The Tokugawa shogunate, a feudal regime that ran rampant in Japan during the Edo period, established a reign of more than 260 years since it came to power. At that time, Japan was still in a feudal society, and after the Tokugawa shogunate established its rule, it continued to strengthen the centralization of power and implemented a closed country policy.
At this time, the outside world was in a state of flux, and Japan was completely unaware of it, and it was not until the country's doors were opened that reforms began. The Tokugawa shogunate, which had been pursuing feudal rule, had long been unable to control the awakened people and was ruthlessly overthrown.
The Tokugawa family then retreated to the second line, so how did the retired Tokugawa family fare? Have you been persecuted?
During the Edo period, the Tokugawa clan defeated Toyotomi Hideyoshi and established centralized rule over a closed country
The Tokugawa clan defeated Toyotomi Hideyoshi in the "Battle of Komaki-Nagatsuki", but due to the lack of fame and the forbearance of the Tokugawa clan, they turned to Toyotomi Hideyoshi as vassals.
With the death of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the Tokugawa clan began a struggle for power, dueling with the military forces left behind by the Toyota family, known as the Battle of Sekigahara, which laid a solid foundation for the Tokugawa family's rule, and then launched the Osaka Winter Front and the Osaka Summer Front, which destroyed the remnants of the Toyota family in 1614 and 1615, respectively.
At this point, the toyoda family's ruling regime was completely destroyed, and the Tokugawa family began to rule Japan for 265 years.
At that time, the power of the Japanese shogunate was very wide, and it could be said that it was a single hand covering the sky, and the power of the government even surpassed that of the emperor. The Tokugawa shogunate had a much greater scope of power, and by the time of the Edo shogunate and the 3rd shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu, the shogunate was largely well-established.
The Tokugawa shogunate occupied a quarter of the country, and in addition to the shogunate, there were also feudal states scattered throughout Japan, all ruled by the central government.
Thus began to strengthen the central government's rule over the various feudal states, establish a centralized power system, safeguard the rights of the shogun as the supreme ruler of the country, and let the shogun handle administrative affairs, formulate national policies, and control the imperial court and the power of the domain.
The European and American powers opened the door to Japan, and the 260-year reign of the Tokugawa shogunate ended
With the progress of social productive forces and the rapid development of the commodity economy, capitalism flourished in Japan, thus contradicting the shogunate rule, which was manifested in the financial difficulties of the shogunate government and the frequent uprisings of the Japanese peasants against the rule.
From the middle of the 18th century to the 1840s, in order to consolidate political power, stabilize the peasants, and promote the development of the small-scale peasant economy, the shogunate successively carried out policy adjustments for the Japanese peasant class, including the reform of enjoying social security, the reform of leniency, and the reform of tenpo, but none of them worked, and the natural economy of Japan began to disintegrate, and capitalist production relations gradually formed and developed.
At this time, the Western countries, transitioning to the stage of imperialism, began to plunder the whole world in a frenzied manner, and the US Navy led its troops to Japan to force Japan to abandon the "policy of locking up the country" by force, and to implement an open policy centered on the establishment of diplomatic relations and the opening of trade in Hong Kong.
After Japan was forced to open the country, due to the imminent national crisis, the Japanese people actively built a strong country and tried to resist foreign enemies by increasing their economic strength and changing the system.
In Japan, which is in crisis, social turmoil is in turmoil and people are living in deep trouble. However, the shogunate at that time did not do anything at all, and the government's inaction caused social dissatisfaction. The Fallen Faction staged a "Retro Imperial Government" coup d'état and successfully overthrew the Tokugawa shogunate.
The newly formed Meiji Emperor's government launched the Bochen War between 1868 and 1869, completely overthrowing the shogunate. At this point, the feudal shogunate politics in Japan came to an end.
After the new regime came to power, the family retired from the world, and the Meiji government granted him a hereditary title to the family
Faced with an invasion from outside, the Tokugawa shogunate was passively confronted and ousted from politics by an army led by the Emperor, who established a preliminary rule in Japan. Generally speaking, when the dynasty changes, the ruler will inevitably kill the previous dynasty, but the new regime did not do this, and everything was promoted in a peaceful atmosphere.
Tokugawa Keiki, who eventually succeeded the shogunate, was not embarrassed or assassinated by the emperor. After he retired, he deliberately stayed away from the political arena, did not ask about political affairs, and lived a leisurely life. The Tokugawa family continued to survive in Japan, and their descendants inherited the Munakata family, moved away from the original site, and gradually faded from people's sight.
In order to change Japan's backward society, the Emperor's government introduced the Meiji Restoration and promulgated new policies. According to the regulations, the Tokugawa Clan was included in the aristocratic class and granted knighthood. Both the descendants and the branches were granted different titles.
The implementation of the new policy enabled the Tokugawa family to enjoy considerable political privileges, and all members of the family who held knighthoods could elect each other to become parliamentarians and participate in the decision-making of major state affairs.
In addition to this, the family's property is specially protected by the bank. At this time, the Tokugawa family seemed to have a momentum of re-emergence, although it was no longer in power on the surface, but in fact it was not completely divorced from politics, and there were even signs of resurgence.
This state of affairs lasted until 1947, when Japan promulgated a new constitution that not only abolished the so-called knighthood system, but also revoked all their privileges. The remnants of the Tokugawa family were ultimately unable to turn the tide.
Today, although Japan underwent capitalist reforms at that time, the Tokugawa family still had the power to remain and still held the dominant power behind it. Unfortunately, the tide of social progress cannot be stopped, and those backward ideas and things will certainly be eliminated.
The Tokugawa family has inherited the well-known business to this day, and future generations are no different from ordinary people
The Tokugawa family, which had completely disappeared from politics, also changed from nobles to commoners, and adhered to the reform policies of the new government. Because it was once a huge family, many of the property was handed down, and the descendants of the Tokugawa family used these savings to start a business.
After more than 100 years of development, the company under the todogawa family has become a well-known company in Japan. Although they could no longer enjoy aristocratic privileges, years of commercial operation also made them richer.
His descendants have very good people from all walks of life in Japan. They live the life of ordinary people, step by step, mention family history, just smile.
If it is backward, it will be beaten, and Japan under the Rule of the Tokugawa Shogunate is almost isolated from the world, and there is no change in the outside world. It was not until the European and American countries opened the door that they realized that the country needed reform. After the Tokugawa family came to power in the new government, not only was it not restricted by the emperor, but it even gained more power and enjoyed more privileges, which shows that Japan's reform at that time was not complete.
The Power of the Tokugawa family was so great that it was difficult to eliminate overnight. Change always requires a transition period, which also gives the Tokugawa family a chance to turn around, but unfortunately it did not succeed. The gradual decline of the Tokugawa family also reflected the changes in Japanese society, from the rulers to the nobles to the commoners, which was a manifestation of social progress.