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Journey into Japan: Shoguns rule Japan with iron fists

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Japanese temple exterior
Journey into Japan: Shoguns rule Japan with iron fists

SUBJECTS:  History

YEARS:  7–8, 9–10


Who were the shoguns and how did they rule Japan?

In Japanese history, the time from about 1600 to 1868 is called the Edo period.

In 1600, after centuries of wars, Japan came under the control of shoguns from the Tokugawa clan. They continued to rule until 1868, when they were overthrown.

View this clip to discover how these shoguns maintained their power.

This clip is first in a series of six.


Things to think about

  1. 1.How did shoguns first come to rule Japan? Japan had been ruled by emperors since at least the 4th century CE,but emperors depended on warriors loyal to feudal lords to maintain power. In the 8th century CE, Emperor Kammu gave the title 'shogun' to the feudal lord who was commander-in-chief of his military. By the 12th century, real power had passed from the emperors to the shoguns.
  2. 2.Tokyo is the capital of modern Japan. What was it called before 1868? Where did the shoguns live? The Japanese people had suffered during many civil wars between rival noble clans between the 12th and 16th centuries. After such a long period of conflict, what benefit did Japan gain from the rule of the Tokugawa shoguns?
  3. 3.Under the Tokugawa shogunate the most powerful and privileged social class in the provinces were the provincial, or feudal, lords. These nobles were called 'daimyo'. How many of them were there? What were their roles under the shoguns? Why did the shoguns force the feudal lords to spend half of their time in Edo and to leave their families there whenever they returned to their estates?
  4. 4.The narrator refers to the shogun dynasty as giving Japan 'two and a half centuries of peace'. What strategies did the shoguns use to ensure peace? How did they retain control of the population? Provide evidence to support your response.


Acknowledgements

Produced by ABC and Japan Foundation.


Date of broadcast: 5 Jul 1979


Copyright

Metadata © Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Education Services Australia Ltd 2012 (except where otherwise indicated). Digital content © Australian Broadcasting Corporation (except where otherwise indicated). Video © Australian Broadcasting Corporation (except where otherwise indicated). All images copyright their respective owners. Text © Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Education Services Australia is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0).

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