The Caste System and its impact on the Japanese economy:
During the Edo period (also known as the Tokugawa period) the Tokugawa Shogunate made it impossible for citizens to move up with the Japanese caste system. In order to maintain social harmony. Many samurais and citizens who made up the warrior class moved to the Capital and towns of political significance. They leveraged their elite positions to land bureaucratic jobs. Poor farmers who constituted a majority of Japans population were restricted to only farming. This guaranteed a continuous revenue stream to the ruling class whose income was based on taxing the harvest of the poor.
Diagram of the Caste System
During the Edo period (also known as the Tokugawa period) the Tokugawa Shogunate made it impossible for citizens to move up with the Japanese caste system. In order to maintain social harmony. Many samurais and citizens who made up the warrior class moved to the Capital and towns of political significance. They leveraged their elite positions to land bureaucratic jobs. Poor farmers who constituted a majority of Japans population were restricted to only farming. This guaranteed a continuous revenue stream to the ruling class whose income was based on taxing the harvest of the poor.
Diagram of the Caste System
Impact of European Colonization on the Japanese Economy:
As the west was increasing its colonial presence in Asia. The Tokugawa Shogunate feared a cultural and military invasion of Japan by the west, The Tokugawa focused in particular on Catholic missionaries who had been crucial to the European colonization of South East Asia. The Tokugawa out of this fear issued the Sakoku edict of 1635 and expelled Missionaries from the country and forbade all practice of Christianity on Japanese soil. From 1633 onward the Japanese withdrew themselves from the world completely, Japanese citizens were prohibited from traveling to foreign countries and those already on non-Japanese territory were denied reentry into Japan. Communication and business with the outside world was conducted through carefully selected Chinese and Dutch merchants out of Dejima.
Japanese Economy after Isolation:
After isolation Japan experienced rapid economic growth during the late 17th century into the early 18th century. The Tokugawa Shogunate’s deliberate focus on farming led to increased levels of agricultural output.
A traditional Japanese farm
Although farming was booming, trade and the production of goods overtook agriculture by a large margin. This was a direct result of urbanization carried out by the Tokugawa in cities like “Edo, Osaka and Kyoto” as it looked to consolidate its powers at a central level. Business also flourished as social order was maintained by the Shogunate. The increases in the production of “fine silk and cotton fabrics, manufacture of paper and porcelain” lead to a consequential increase in transactions conducted by Japanese using these goods. “Whole sellers and exchange brokers” grew in numbers too.
Japanese porcelain and Japanese Silk
Japanese citizens also started using “currency and credit” in large amounts which gave them the power to invest in new ventures. This new Bourgeois also spawned a new category of literature and art based on their rise. In the later part of the 18th century the business sector continued to flourish while the agricultural sector floundered. The decline in farming output affected the revenue from the harvest tax which was used to Pay the samurais and the daimyos. With the warrior class's incomes on the decline and peasants already rebelling the Shogunate attempted to make changes to existing fiscal policy in the 1800’s but could not restore the samurai and Daimyo’s income to 17th century levels. The peasants and the Samurais eventually rebelled against the Shogun and restored emperors rule in all of Japan.
Articles to read:
Edo-Period Japanese Porcelain
Merchant Class in Japan
Videos:
Japanese citizens also started using “currency and credit” in large amounts which gave them the power to invest in new ventures. This new Bourgeois also spawned a new category of literature and art based on their rise. In the later part of the 18th century the business sector continued to flourish while the agricultural sector floundered. The decline in farming output affected the revenue from the harvest tax which was used to Pay the samurais and the daimyos. With the warrior class's incomes on the decline and peasants already rebelling the Shogunate attempted to make changes to existing fiscal policy in the 1800’s but could not restore the samurai and Daimyo’s income to 17th century levels. The peasants and the Samurais eventually rebelled against the Shogun and restored emperors rule in all of Japan.
Articles to read:
Edo-Period Japanese Porcelain
Merchant Class in Japan
Videos: