The Edo Period: A Era of Peace

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Today, whenever Japanese history is mentioned in the media, people think of the romanticized stories of ninjas, Japanese mercenaries who carried out covert operations, and samurai, warriors that were part of the hereditary military caste in feudal Japan, but these versions have been skewed, just as many other historic characters have. History is full of brilliant past adventures and relevance that Hollywood takes at face value. Once people find out that the famous ninja did not actually wear black pajamas and that samurai were not as honorable as portrayed, one may become curious as to what really happened back then. Just what actually transpired in Japanese history, and which period is the most significant? In the opinion of experts on Japan's history, this period would be the Tokugawa, or Edo, Period. What makes this era of peace significant and stand out against the many war-wrecked periods of Japan's history?

The Battle of Sekigahara in 1603 marked the beginning of a new era when a man named Tokugawa Ieyasu defeated many daimyō, land-ruling warlords, and established a new bakufu, military government, in order to rule Japan (Collcutt 134). Ieyasu worked hard to restore Japan and manage foreign trade in order to better the economy. Ironically, the third shogun, or military ruler, of the Edo Period named Tokugawa Iemitsu sealed off Japan from the outside world because of his fear of external ideas (Watts). Iemitsu is responsible for several of the more defining characteristics of the period such as the Seclusion Act and "anti-Christian policies" (Watts). The Seclusion Act was so powerful that it only allowed one port in Nagasaki to trade with the Koreans, Portuguese, and Dutch and went undisturbed for over...

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...paedia Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2014. Web. 27 Feb. 2014. .

Bodart-Bailey, Beatrice. "The Dog Shogun: The Personality and Policies of Tokugawa Tsunayoshi." University of Hawai'i Press. 6 March 2014. .

Collcutt, Martin. Cultural Atlas of Japan. New York: Equinox, 1988.

Hall, John. Japanese History. Maryland: Waverly Press, 1961.

Sansom, George. A History of Japan 1334-1615. California: Stanford University Press, 1961.

Storry, Richard. The Way of the Samurai. New York: Galley Press, 1978.

Watts, Sarah. "Tokugawa Iemitsu, 'Closed Country Edict of 1635" and "Exclusion of the Portuguese, 1639'." The Seclusion of Japan. 6 March 2014. .

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