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Collpase of Tokugawa

Article · June 2023

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Shabib Md Shadakatul Baree

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Shabib Md. Shadakatul Baree

Introduction: In Feudal Japan, the Shogun was the absolute leader in terms of the military. During
the decline of the Shogunate, specifically Tokugawa Shogunate, the emperor was not the figure
with the most power. Instead, he was just a figure to be worshipped and looked up to while the
Shogun ruled. Eventually, Tokugawa ruled collapsed due to two main reasons:

• External Factors
• Internal Crisis

Internal Crisis:

i. Natural disasters tore Japan apart. More natural disasters were happening and the Bakufu
couldn't handel it well.

ii. The Shogun did not prepare Japan for possible crop losses. Shogun continued to enlarge
the tax rates during this time peasants rioted and fought against the Shogun.

iii. Under the Tokugawa rule, the government was a feudal military dictatorship called bakufu,
with the shogun at the top. The emperor reigned but did not rule, he was only a symbol to
be worshipped Gradually. The rise of Shintoism placed the emperor in a more important
political position and many Japanese wanted to restore the rule of the emperor.

iv. The Dutch learning encouraged the Japanese scholars to criticise the Shogunate for the
shortcomings of the closed door policy. This weakened the government.

v. Ever since the 18th century, most of the shoguns were weak and the bakufu was corrupt.
This resulted in power struggles.
 vi. The luxurious life of the shoguns also led to inflation and widespread discontent as they
were located far from the major urban centres in southwestern Japan.

vii. The growth of money economy led to the rise of the merchant class, but as their social and
political status remained low, they wanted to overthrow the government.

viii. The new economy also lowered the position of the daimyo and samurai because
they became poor and could not solve their financial problems. They therefore wanted to
overthrow the Tokugawa rule as well.

ix. By inviting some of the daimyo to be representatives at the Council of State, the shogun
provided a golden opportunity for them to form a political movement against the Tokugawa
Shogunate.

x. The final collapse of the Shogunate was brought about by the alliance of Satsuma and
Choshu. These two antagonistic western clans: formed an alliance as a result of the
Shogunate's expedition against Choshu in 1866. The alliance worked out a proposal for a
complete overthrow of the Shogunate. In January 1868, they attempted a coup d'tat to
overthrow the newly throned Shogun Tokugawa Keiki. After a short period of fighting,
Emperor Meiji took supreme control of the country. During his reign from 1867 to 1912,
Japan was completely transformed and it became a world power.

External Factors:

i. The forced opening of Japan following US Commodore Matthew Perry's arrival in 1853
undoubtedly contributed to the collapse of the Tokugawa rule it created socio-economic
problems in the country.
 ii. The speculation in the gold and silver exchange by foreigners after the signing of the
treaties upset the domestic price structure. This led to extraordinary fluctuations in the
prices of local goods and brought economic hardships to the Japanese people. The Sonno
Joi (revere the emperor and expel the foreigners) movement was then set up. It was
supported by the peasants, samurai, court nobles and daimyo. In this way, the treatles with
the West not only made the downfall of the Shogunate inevitable but speeded up its
collapse.

iii. The import of cheap foreign products wiped out local cottage industries, causing
unemployment and despair. The economic distress resulting from the opening of Japan)
soon spread throughout the country. The Japanese were very discontented so they turned
to support the anti-bakufu movement.

Conclusion:

Considering peasants, farmers and merchants weren't particularly powerful, it wasn't enough to
change the whole system, but the government became more aware of how powerful a large group
of people is if they are passionate about change. This helped in raising awareness but didn't change
the government The growing power of Satsuma and Choshu changed the balance of power within
the Tokugawa administration. As the shogun faced a two fold challenge from the internal and
external forces, he decided to relax the sankin kotal system in order to gain support from the
daimyo. But it didn't work. Finally, Tokugawa rule collapsed.

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