The Tokugawa Shōguns—Consolidation of Duarchy.
The rule of Hidéyoshi was followed by that of a new line of Shōguns. The
circumstances under which it was established are well known. At the
death of Hidéyoshi in 1598 the government of the country was, during the
minority of his son Hidéyori, entrusted to five feudal nobles who acted
as regents. Of these, the most prominent was Tokugawa Iyéyasu, who had
married Hidéyoshi’s daughter, and whose feudal territories consisted of
the eight provinces in the east of the main island known as the Kwantō.
Disputes soon arose between the regents, and an appeal to arms resulted
in the decisive victory of Iyéyasu at Séki-ga-hara, near Lake Biwa. This
was in October, 1600. In 1603 he was appointed Shōgun, and twelve years
later the death, in what is known as the Ōsaka summer campaign, of
Hidéyori, the only personage who could challenge his supremacy, left him
without any dangerous rival. Now for the first time in Japanese history
the authority of the Shōgunate extended throughout the whole of Japan.
The prestige of the previous ruler had been as great, and his reputation
in the field higher, but he was not, like his successor, of Minamoto
stock, nor could he trace his descent from an Emperor; there were remote
districts in the country where his influence had not penetrated,
out-of-the-way places where his writ had never run. In founding a fresh
line of Shōguns the new ruler had other circumstances in his favour. The
country was tired of civil war and exhausted; the fighting power and
resources of turbulent chiefs had been weakened by long-continued
hostilities; and much of the work of pacification had been already done.
Although the Tokugawa Shōgunate was, in its main outlines, the
repetition of a government which had existed before, it differed in some
important respects from previous administrations.
The third Shōgun, the ruler responsible for the closing of the country,
put the finishing touches to the new system of government; but it owed
more to the genius of his grandfather, the founder of the line, who
framed it, supervised its operation and left posthumous instructions,
known as “The Hundred Articles,” to ensure its observance by his
successors. Japanese writers agree in stating that “The Hundred
Articles” give a general idea of the system of government established by
Iyéyasu. But it is a very general idea, a mere outline of things, that
we are thus enabled to glean. To fill in the details of the picture it
is necessary to draw on other sources of information.
The difference between the rule of Iyéyasu and that of previous Shōguns
lay in the more complete subjection of the Imperial Court, in the wider
range of his authority, which surpassed that of his two immediate
predecessors, and in the highly organized and stable character of the
administration he established. The changes he effected in the government
of the country may be conveniently considered under the following heads,
it being borne in mind that they were the work of several years, and
that many were made after his early abdication in 1605, when he was
governing the country, in the name of his son, the second Shōgun:—
1. Redistribution of feudal territories.
2. Position of feudal nobility.
3. Reorganization of central administration.
4. Relations between the Court and Shōgunate, and between the Court
and Court nobles and the feudal nobility.
1. The new Shōgun in establishing his rule followed the example of his
predecessors. Maps which give the distribution of feudal territories
before and after the year 1600, and again after the fall of Ōsaka in
1615, show the sweeping character of the changes he carried out on both
occasions. As a result of these changes, the most extensive fiefs at the
outset of Tokugawa rule were those held by the three Tokugawa Houses in
the provinces of Kii, Owari and Hitachi (Mito), to which may be added
those in the possession of the Daimiōs of Satsuma, Hizen, Chōshiū, Aki,
Tosa, Kaga, Échizen, Sendai and Mutsu.
