During the Tokugawa period (1603–1868) Japan was turned inward as a hierarchical caste society in which the samurai were at the top. There was an extended era of peace during which the samurai moved to administrative duty, although the traditional fighting skills were still esteemed. During this period archery became a "voluntary" skill, practiced partly in the court in ceremonial form, partly as different kinds of competition. Archery spread also outside the warrior class. The samurai were affected by the straightforward philosophy and aim for self-control in Zen Buddhism that was introduced by Chinese monks. Earlier archery had been called "kyūjutsu", the skill of bow, but monks acting even as martial arts teachers led to creation of a new concept: "kyūdō". Since then, especially due to changes brought by Japan opening up to the outside world at the beginning of the Meiji era (1868–1912), kyujutsu has experienced a steep decline.