Politics and Political Thought in the Mature Early Modern State in Japan, 1650–1830

doi:10.1017/9781108283748.005

2 - Politics and Political Thought in the Mature Early Modern State in Japan, 1650–1830

from Part I - The Character of the Early Modern State

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 January 2024

Kiri Paramore

Edited by

David L. Howell

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David L. Howell: Affiliation:
Harvard University, Massachusetts

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Summary

Rising literacy, urbanization, and leisure time in early modern Japan led to increasing popular interaction with politics. This chapter, after confirming the basic political apparatus of the Tokugawa state, demonstrates how the governance carried out within that apparatus interacted with increasingly vibrant expressions of political opinion from outside the state. From erudite Confucian analysis to popular riot and lewd graffiti, this chapter argues that public political opinion and action both influenced and at times was courted by the shogunal government. Political discussions in salon and popular culture outside the state introduced key new political ideas which transformed the ideal of governance in Japan from a minimalist concept of military domination and agricultural facilitation to a much more comprehensive vision of general welfare and development.

Keywords

politics political theory governance early modern Tanuma Okitsugu political economy Dazai Shundai Ogyū Sorai Matsudaira Sadanobu Kansei reforms Kyōhō reforms Tokugawa Yoshimune Confucianism Shōheizaka Academy

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Type: Chapter
Information: The New Cambridge History of Japan , pp. 58 - 96

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108283748.005 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2023

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