Dr. Satana Suzuki
Appearances
You're Dead to Me
Edo Japan (Radio Edit)
Well, it could be two hours, but sometimes it could last for days, you know.
You're Dead to Me
Edo Japan (Radio Edit)
Yeah, so woodblock printing became very popular because it could sort of publish literature and art very cheaply and mass. So this rising commercial printing coincided with the rising literacy rates as well. And in terms of art, the most significant is ukiyo-e. You might have heard of it. Like it's literally translated as floating world pictures.
You're Dead to Me
Edo Japan (Radio Edit)
And culturally, it made it possible to have a vivid glimpse into edo culture. You know, people can see that from fashion to leisure activities like kabuki and sumo wrestling and tea house and all the brothels.
You're Dead to Me
Edo Japan (Radio Edit)
Artistically speaking, you know, Ukiyo-e achieved remarkably sort of detailed and vibrant colours and complex competitions and had a huge impact on Western artists.
You're Dead to Me
Edo Japan (Radio Edit)
Very close, yes. It's very, yeah, it's correct, really. Yeah, so Tokugawa Japan had a very sort of limited diplomatic relation with the Dutch, the Chinese, and the Koreans. So Dutch and the Chinese, they were sort of kind of merchants, basically, were confined to this little man-made sort of fan-shaped island called Dejima near Nagasaki. and the Koreans through the Tsushima domain.
You're Dead to Me
Edo Japan (Radio Edit)
Japan traded with the Portuguese and the Spaniards and allowed missionary activities, but some daimyo in southern parts of Japan were Christians too, and rulers including Hideyoshi and Ieyasu restricted missionary activities in between 1633 and 39. Tokugawa Ieyasu also issued a series of regulations including prohibiting Japanese people from leaving Japan and coming back to Japan, things like that.
You're Dead to Me
Edo Japan (Radio Edit)
He also banned the export of weapons and the teaching of Christianity in Japan. But the massive rebellion in the Christian stronghold of Shimabara in 1637-68 was like the last straw. It was a combination of economic religious factors. But, you know, from 1639 onwards, Japan adopted this national seclusion policy.
You're Dead to Me
Edo Japan (Radio Edit)
Well, yeah, I mean, not entirely, but for one, they had that trading connections, right? Like in the Chinese. But only the bakuhu had the right to trade. The bakuhu means the shogunate. So it's the military government controlled by the shogun.
You're Dead to Me
Edo Japan (Radio Edit)
So you might have this perception that Edo Japan was closed off completely or isolated, but they're actually very much aware of what was going on in the rest of the world.
You're Dead to Me
Edo Japan (Radio Edit)
Commodore Matthew Perry, his black ship arrived at the Edo Bay in 1853. So the main objective is to open Japan to American trade, obviously, you know, the US wanted new markets, access to Japanese core and also secure a safe base for its whaling ships. And also establishing presence in Japan was you know, strategically very important as one of the rising imperial powers, right?
You're Dead to Me
Edo Japan (Radio Edit)
So Perry persuaded the Bakuhus representatives that it would be better for Japan to sign a treaty with America than the British. You know, you know how much damage the British Empire inflicted on China, you know, the open wars and things, right?
You're Dead to Me
Edo Japan (Radio Edit)
All the big boys, you know, the British, the French and the Dutch and, you know, Prussian and sort of Russian also sent ships, you know, these imperial powers with the capital P. Normally, when one imperial power signed a treaty, treaty meaning unequal treaty, others followed.
You're Dead to Me
Edo Japan (Radio Edit)
Yeah, because they panicked. And this act of asking backfired majorly for the shogunate because emperor at the time was Komei, Komei Tenno, Komei. He said, no, you should just fulfill your duty as barbarian subduing general. But in 1858, the shogunate gave in to pressure and signed an equal treaty with America without imperial approval.
You're Dead to Me
Edo Japan (Radio Edit)
So that sort of angered many samurai loyalists, leading to this coup. movement called Sonno Joy Movement, Undo. That means Sonno is revere the emperor, expel barbarian movement.
You're Dead to Me
Edo Japan (Radio Edit)
It was not anti-Bakufu movement to start with, but that sort of radically, you know, becoming anti-Bakufu too over time.
You're Dead to Me
Edo Japan (Radio Edit)
Yeah, so the Meiji Restoration of 1868 that brought an end to the... because of a combination of internal, external factors. But before that, there's also, you know, ongoing conflict over the succession of the shogunate between Iinaosuke and some Fudai Daimyo who wanted 12-year-old Tokugawa Yoshitomi.
