2.Edo Period: Pre-conditions for Industrialization (See Handout no.2) The Edo period: 1603-1867 Toshogu Shrine (Yomei Gate) From the late 12th Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first century through the 17th century, Japan was ruled by Edo Shogun samurais (military leaders) but politics remained unstable. Internal wars and power shifts were very frequent, especially during the late 15th century to the end of the 16th century (calledSengoku or warring period). Jidai, Finally, Ieyasu Tokugawa unified the country after the decisive Battle of Sekigahara (located between Nagoya and Kyoto, visible from Shinkansen) in 1600 and the attacks on Osaka Castle in 1615 where the rival Toyotomi family perished. Ieyasu established a new government in Edo and became the first shogun of the Edo Bakufu in 1603. Edo, a sleepy little town until then, was transformed into a huge political city by aggressive public works including land reclamation, new canals and clean water supply systems. The Tokugawa family ruled the country in the next 264 years (15 shoguns in all). Ieyasu Tokugawa was deified and worshiped in Nikko Toshogu Shrine (even today). We the story of Japan's economic development from the Edo period because conditions for later industrialization and modernization were created internally during this period (moreover, quantitative data for earlier periods are very limited). The following are the pre-conditions that were generated: (1) Political unity and stability (2) Agricultural development in terms of both area and productivity (3) Development of transportation and the existence of nationally unified markets (4) The rise of commerce, finance and the wealthy merchant class (5) The rise of manufacturing (food processing, handicraft, etc) (6) Industrial promotion by central and local governments (sometimes successful but not always) (7) High level of education These are the features of the Edo period which are commonly cited by many researchers. The remainder of this lecture discusses them in detail. Note that some of these are not achieved even today in some countries. In fact, developing countries that are equipped with all these conditions are relatively rare.
2.Edo Period: Pre-conditions for Industrialization (See Handout no.2) The Edo period: 1603-1867 Toshogu Shrine (Yomei Gate) Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first Edo Shogun From the late 12th century through the 17th century, Japan was ruled by samurais (military leaders) but politics remained unstable. Internal wars and power shifts were very frequent, especially during the late 15th century to the end of the 16th century (calledSengoku Jidai, or warring period). Finally, Ieyasu Tokugawa unified the country after the decisive Battle of Sekigahara (located between Nagoya and Kyoto, visible from Shinkansen) in 1600 and the attacks on Osaka Castle in 1615 where the rival Toyotomi family perished. Ieyasu established a new government in Edo and became the first shogun of the Edo Bakufu in 1603. Edo, a sleepy little town until then, was transformed into a huge political city by aggressive public works including land reclamation, new canals and clean water supply systems. The Tokugawa family ruled the country in the next 264 years (15 shoguns in all). Ieyasu Tokugawa was deified and worshiped in Nikko Toshogu Shrine (even today). We the story of Japan's economic development from the Edo period because for later industrialization and modernization were created internally during this period (moreover, quantitative data for earlier periods are very limited). The following are the pre-conditions that were generated: (1) Political unity and stability (2) Agricultural development in terms of both area and productivity (3) Development of transportation and the existence of nationally unified markets (4) The rise of commerce, finance and the wealthy merchant class (5) The rise of manufacturing (food processing, handicraft, etc) (6) Industrial promotion by central and local governments (sometimes successful but not always) (7) High level of education These are the features of the Edo period which are commonly cited by many researchers. The remainder of this lecture discusses them in detail. Note that some of these conditions are not achieved even today in some countries. In fact, developing countries that are equipped with all these conditions are relatively rare.
Edo-backgrounder-2.docx