The Cambridge History of Japan, Volume 4

John Whitney Hall

Cambridge University Press, 1988 - History - 831 pages

This is the fourth of six volumes designed to explore the history of Japan from prehistoric to modern times. Volume 4 roughly covers the years from 1550 to 1800, a short but surprisingly eventful period in Japanese history commonly referred to as Japan's Early Modern Age. At the start, much of the country was being pulled apart by local military lords engaged in a struggle for land and local hegemony. These daimyo succeeded in dividing Japan into nearly autonomous regional domains. Before the end of the seventeenth century, however, the daimyo in turn were subjected to a powerful unification movement led by three colorful figures, Nobunaga, Hideyoshi, and Ieyasu. It was under Tokugawa Ieyasu, the last of the unifiers, that Japan was brought together under a single powerful command vested in the office of shogun. The Tokugawa hegemony lasted until 1868 when it was brought down by the Meiji Restoration. This volume attempts to flesh out the historical tale with insights into the way that people lived and worked. It examines the relationship between peasant and local lord, and between the lord, as a unit of local government, and the emerging shogunate. It offers new insights into the evolution of indigenous thought and religion and it also deals with Japan's foreign relations, particularly the impact of the Christian missionary movement. Each of these themes is examined by thirteen distinguished Japanese and American scholars.

Contents

• Introduction: 1
• The role of local studies: 9
• Formation of the early modern village: 16
• Patterns of political development: 22
• a new field of study: 30
• A final word: 38
• The military and economic base: 53
• The social and economic consequences of unification: 96
• Commerce and the early modern cities: 110
• The early modern social system: 121
• The bakuhan system: 128
• Formation of the Edo bakufu: 145
• the authority structure: 156
• The han: 183
• The han and central control 16001651: 191
• The han and central control after 1651: 201
• Han finances: 213
• Panorama Edo and: 217
• Han politics: 225
• Japans relations with China: 235
• War and peace: 265
• Christianity and the daimyo: 301
• Deus or Dainichi?: 307
• Otomo Sorin Yoshishige: 316
• The Jesuit colony of Nagasaki: 326
• The vicissitudes of Bungo: 335
• The end of Ryuzoji Takanobu: 343
• The collapse of the Otomo realm: 353
• Hideyoshis antiChristian edicts: 359
• The Christian daimyo and the early Tokugawa: 365
• Thought and religion 15501700: 373
• Thought: 395
• Politics in the eighteenth century: 425
• The Shotoku era: 437
• The village and agriculture during the Edo period: 478
• The social composition of the early modern village: 486
• Landtax revenue and government finances: 492
• Irrigation and land reclamation: 498
• Technology and commercial agriculture: 504
• Cooperative aspects of village society: 515
• Cities and commerce in the seventeenth century: 538
• Cities and commerce in the early eighteenth century: 568
• Cities and commerce in the late eighteenth century: 579
• Conclusions: 590
• History and nature in eighteenthcentury Tokugawa: 596
• Nature: 621
• History and nature in the late eighteenth century: 638
• Epilogue: 656
• material culture standard of living: 660
• The house and lifestyles: 674
• Food nutrition and other dietary factors: 680
• Clothing: 689
• Popular culture: 706
• Education: 715
• Books and publishing: 725
• Kyoto the source: 733
• The society of prostitutes: 742
• The theater world: 749
• The chonin: 761
• Works cited: 771
• Glossaryindex: 813

Bibliographic information

• Title: The Cambridge History of Japan, Volume 4; Issue 1 of Cambridge ancient history; Cambridge history ebook collection; Volume 4 of The Cambridge History of Japan 6 Volume Set; The Cambridge History of Japan, John Whitney Hall, ISBN 0521657288, 9780521657280
• Editor: John Whitney Hall
• Contributor: James L. McClain
• Edition: reprint
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 1988
• ISBN: 0521223555, 9780521223553
• Length: 831 pages
• Subjects: History / Asia / General; History / Europe / Renaissance; History / Modern / General