History of Japan: Revised Edition by Mason Richard & Caiger J. G

Author:Mason, Richard & Caiger, J. G. [Mason, Richard]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
ISBN: 9781462900978
Publisher: Tuttle Publishing
Published: 2011-08-30T04:00:00+00:00

The Bakufu, 1651-1841

The first three Tokugawa shoguns had been dominant personalities actively engaged in establishing the basic system of government, and exercising what was virtually a king's power to make and unmake. Their successors were not necessarily cast in a different mold, but they came to office when the system was already in being. They had to rule as part of the established bureaucracy, abiding by existing laws and conventions and depending on the advice of serving ministers. This was obviously the case when the reigning shogun happened to be a child, but even adult shoguns after 1651 found their freedom of action restricted in a number of ways. For example, after he moved into his official residence in the grounds of Edo castle, a shogun was not supposed to leave it again except for ceremonial and very costly outings like military reviews and ritual visits to Ieyasu's burial place at Nikkō.

The emperor in his palace at Kyoto, the shogun in his castle at Edo: both were in a sense prisoners of state. The comparison cannot be made too strict because, unlike the emperor, the shogun was virtually irremovable once he had taken office, and his seal was needed on all important laws and government notices. Moreover, several of the later shoguns played an active role in political and cultural life. Nevertheless, despite these residual powers and continuing participation, there was a definite trend away from the "absolute monarchy" of Ieyasu's and Iemitsu's day to a more "constitutional" type of rule, and whether or not individual shoguns were in fact influential appears to have been largely a matter of personal circumstance and choice.

Mid-Tokugawa Period Shoguns

Name

Born

Shogun

Died

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.