2. Before the establishment of the Tokugawa Shōgunate the feudal nobles
were divided into three classes—lords of provinces, lords of territories
and lords of castles. In the organization of the feudal nobility, as
remodelled by Iyéyasu, this old division was retained, but he created
the three princely Houses of Owari, Kii and Mito (Hitachi), called
collectively the _Gosanké_, and placed them at the head of the new order
of precedence. It was from the two first-mentioned Houses, together with
the _Gosankiō_, a family group of later institution, that, failing a
direct heir, subsequent Shōguns were chosen. To the representative of
the third House—that of Mito—the position of Adviser to the Shōgunate
was assigned, and he was supposed to have a determining voice in the
selection of a new Shōgun when this became necessary. Another important
change was the separation of the feudal nobility into two broad
classes—the _Fudai_ daimiōs, or hereditary vassals, who had submitted to
the new ruler before the fall of Ōsaka, and the _Tozama_ daimiōs, who
had acknowledged his supremacy later. The former class alone had the
privilege of being employed in the Councils of State and the higher
administrative posts. Two new feudal groups also made their
appearance—the _Hatamoto_, or Bannermen, who filled the less important
administrative posts, besides supplying the personnel of the various
departments of State, and whose fiefs in some cases rivalled in extent
those of the smaller daimiōs; and the _Gokénin_, a kind of landed
gentry.
Full use, too, was made by the new ruler of the custom of retaining
hostages from the feudatories as a guarantee of loyalty, a practice
expanded under the second and third Shōguns into the system known as
_San-kin Kō-tai_. This provided for the residence of daimiōs in
alternate years at Yedo and in their fiefs, some members of their
families being permanently detained in the Tokugawa capital, which owed
its selection as the seat of government to its favourable location for
the commerce of that day at the head of the bay of the same name. The
system of State services (_Kokuyéki_), moreover, to which all daimiōs
were liable, was a rich source of revenue to the Shōgunate, while at the
same time it strengthened the authority of the Yedo Government. By these
expedients, and by the encouragement of ostentation in every form, the
feudal nobles were kept in strict subjection, the steady drain on their
finances making it difficult for them to escape from a condition of
impecuniosity. The expense of their annual journeys to and from the
Capital alone constituted a severe tax on their resources, and was the
main cause of the financial distress which existed at a later date in
many of the daimiates. Further and quite independent proof of the
unquestioned supremacy of the new Shōgun is supplied by the bestowal of
his early family name of Matsudaira not only on all the heads of feudal
families connected with his own, but on many of the leading lords of
provinces. Amongst other recipients of this questionable privilege—which
set the seal on the submission of the feudal nobility—were the daimiōs
of Satsuma, Chōshiū, Hizen, Tosa and Awa, whose retainers took a
prominent part in the Restoration of 1868–69. In these latter cases,
however, the old surnames were used alternately with the new
designations.
3. The main features of Tokugawa administration, as established by its
founder and modified by his immediate successors, remained practically
unchanged for two and a half centuries. Its form was a centralized
bureaucracy based on feudalism. The general direction of affairs was in
the hands of an upper and a lower Council of State, the members of which
were chosen from _Fudai_ daimiōs of varying distinction. There was
usually an inner circle of statesmen, with whom both initiative and
decision rested, while the lesser ranks of officials were recruited
chiefly from the _Hatamoto_. Decisions on grave matters of State in
times of emergency were referred, when necessary, to the _Gosanké_ and
other leading daimiōs, whose participation in these deliberations was,
however, often more nominal than real. A leading part in administration
was also played by the _Jisha-bugiō_, or Superintendents of Buddhist and
Shintō temples. In spite of the religious sound of their titles, these
executive officers had an important voice in State business of all
kinds. There was also the _Hiō-jō-sho_. This was an institution
resembling that originally created by the Kamakura Shōguns. Established
at a time when no clear distinction existed between executive and
judicial matters, it seems to have combined the functions of a Supreme
Administrative Board and a Superior Court of Justice. It took cognizance
of all sorts of questions, both executive and judicial, and, under the
latter head, of both civil and criminal cases, which were decided by a
special office known as the _Ketsudan-sho_, or Court of Decisions. The
matters which came before this Board ranged from disputes regarding
land, agriculture and taxation to questions concerning the boundaries of
fiefs and provinces; from complaints of the conduct of the feudal
nobility and Shōgunate officials to appeals from the decisions of local
authorities. The members of the Council of State had the right to attend
the sittings of the Board, being encouraged to make surprise visits in
order to ensure the rendering of impartial justice; and for the same
reason, apparently, in the earlier days of the Shōgunate, the attendance
of the Shōgun himself was not unusual. A similar Board at Ōsaka dealt
with questions referred to it from the provinces west of Kiōto, and with
appeals from the decisions of local authorities in the districts in
question.
