The Edo period, also called the Tokugawa period, took place between 1600 and 1850 in Japan’s history. The period can be defined as having two phases. The first phase occurred at around 1600-1720. The stage was characterised by a reasonably high population growth rate and a rise in agricultural production. After the death of Hideyoshi in 1598, Tokugawa Ieyasu became the greatest man in Japan. Ieyasu established his government in Edo, which is today Tokyo. He encouraged foreign trade and relations. In 1963, international relations were forbidden in Japan, and Japan isolated itself from the rest of the world. Regardless of the isolation, during the Edo period, trade, agriculture, culture, population, and education improved.
The other phase occurred between 1720 -1850. The phase was characterised by very little population growth and practically no rise in agricultural production. However, there was significant growth in manufacturing. Several critical factors led to these changes. The first factor was in 1720, the ban that was placed on Western literature was lifted. As a result, numerous modern philosophies entered Japan from other countries, such as Europe and Japan. New schools were established that merged Shinto and Confucianist fundamentals. The new forms of scientific knowledge encouraged the growth of the manufacturing industry.
The deterioration of the government’s financial state was another factor. There was a steady deterioration in the government’s financial situation that resulted in increases in taxes. Taxes were about 40% of the harvest, which caused farmers to sell even what they had not harvested. Together with riots among the farming population, this resulted in no growth in farm production. Also, Japan experienced natural disasters and long famine durations. They led to nearly no increase in population due to low birth rates. It also triggered rebellions that resulted in further economic difficulties for the primary government and even for the daimyo. Another factor that caused the changes in Japan was the breakdown of the social hierarchy. The decline came as a result of the merchant class that had begun to grow more and more powerful. Some of the Samurai happened to be reliant on the merchants financially, too.
Another factor for the decline in Japan was the deterioration of morals in the government. During the second half of the era, there was an increase in corruption, moral degradation and ineffectiveness, which brought about problems in the government. At the end of the 18th century, there was an external pressure which became an essential problem in the country. The problem began when Russians first attempted to create trade relations with Japan but with no success. After the Russians, nations in Europe followed, and the Americans followed by the 19th Century. Commodore Perry eventually, in 1853 and 1854, compelled the government to unlock several ports to be used for international trade. The trade, however, continued to be extremely limited.
As a result of the above factors, negative feelings against the government were rising. Furthermore, other organisations rose for the requirement of the re-establishment of the imperial authority and anti-western opinions. The movements arose particularly amongst the ultra-conservative samurai in more independently operating territories, such as the Choshu and Satsuma. However, a lot of people later identified the vast benefits brought about by the Western countries in military and science. The new attitude encouraged Japan to open up fully to the rest of the world, which affected Japan in terms of arts, design, and crafts. They also adopted Western manufacturing methods in response to rising Western demand for Japanese products.
