Tokugawa shogunate was a military government in Japan from 1603 to 1867. In 1603, the Japanese Emperor Go-Yozei gave the leader Tokugawa Ieyasu << `toh` koo GAH wah ee yeh YAH soo >> (1542-1616) the title of shogun (military ruler). The government of Ieyasu and his descendants became known as the Tokugawa shogunate or bakufu (warrior government). The shogunate ruled from headquarters in Edo (now Tokyo), Japan. The period of its rule is known as the Edo period of Japanese history.
The Tokugawa shogunate was the most powerful bakufu to rule Japan. It controlled the country’s largest army and about one-fourth of its productive land. The Tokugawa bakufu considered Roman Catholic missionaries from Europe to be a threat to Japanese culture. In response, the bakufu enforced a system of national isolation known as sakoku. It banned Christianity in 1613 and began persecuting Christians shortly after. Ieyasu’s edicts (public orders) helped to create a nationwide system of laws and morality. Isolation from foreign influence contributed to a long and stable reign. Ieyasu’s descendants ruled for some 250 years after his death.
The Tokugawa shogunate presided over a rise in agricultural productivity, literacy, trade, and urban life. Ieyasu nationalized (put under state control) chief cities such as Kyoto, Nagasaki, and Osaka. Daimyo (military lords) were required to spend half their time at the Tokugawa court in Edo. Their families were also kept in Edo, helping to discourage opposition to the shogun. Buddhism was the state religion, and the shogunate ordered citizens to create altars in the home and become members of local temples. The Tokugawa rulers particularly favored Zen Buddhism. Buddhist priests became highly regarded in society, below the samurai (members of a hereditary warrior class) but above peasants.
In 1858, the Tokugawa shogunate signed trade treaties with the United States and, shortly after, with France, the Netherlands, Russia, and the United Kingdom. The agreements angered many Japanese people, who believed the treaties granted too much authority over the country to foreign powers. Their anger helped lead to a rebellion called the Meiji Restoration, which returned the emperor to power as the head of government.
In 1867, the shogun resigned and returned his powers to the emperor. In practice, however, the small group of samurai and aristocrats who engineered the rebellion actually controlled the government. The Meiji Restoration marked the end of the Edo period and of feudal life in Japan. The isolation of sakoku ended, and Japan modernized its society, industry, and military.