Provincial administration varied according to the locality concerned.
What were known as the Shōgun’s domains—amounting in extent to nearly
one-third of the total area of the country—were administered by
Governors (_Daikwan_) appointed by the Shōgunate, this system prevailing
also in many of the Fudai daimiates and in certain coast towns. The
feudal territories in the rest of the country, with the exception named,
were governed by the clan rulers. A general supervision of affairs
throughout the country was also exercised by a special class of
officials called _Métsuké_. Their varied functions comprised those of
travelling inspectors and circuit judges; they were appointed to enquire
into the administration of feudal territories; and they were frequently
employed as deputies or assistants to governors, delegates and
commissioners, when their duty was to watch and report on the conduct of
their superiors. Hence the description of them as spies by foreign
writers on Japan—a description which was often correct. The system of
local government was based on groups of five households, or families,
each under the direction of a headman, and was the development of an
earlier form of tribal, or patriarchal, government introduced from China
at the time of the Great Reform. The headman of each group was subject,
in towns, to the control of the senior alderman of the ward, and, in
villages, to that of the mayor. The duties of these local officials,
whose posts were often hereditary, were to make known the orders of the
Central Government, or feudal authorities, as the case might be, to
administer justice and to collect taxes.
A noticeable feature of Tokugawa administration was the duplication of
offices. In this a resemblance may be traced to similar customs in other
Oriental countries such as Thibet, Siam and Nepal, the tendency which
inspired the practice being possibly one of the causes of the partiality
of the nation for dual government. The employment of _Métsuké_ in many
cases as supplementary officials has already been mentioned. The custom
was widespread, extending through all grades of the official class, and
survived in Loochoo until the annexation of that principality in 1879. A
curious proof of its prevalence was furnished at the time of the
negotiation by Great Britain of the Treaty of 1858. Struck by the double
title of the British negotiator, Lord Elgin and Kincardine, and arguing
from their own methods of procedure, the Japanese officials concluded
that two envoys had been sent, and when, in the course of the
negotiations, no second envoy appeared, they took occasion to enquire
after the missing Kincardine.
4. In his dealings with the Imperial Court at Kiōto the new Shōgun was
content, so far as outward formalities were concerned, to follow the
example of previous administrations, introducing, nevertheless, under
cover of conformity with ancient usage, many important changes. The
empty dignities of the Court were maintained with some increase of
ceremonial etiquette, though without the lavish display which had
reconciled the Throne to the rule of his predecessor. He was at the same
time careful to curtail whatever vestiges of Imperial authority still
remained. The measures taken for this purpose included the appointment
of a Resident (_Shoshidai_) in Kiōto, and a Governor (_Jōdai_) in Ōsaka;
the confinement of the reigning Emperor and cloistered ex-monarch (or
ex-monarchs, for there were not infrequently several abdicated
sovereigns at the same time) to their palaces; and the cessation of
Imperial “progresses”—the name given to Imperial visits to shrines; the
isolation of the Court by the interdict placed on the visits of feudal
nobles to the Capital, even sight-seeing being only permitted to them
within certain specified limits, and on condition of applying for
permission for this purpose; the isolation of the _Kugé_, or Court
nobility, by the prohibition of marriages and all monetary transactions
between them and feudal families; and the reorganization of the official
establishment of the Court, so as to bring it more completely under the
control of the Shōgunate. Iyéyasu also arranged the betrothal of his
granddaughter to the heir-apparent, an alliance not without precedent in
the past, and he enforced a stricter supervision over the Imperial
Household, the movements of Court ladies, and the daily routine of the
palace.
