。京都が「千年の都」と呼ばれる由縁である。
明治時代が始まり、日本は西洋のキャッチアップに努め日露戦争に勝利して大国になったが、1945年に敗戦し焦土と化した。また、1874年から侵略した東アジア、東南アジアの国々の多くの人々を傷つけた。
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| Former imperial palace in Kyoto, 京都御所 |
In the 9th century, nobles started to rule
Japan practically instead of the emperor, then the power moved to samurais in
the 12th century who originally had protected the emperor and nobles. Unhappily the internal
wars occurred in the 15th century, but Ieyasu Tokugawa finally controlled
Japan. He was designated as a shogun or a military head by the emperor
and established the political organization called “shogunate” (military government, Bakufu/幕府) in Edo. It was a
starting point of the Edo period. Almost no internal war occurred in the Edo period.
The peacetime lasted about 250 years.
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Edo castle, the shogun’s residence, 江戸城模型
 
Base of the castle tower in the imperial palace, it is a park
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9世紀に貴族が、12世紀には、武家が日本を支配するようになった。15世紀には、内乱の世となったが、徳川家康が支配権を持ち、1603年に江戸幕府を置いてから、内乱はほとんど無くなった。
It became the era of imperialism;
western countries made colonies also in Asia. The shogunate could not deal with
it well, so daimyos (local lords) complained with the shogunete. They supported the emperor
and defeated the military of the shogun in Kyoto; Edo period ended in 1868.
約260年を経た1868年、徳川幕府は倒れ江戸時代は終わった。
The capital was moved from Kyoto to Edo (Tokyo). At
that time, the emperor was Meiji, so the new era was called Meiji period. The revolution is called “Meiji restoration”
because the power returned to the emperor.
By the way, the Japanese capital had been called “Kyo”. The capital was transferred to the eastern Japan. Eastern is “To” in Japanese, so the new capital has been called “Tokyo (the eastern capital)".
By the way, the Japanese capital had been called “Kyo”. The capital was transferred to the eastern Japan. Eastern is “To” in Japanese, so the new capital has been called “Tokyo (the eastern capital)".
Japan
struggled to catch up with western countries after the Meiji restoration. Japan won the war
with Russia in 1905 and it became one of the great powers. However Japan was
defeated completely at the Second World War in 1945.
At that time, Japan invaded the Eastern Asia and the South Eastern Asia which
hurt a lot of Asian people.
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| Tokyo after WW2, 上野西郷銅像前から Shitamachi Museum 下町風俗資料館 |
After the Second World War,
the sovereignty was transferred from the emperor to the people. New
constitution mandated “The Emperor shall be the symbol of the State and of the
unity of the people, deriving his position from the will of the people with
whom resides sovereign power.” (The Constitution of Japan. Article 1). We
Japanese live under the same constitution now. We selected lawmakers, then they
selected the Prime Minister who rules Japan practically. However the emperor
and the royal family are respected and loved.
主権は天皇から国民に移ったが、天皇は今も国民の敬愛を集めている。今も同じ憲法のもとで政治が行われ、国会議員が選ぶ首相が、日本の実質的なトップになっている。Japanese population
It was about 30 million in the Edo period, but in the end of the Meiji period, the
population increased to 50 million.
In the Edo period, the samurais accounted
for 10%, the farmers accounted for 80%, the merchants and craftsmen accounted
for 10% of Japanese. Many samurais came to Edo, so the population of samurais
accounted 50% of that in Edo.
It is said that about one million people lived in
Edo, about 300,000 people lived in Kyoto and Osaka, about 60,000 people lived
in big cities with castles such as Kanazawa, Nagoya, and about 20,000 people lived
in other castle cities. The castle city was a capital of the daimyo’s (local
lord) territory.
Beyond the colonization era
Tokugawa shogunate limited the diplomacy in order to prevent penetration of Christianity. This isolation policy and the strong Tokugawa shogunate brought the stable and peaceful time to Japan. Meanwhile the western great powers, which accomplished the Industrial
Revolution, controlled Asia, especially the Qing dynasty (China) which was the
strongest and richest country in Asia. The Qing dynasty was defeated by UK in
the Opium War.
On the other hand, Japan did not become a colony, because it was
a poor island nation and far away from Europe.
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| Tokyo today、東京・浅草寺前 |
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| Osaka today, 大阪・新世界 |
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| Kyoto today, 京都・清水寺 |
ところで、日本の人口は、江戸時代は約3000万人で推移したと言われているが、明治時代の終わりには5000万人に増えた。江戸時代では、身分別では、武士1割、農民8割、商工1割でというが、江戸では、地方から来ている業務で武士が多いため、武士と町民が半々であった。江戸が100万、京大阪が30～40万、名古屋などの大きな城下町で６～7万、一般の城下町で２～3万と言われている。ところで、江戸時代は、キリスト教を嫌った徳川幕府が、海外との交流を厳しく制限した。その一方で、国内では戦乱のない日々が続き、庶民は農地を広げ、生活が豊かになり、旅を楽しめるようになった。
西洋では、19世紀初めには産業革命が本格化し、国力を上げた列強がアジアを侵略し支配下に置く。アジア最強国の中国・清が侵略の対象となり、1840年にはアヘン戦争が起こり、アジアの中心であった清王朝はイギリスに敗れた。辺境にあり資源がない日本は、侵略を免れた。
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post town museum of history and folklore 海野宿歴史民俗資料館
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