You're Dead to Me
Edo Japan (Radio Edit)
And the 12-year-old Yoshitomi was put forward because he would be controlled by the chief counsellor. You know, it would be more easy.
You're Dead to Me
Edo Japan (Radio Edit)
Yes, yes. But the 12-year-old was the 14th shogun, but the other one became the 15th shogun anyway, so it was just a matter of timing, really, yeah.
You're Dead to Me
Edo Japan (Radio Edit)
January the 3rd, 1868. Yes, that's when the raw ranking samurai from Satsuma Choshu, Hizen... And gosh, Satsuma, Choshu, Hizen, and Tosa, sorry, my students who have a go at me. And together with certain progressive courtiers, you know, from the courts, they decided to carry out this coup d'etat, like a really peaceful coup d'etat.
You're Dead to Me
Edo Japan (Radio Edit)
It's just a sort of discussion, but coup d'etat that, you know, the Meiji Emperor, the 16-year-old, getting older, Meiji Emperor is the new sovereign and they established this imperial rule.
You're Dead to Me
Edo Japan (Radio Edit)
It's very incredible how long the Edo period lasted, 260 years. And Edo, Japan thrived due to political stability and economic growth and also cultural development. Political stability was maintained through the effective governance of the Tokugawa shogunate, this carrot and stick strategy and granting autonomy while implementing the hostage system. So I thought it was quite clever.
You're Dead to Me
Edo Japan (Radio Edit)
The shogunate maintained contact with the rest of the world through the Dutch and Chinese, albeit in a sort of passive manner. So that sort of indicated that Edo Japan was still part of the international community, you could say. But while some may argue that Edo Japan was sort of technologically, culturally and intellectually limited and sort of susceptible to external pressure...
You're Dead to Me
Edo Japan (Radio Edit)
because of this long period of isolation, you can see the flourishing arts, crafts and technologies during the Edo period. And, you know, they're amazing. So that's just otherwise. And personally, I'm more drawn to the cultural aspects of the period, you know, like ukiyo-e and literature, especially ghost stories. I recommend that you should just read that. It's great.
You're Dead to Me
Edo Japan (Radio Edit)
And also theatre, you know, these are like still vital components of Japanese culture today. For example, I don't know whether I can say this, but I'm a huge fan of manga. You know, the comic, Japanese comic. Do you read this? I don't know. I still read a lot of them and spend far too much. So a salary on it. Yeah.
You're Dead to Me
Edo Japan (Radio Edit)
Because, you know, whenever I come across references of Edo culture, which you see a lot, it often amazes me how much Edo culture still impacts Japan today. Go and read manga.
You're Dead to Me
Edo Japan (Radio Edit)
Thank you for having me. I'm really excited to be here today.
You're Dead to Me
Edo Japan (Radio Edit)
So the Edo period lasted from 1603, so that's when Tokugawa Ieyasu was appointed shogun by the emperor, to 1867, that's when Tokugawa Yoshinobu, that's the last shogun, return the land and register to the emperor. So 260 years, something like that. I'm not really good at math, but something like 260 years. So it's a long time, right?
You're Dead to Me
Edo Japan (Radio Edit)
No, it's not. The Edo period was preceded by a period of constant warfare and instability for about 100 years. But then between 1560 and 1582, Oda Nobunaga, that's one of my favorite historical figures, He was one of the warring state daimyo, and he sort of used force to extend control over two-thirds of Japan.
You're Dead to Me
Edo Japan (Radio Edit)
Unfortunately, one of his subordinates, Akechi Mitsuhide, he assassinated Oda Nobunaga in 1582. And after that, his other subordinate, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, he rose to power.
You're Dead to Me
Edo Japan (Radio Edit)
Who takes over from him then? Toyotomi Hideyori. That's Toyotomi Hideyoshi's five-year-old son. So he was left in charge, but he was managed by a group of five regents.
You're Dead to Me
Edo Japan (Radio Edit)
That's right. One of the regents was Tokugawa Ieyasu. He thought that he was more qualified to unify Japan than anyone else. Looking back, he was right. So, yeah, in 1600, at the Battle of Sekigahara, Ieyasu sort of destroyed the forces loyal to the Toyodomi family.