Some idea of the condition of subservience to which the Throne was
reduced, and of the arrogant position assumed by the new ruler, may be
gathered from a perusal of the “Law of the Court and Shōgunate,” which,
taken in conjunction with the “Law of the Imperial Court” and the
“Hundred Articles,” throws some light on the new order of things. One of
the provisions of the law in question transferred from the Court to the
Shōgunate the protection of the Throne against evil spirits by
abolishing the long-established _Riōbu Shintō_ processions in the
Capital, and by formally recognizing the Shintō deity, from whom this
protection was supposed to emanate, as the tutelary deity of the
Tokugawa family. The Shōgun was thus made responsible for the spiritual
guardianship of the Throne, the material protection over which he
already exercised in his capacity of supreme military ruler.
Though nothing of the substance of power was left to the Crown, the mere
fact that authority was exercised in its name led to much friction in
the relations between Kiōto and Yedo, and created an atmosphere of
make-believe in which everything moved. The Crown still retained the
nominal privilege of conferring the much-coveted Court titles. Its
nominal approval was also necessary to the investiture of a new Shōgun,
as well as to other important measures of State. It claimed the right,
moreover, to be consulted in regard to ceremonial observances of all
kinds, to questions of marriage, adoption, abdication and succession.
Naturally, therefore, the large number of questions calling for
discussion between the Court of the Mikado in the Capital and the Yedo
Government gave rise to a voluminous correspondence, the official
importance of which, however, was diminished by the presence of the
Shōgun’s Resident at Kiōto. In the singular official relations recorded
in this correspondence there is evidence of a settled policy on the part
of the Shōgunate to divert the attention of the Throne from serious
affairs and keep it occupied with the details of complicated ceremonial,
and, on the other hand, of constant, though fruitless, attempts on the
part of the Court to encroach on what had become the prerogatives of the
Shōgun.
One or two instances, taken at random from the history of the Tokugawa
period, will illustrate how the dual system of government worked in
practice; what little latitude was left to the Throne even in matters
which might be regarded as lying within its direct control; and how,
whenever friction arose, the Shōgunate invariably had its own way.
The first trial of strength between Kiōto and Yedo occurred soon after
Iyéyasu’s death, when his son Hidétada was Shōgun. The trouble arose out
of some irregularities which had occurred in the Imperial Household. The
Tokugawa administration was still in its infancy, and the Court nobles
showed a disposition to dispute its authority, some of them being
indiscreet enough to speak of the Yedo authorities as being Eastern
barbarians. The Shōgun adopted a high-handed attitude. He threatened to
break off the match between his daughter and the Emperor, which had
already received the Imperial sanction, and he went so far as to
intimate that the Emperor might be required to abdicate. His attitude
had the desired effect. The Court hastened to admit itself in the wrong,
and the affair ended in the banishment of three of the Court nobles.
Another and more serious quarrel occurred not long afterwards in the
reign of the same Emperor and during the rule of the third Shōgun, to
whom many of the later interpolations in the early Tokugawa laws are
generally ascribed. The cause of the dispute was a trivial matter—the
promotion by the Emperor, irregularly as the Shōgunate claimed, of
certain members of the Buddhist clergy connected with the Court. This
time it had a serious ending. The Emperor, mortified by what he regarded
as vexatious interference with his authority, resigned the Imperial
dignity, being succeeded on the Throne by his daughter, the child of the
Tokugawa princess already mentioned.
