Edo period

, also called the **Tokugawa period** (徳川時代 _Tokugawa-jidai_), is the time between 1600 and 1868 in the history of Japan.  During this long time Japanese society was ruled by the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional feudal lords.

These years come after the Azuchi-Momoyama period, and before the Meiji Restoration and the development of modern Japan.

The Tokugawa shogunate was established at Edo in 1603 by the shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu. The period was marked by the influence of neo-Confucianism and Shinto. The 15th and last shogun was Tokugawa Yoshinobu.

The period ended with the Meiji Restoration, which was the restoration of imperial rule. The Edo period is also known as the beginning of the early modern period of Japan.

## Timeline

In 1600, the Battle of Sekigahara establishes a context for the next two centuries. Tokugawa Ieyasu defeats a coalition of daimyo and establishes hegemony over most of Japan.
- **1603** (_ Keichō 8_): The emperor appoints Ieyasu as shogun.
- **1605** (_ Keichō 10_): Ieyasu resigns as shogun and is succeeded by his son Tokugawa Hidetada.
- **1607** (_ Keichō 12_): Korean Joseon Dynasty sends an embassy to Tokugawa shogunate.
- **1611** (_ Keichō 16_): Ryūkyū Islands become a vassal state of Satsuma domain.
- **1613** (_ Keichō 16_):  to Americas and Europe.
- **1614** (_ Keichō 17_): Shogunate bans Christianity from Japan.
- **1615**  (_ Keichō 18_):  Battle of Osaka; Ieyasu destroys Osaka Castle and the Toyotomi clan.
- **June 1, 1616** (_Genna 2, 17th day of the 4th month_): Ieyasu died at Suruga Castle.
- **1623** (_Genna 9_): Tokugawa Iemitsu becomes the third shogun.
- **1633** (_Kan'ei 12_) Shogunate forbids travelling abroad and reading foreign books.
- **1635** (_Kan'ei 12_): Shogunate formalizes the system of mandatory alternate residence (sankin kotai) in Edo.
- **1637** (_Kan'ei 14_): Shimabara Rebellion (1637-38) mounted by overtaxed peasants.
- **1638** (_Kan'ei 15_): Shogunate forbids ship building.
- **1639** (_Kan'ei 16_): Edicts establish a policy of National Seclusion (Sakoku).
- **1641** (_Kan'ei 18_): Shogunate bans all foreigners, except Chinese and Dutch, who may only live in Nagasaki.
- **1650** (_Kei'an 3_): With peace, there evolved a new kind of noble, literate warrior according to bushido ("way of the warrior").
- **1657** (_Meireki 3_): T The Great Fire of Meireki destroys most of the city of Edo.
- **1700** (_Genroku 13_): Kabuki and ukiyo-e become popular.
- **December 16, 1707** (_Hōei 4, 23nd day of the 11th month_): Eruption of Mt. Fuji,
- **1774** (_An'ei 3_): _Kaitai shinsho_, the first complete Japanese translation of a Western medical work, is published by Sugita Gempaku and Maeno Ryotaku.
- **1787** (_Tenmei 7_): Matsudaira Sadanobu becomes the shogunate's senior official (_rōjū_).
- **1792** (_Kansei 4_): Russian envoy Adam Laxman arrives at Nemuro in eastern Ezo (now Hokkaidō).
- **1804** (_Kyōwa 4_): Russian envoy Nikolai Rezanov reaches Nagasaki and unsuccessfully seeks the establishment of trade relations with Japan.
- **1837** (_Tenpō 8_): Ōshio Heihachirō  and Ikuta Yorozu lead uprising was known as _Tempo Jiken_
- **1841** (_Tenpō 12_): Tempo Reforms
- **1854** (_Kaei 7_): Commodore Perry forces the Japanese agreement to the Treaty of Kanagawa.  The chief Japanese negotiator was Hayashi Akira.
- **1855** (_Ansei 2_):  Russia and Japan establish diplomatic relations.
- **September 5–6, 1864** (_Genji 1, 5th-6th day of the 8th month_): Bombardment of Shimonoseki by British, French, Dutch and American warships

In 1868, Tokugawa Yoshinobu resigns, the Tokugawa shogunate ends. This marks the end of the Edo period. Emperor Meiji establishes his Imperial capital in Edo, which is renamed Tokyo ("eastern capital").

## Economy Trade Diplomacy

In the Edo period, Japan developed very much economically, and accumulation of the capital became the driving force of the economic development after the Meiji restoration. Because many daimyos stayed at the inn along the highway by daimyo's alternate-year residence in Tokyo, the circulation of the economy became active.

And due to the stable economy, Japanese special culture such as Nou or Kabuki or Ukiyoe had also developed very well. The Shogunate instituted a foreign policy of isolationism. Therefore trade relations carried out by the Shogunate are only  in Nagasaki, and the Netherland in Dejima.

## Related pages

- List of Japanese eras

## Other websites

- Metropolitan Museum of Art, Art of the Edo Period (1615–1868)
- British Museum, Edo period (AD 1600-1868)
- Japan-guide.com, Edo Period (1603 - 1867)