Essays on Tokugawa

The Tokugawa Period lasted between 1603 and 1867 (Yanemoto). It was founded by Tokugawa Ieyasu, and it was also called the Edo period. The Tokugawa period was characterized by political stability, internal peace, and economic growth. The people were led under military dictatorship. During this time, the Japanese society experienced some changes. Some of the transformation include educational expansion, commercialization and economic growth among others. The social order in the society was totally frozen. The society was divided into four classes: Samurai class, Farmers/Peasants, Artisans, and Merchants. Peasants were concerned with food production through farming. Artisans used their crafts ...

The Tokugawa Shogunate had been peaceful and prosperous for many decades. However, when things started changing, and problems arose, the Tokugawa Shogunate fell and lost its glory. The Tokugawa Shogunate fell as a result of both internal and external factors. The internal factors came in the aftermath of the rise of the merchant class and the decline of power. In this case, the leadership fell since the Emperor did more of the reigning than the ruling, which means that more power is bestowed on the Shogun ("Tokugawa Period and Meiji Restoration"). Aside from the internal factors, there were external ...

While the resulting dominance of European powers over persons in the areas with which they came into contact was acceptable, the effects of global trade on societal norms of Europe were unprecedented. In other words, just as the Triangle Trade influenced Europe’s place in the world, it also affected its interior societal makeup. The Emergence of Industrial Society in the West highlights the three steps that led to the Age of Revolutions: Commercial Revolution, Scientific Revolution, and Enlightenment (5mins).The Commercial Revolution posed the first threat to European traditions by debunking the ideologies of birthrights as the source ...

Part 1: Viewpoint Essay

Tokugawa Ieyasu founded the Tokugawa Shogunate where he established a political peace that lasted from 1600 to 1868; he was also the third of the three great unifiers of Japan. The Tokugawa period is a period of many years, which was characterized by political peace. The Tokugawa period came after the Sengoku period, which was characterized by warring states. It started in the 1600s after the Battle of Sekigahara. Tokugawa Ieyasu dedicated all he had to solidify the kingdom and ensuring that peace reigned. It is evident that he did quite a good job since he laid the foundation ...

26th of April 2016

The appearance of Kabuki is attributed to Izumo Okuni a servant of the temple, which, according to the available documentary evidence, headed a predominantly female troupe that in 1603 staged presentation and light scenes (dance, comic sketches), choosing the parched bed of the Kamogawa River in Kyoto as their stage. Gradually, this company has gained national recognition and the plays by Okuni (and subsequently the entire genre) came to be defined by the term "Kabuki". Its basic meaning (literally – the technique of singing and dancing) was supplemented with a hint of "extraordinary" and "shocking" nature of the action. Kabuki ...

Introduction

This research aims at understanding the development of the Samurai culture as a worldview that it became through its a thousand years of existence. The culture of the samurai is interesting as it developed from the simple armed support to the landowners, into the feudal leadership of the country of Japan. The code of ethics and unity that brought the Samurai together is of a very unique status in the society as it developed in a people that would otherwise be expected to remain servants. In most civilizations, the guards and other security servants often retain their servant status ...

The art of Japan during the Edo period were highly influenced by the Zen Buddhism; most of the paintings have Chinese influences since most of them were done using paintbrush and rendered on silk scrolls. The most prolific Japanese painter known to paint beautiful landscapes was Ogata Korin whose painting iconography is well-known throughout the world because of the delicateness in portraying the images found in the environment especially the flowers and animals. One particular artwork he made during the Edo period was the Red and White Plum Blossoms dated in the 18th century was a diptych makeshift wooden ...

The relevance of this work is expressed by the fact that the interest to Japan is increasing today. Many people, who are interested in modern Japan, are also interested in its history and culture. Consequently, the interest to theaters is also increasing, including the theater of Kabuki, which captivates the audience with its colorfulness and accessibility. The aim of this work is to fully consider the birth of Kabuki theater and study its origins, the specificity and role in Japanese culture. On the basis of the work’s purpose I have set the following objectives: - Consider the occurrence ...

In the contemporary society, manga or the Japanese visual novels became an integral part of propagating Japanese culture to broad audiences. The 1990s sparked an immense distribution of Japanese animation throughout the world. Even so, the manga published by the Japanese companies such as Shueisha and Kodansha became a high-valued commodity for all the ‘otaku’ fans in Japan and abroad. With the advent of the internet in the 2000s, these mangas became widely distributed amongst websites and even downloadable through scanlations made by the fans. One of the best mangas known throughout the world was the Rurouni Kenshin or ...

Shintoism and Buddhism in Japanese History

Before the spread of today’s religion, the early civilizations had different views as to how they could explain the things around them. Some would say it is the work of spirits who dwell upon plants, animals and inanimate objects while others believe in the intervention of divine beings who created the world prior to mankind. While some of these early beliefs have been forgotten in favor of newer religions, there are countries where early beliefs played heavily in the formation of the nation and even triggered a conflict to occur when a new religion was introduced to the ...

The rigid social hierarchy and the already miserable situations of both Jihei and Kohei were the two catalysts that prompted to their suicide as an escape from the harsh reality of 18th century Japanese society. The story was originally intended as a play for the Bunraku Puppet Theatre but due to the immense popularity, the play was adopted in to Kabuki theatre which further emphasized the realistic theme of the play. Chikamatsu was indeed a master of Japanese play with his successful combinations of social duty and love to create conflict. The timeless romance between the star-crossed lovers Kamiya ...

Ukiyo-e is an artform which dates back to the seventeenth century. It was a major part of Japanese life for many years and, even today, is still an important element of the country’s culture. The Japanese art of ukiyo-e, which translates as "pictures of the floating world", was born in the metropolitan culture of Tokyo (Johansson, 2007). The dazzling and warmly attractive art of the Ukiyo-e woodblock print is certainly the most commonly known of all Japanese arts. This specific style of art thrived in Japan from the mid-seventeenth to the mid-nineteenth century (Ukiyo-e). The word ...