A third instance, convenient for our purpose, is typical of the
complications caused both in the matter of succession to the Throne, and
in appointments to the office of Shōgun, by the difficulty of
reconciling the custom of adoption with the dictates of filial piety, as
laid down in Confucian doctrine. The time was the end of the eighteenth
century. There were then a boy-Emperor eight years of age and a
boy-Shōgun a few years older. Each had been adopted by his predecessor,
who in each case had died shortly afterwards, the young Emperor’s
succession to the Throne antedating the appointment of the young Shōgun
by some six years. It was necessary to appoint a guardian for the young
Shōgun, and some members of the Yedo ministry wished to appoint to this
post the father, who belonged to the Hitotsubashi branch of the Tokugawa
family. This course received the support of the boy-Shōgun, who, to show
his filial respect, desired to instal his father with the title of
ex-Shōgun (_Taigiōsho_) in the palace at Yedo set apart for the Shōgun’s
heir. The proposal was resisted by the other Ministers on the ground
that it was against precedent and would disturb public morals, in which
ceremonial propriety played, as we know, so important a part. In the
event of the adoptive parent dying in the lifetime of the real
father—which in this case actually happened—the latter might, it was
said, claim to be received in the former’s place into the adoptive
family, a contingency which would lead to inconvenience and confusion.
While the dispute was going on matters were complicated by the receipt
of a similar request from the boy-Emperor in Kiōto, who desired that his
father might be honoured by being given the title of ex-Emperor. There
were precedents for the favour requested in the latter instance, and it
would probably have been granted had the Government not felt that the
concession would weaken their position in regard to the young Shōgun.
Both requests were consequently refused; whereupon stormy scenes, we are
told, occurred at the Yedo palace, in the course of which the Shōgun
drew his sword on one of the offending Councillors, and an angry
correspondence continued for two or three years between Kiōto and Yedo.
In the end neither request was granted, and the Ministers whose counsel
prevailed had at least the satisfaction of feeling that the apprehended
danger to public morals had been averted.
Before closing this chapter it may be convenient to dwell for a moment
on two points—the terms used to designate the Sovereign in Japan and the
titles of daimiōs.
That the impersonality shrouding everything Japanese, to which reference
has already been made, should show itself in the terms used to designate
the Sovereign is not surprising. Nor is it in any way strange that these
should include such expressions as “The Palace,” “The Palace Interior”
and “The Household,” for sovereigns are commonly spoken of in this way,
the habit having its origin in respect. What is curious is that in the
case of a sovereign venerated from the first as a God, and so closely
associated with the native faith, the terms by which he is known to his
subjects should, with one exception, be borrowed from China, and that
this one exception, the name “Mikado,” which means “Honourable Gate,”
should be the term least used.
The titles borne by the feudal nobility were of two kinds—territorial
titles, and the official titles conferred by the Court. The territorial
title of a daimiō consisted originally of the word _Kami_ joined to the
name of the province in which his territories lay. The title of a
daimiō, therefore, in early days had direct reference to the province in
which his fief was situated. In the course of time, however, though this
territorial title remained in general use, it by no means followed that
there was any connection between the particular province mentioned and
the territory actually possessed by a daimiō. This change in the
significance of the title was due to several causes: to the partition
amongst several daimiōs of lands originally held by a single individual,
to the removal of a daimiō to another fief, to which he often carried
his old title, and to the formation of cadet houses, which sometimes
retained the title of the senior branch. The multiplication of similar
titles led to much confusion, and in the later days of the Shōgunate, by
way of remedying this inconvenience, a daimiō on appointment to the
Council of State was obliged to change his title, if it were one already
borne by an older member.
The history of the other, or official, titles is this. When the
government of the country passed out of the hands of the _Kugé_ or Court
nobles, into those of the military class, the official posts previously
held by the former were filled by members of the feudal nobility, who
accordingly assumed the official titles attached to those posts. In the
course of time, as successive changes in the details of administration
occurred, the duties of these posts became merely nominal, until at last
the titles, some of which had become hereditary, came to be merely
honourable distinctions, having no connection with the discharge of
official duties. There were in Iyéyasu’s time about sixty of these
official titles, which were, nominally, in the gift of the Crown. Until
the end of the Shōgunate there was much competition for these titles,
which were the cause of constant intrigue between the Imperial Court and
the Yedo Government.