You're Dead to Me
Edo Japan (Radio Edit)
Or Sei Tai Shogun, that's the official title. You should know this. I should know what? You should know this. Come on.
You're Dead to Me
Edo Japan (Radio Edit)
Tokugai Ieyasu was not the first shogun, but he was the first shogun of all Japan.
You're Dead to Me
Edo Japan (Radio Edit)
The emperor's capital was in Kyoto and then shogun's capital was in Edo. But Edo was the political and administrative center of Japan. So during the Edo period, emperor had an important symbolic role, but he was essentially a prisoner in his palace. They are not allowed to step outside of their palace. They weren't even allowed to take a walk. Wow.
You're Dead to Me
Edo Japan (Radio Edit)
So the shogun had to keep him happy as the legitimizer of the political power, but also control and restricted the emperor via the law.
You're Dead to Me
Edo Japan (Radio Edit)
Yeah, so society was divided into basically four social classes. So you have the samurai elites, and then you have peasants, artisans, and merchants. And at the top of the elite group were the daimyo, the feudal lords, who are rulers of domains, or han in Japanese. And they're autonomously governed, these domains, or han,
You're Dead to Me
Edo Japan (Radio Edit)
But every alternate year, they had to live in Edo, and their families were essentially hostages of the Tokugawa to ensure their loyalty to the shogunate. So the family had to stay in Edo.
You're Dead to Me
Edo Japan (Radio Edit)
I guess, yes. I mean, they were elites. They're not commoners, right? Samurai basically means warriors, but Edo samurai are different to how they are thought of now because, you know, at the time of peace, they don't fight, right?
You're Dead to Me
Edo Japan (Radio Edit)
Yeah, and then they're often sort of administrators who are like paid salary with a rice stipend. So they're like salarymen.
You're Dead to Me
Edo Japan (Radio Edit)
Yeah. So merchants, well, like merchants, really. Yeah. So officially at the bottom of this hierarchy, the social system. But, you know, they're often sort of despised for handling money. I don't know why people do that. I like money. Yeah. I mean, we can't do anything with money. I mean, I don't love it, but you need it.
You're Dead to Me
Edo Japan (Radio Edit)
You get more than me. But in reality, though, many became very, very rich and very wealthy and they sort of started to exert power and influence towards the end of the Tokugawa, you know, because the commerce and transportation develop and they have more jobs, right? But samurai, on the other hand, especially lower-ranking samurai... They became very, very impoverished towards the end.
You're Dead to Me
Edo Japan (Radio Edit)
And the population, too, between 1600 and 1720, something like that, was estimated to have doubled. But later in the period, the population growth sort of stagnated. So it sort of stopped. It plummeted every time farming hit Japan.
You're Dead to Me
Edo Japan (Radio Edit)
So it's because of this, you know, development of commerce and transportation, it was really kind of really vigorous. And of course, it depends on the region, but some countryside industries really, really flourished, you know, like sake. You like sake? I like sake.
You're Dead to Me
Edo Japan (Radio Edit)
And silk and cotton and ceramics and things like that. So it was really, really vibrant.
You're Dead to Me
Edo Japan (Radio Edit)
Yeah, I mean, the city was really growing and the samurai became mostly city residents and things. And not just Edo, but Osaka, Kyoto were growing as well. But like you said, the biggest of all is Edo, which was originally a really small castle town, but by 1720, early 1700s, had already reached a population of 1 million, apparently. Yeah, this marked the largest city in the world at the time.
You're Dead to Me
Edo Japan (Radio Edit)
By population, Tokyo still is the largest. And Osaka was the biggest commercial hub, of course, you know, with many rich rice merchants and things. There was a shift later in the period to rural industries, which led to the declining economic power of some urban areas.
You're Dead to Me
Edo Japan (Radio Edit)
So Edo culture was really, really thriving, especially those things like theatre, but mainly sort of three major things. So Kabuki, you might know. Yeah.
You're Dead to Me
Edo Japan (Radio Edit)
It's a traditional theatre with a dramatic performance with dance and then bunraku, that's a puppet theatre, involving like two-thirds life-size puppets controlled by three men with musicians and singer actions, you know, chanting and narration, and then noh, Do you know? No? No, I don't. So it's like a musical. Performers wear masks and sings and dance to musical instruments.
You're Dead to Me
Edo Japan (Radio Edit)
And history or patronage of Noh theatre went right back to Hideyoshi, meaning it was closely embedded with the lives of the elites at a time you were often expected to patronise the arts.