Editing Edo period (section)

== Consolidation of the shogunate ==
{{main|Tokugawa shogunate}}
[[File:Tokugawa Ieyasu2.JPG|thumb|[[Tokugawa Ieyasu]], first ''[[shōgun]]'' of the [[Tokugawa shogunate]]]]
A [[revolution]] took place from the time of the [[Kamakura shogunate]], which existed with the [[Tennō]]'s court, to the [[Tokugawa shogunate|Tokugawa]], when the ''[[samurai]]'' became the unchallenged rulers in what historian [[Edwin O. Reischauer]] called a "centralized [[feudal]]" form of the shogunate. Instrumental in the rise of the new [[bakufu]] was [[Tokugawa Ieyasu]], the main beneficiary of the achievements of [[Oda Nobunaga]] and [[Toyotomi Hideyoshi]].<ref name=":12">{{Cite web |title=daimyo {{!}} Significance, History, & Facts |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/daimyo |access-date=2022-10-03 |website=Encyclopædia Britannica |language=en}}</ref> Already a powerful ''[[daimyo]]'' (feudal lord), Ieyasu profited by his transfer to the rich [[Kantō region|Kantō]] area. He maintained two million ''[[koku]]'', or thirty-six [[hectare]]s of land, a new headquarters at [[Edo]], a strategically situated castle town (the future [[Tokyo]]), and also had an additional two million ''koku'' of land and thirty-eight [[vassal]]s under his control. After Hideyoshi's death, Ieyasu moved quickly to seize control of the [[Toyotomi clan]].{{citation needed|date=May 2022}}

Ieyasu's victory over the western ''daimyo'' at the [[Battle of Sekigahara]] (October 21, 1600, or in the old [[Japanese calendar]], on the 15th day of the ninth month of the fifth year of the [[Keichō]] era) gave him control of all Japan. He rapidly abolished numerous enemy ''daimyo'' houses, reduced others, such as that of the Toyotomi, and redistributed the spoils of war to his family and allies. Ieyasu still failed to achieve complete control of the western ''daimyo'', but his assumption of the title of ''[[shōgun]]'' helped consolidate the alliance system. After further strengthening his power base, Ieyasu installed his son [[Tokugawa Hidetada|Hidetada]] (1579–1632) as ''shōgun'' and himself as retired ''shōgun'' in 1605. The Toyotomi were still a significant threat, and Ieyasu devoted the next decade to their eradication. In 1615, the Tokugawa army destroyed the Toyotomi stronghold at [[Osaka]].

The Tokugawa (or Edo) period brought 250 years of stability to Japan. The political system evolved into what historians call ''bakuhan'', a combination of the terms ''bakufu'' and ''[[Han system|han]]'' (domains) to describe the government and society of the period.<ref>{{Harvnb|Hall|McClain|1991|pp=128–182}}</ref> In the ''bakuhan'', the ''shōgun'' had national authority, and the ''daimyo'' had regional authority. This represented a new unity in the feudal structure, which featured an increasingly large [[bureaucracy]] to administer the mixture of [[centralized]] and decentralized authorities. The Tokugawa became more powerful during their first century of rule: land redistribution gave them nearly seven million ''koku'', control of the most important cities, and a land assessment system reaping great revenues.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-03-11 |title=Japan - Bakuhan, Feudalism, Shogunate {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Japan/The-bakuhan-system |access-date=2025-03-12 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>

The [[Feudal barony of Hatch Beauchamp|feudal]] hierarchy was completed by the various classes of ''daimyo''. Closest to the Tokugawa house were the ''[[Shinpan (daimyo)|shinpan]]'', or "related houses". There were twenty-three ''daimyo'' on the borders of Tokugawa lands, all directly related to Ieyasu. The shinpan held mostly honorary titles and advisory posts in the bakufu. The second class of the hierarchy was the ''[[fudai]]'', or "house ''daimyo''", rewarded with lands close to the Tokugawa holdings for their faithful service. By the 18th century, 145 ''fudai'' controlled much smaller ''han'', the greatest assessed at 250,000 ''koku''.

Members of the ''fudai'' class staffed most of the major bakufu offices. Ninety-seven ''han'' formed the third group, the ''[[tozama]]'' (outside vassals), former opponents or new allies. The ''tozama'' were located mostly on the peripheries of the archipelago and collectively controlled nearly ten million ''koku'' of productive land. Because the ''tozama'' were the least trusted of the ''daimyo'', they were the most cautiously managed and generously treated, although they were excluded from central [[government]] positions.{{citation needed|date=May 2022}}

The Tokugawa shogunate not only consolidated their control over a reunified Japan, but also had unprecedented power over the [[Emperor of Japan|emperor]], the court, all ''daimyo,'' and the religious orders. The emperor was held up as the ultimate source of political sanction for the ''shōgun'', who ostensibly was the vassal of the imperial family. The Tokugawa helped the imperial family recapture its old glory by rebuilding its palaces and granting it new lands. To ensure a close tie between the imperial clan and the Tokugawa family, Ieyasu's granddaughter was made an imperial consort in 1619.{{citation needed|date=May 2022}}

A code of laws was established to regulate the ''daimyo'' houses. The code encompassed private conduct, marriage, dress, types of weapons, and numbers of troops allowed; required feudal lords to reside in Edo every other year (the ''[[sankin-kōtai]]'' system); prohibited the construction of ocean-going ships; restricted castles to one per domain (''han'') and stipulated that bakufu regulations were the national law. Although the ''daimyo'' were not taxed per se, they were regularly levied for contributions to [[military]] and logistical support and for public works such as projects as castles, roads, bridges, and palaces.

The various regulations and levies not only strengthened the Tokugawa but also depleted the wealth of the ''daimyo'', thus weakening their threat to the central administration. The ''han'', once military-centered domains, became mere local [[Administration (government)|administrative]] units. The ''daimyo'' had full administrative control over their territory and their complex systems of retainers, [[bureaucrat|bureaucrats]], and commoners. Loyalty was exacted from religious foundations, already greatly weakened by Nobunaga and Hideyoshi, through a variety of control mechanisms.{{citation needed|date=May 2022}}