Tokugawa Shogunate: Map & History
The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the Edo shogunate, was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868.
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The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the Edo shogunate, was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868.
Modern Countries Once Part of Tokugawa Shogunate
At its mapped extent, Tokugawa Shogunate covered territory in 2 present-day countries. The period shown is when the mapped borders include that country, and the note says how much of it.
States and Provinces
Largest Present-Day Cities in Its Territory
Each opens on the live map inside Tokugawa Shogunate's borders of that time.
Derived by testing mapped cities against this polity's dated territorial polygons, so the list is indicative and follows the borders in the source dataset.
Tokugawa Shogunate in Depth
History
Following the Sengoku period ("Warring States period"), the central government had been largely re-established by Oda Nobunaga during the Azuchi–Momoyama period. After the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, central authority fell to Tokugawa Ieyasu. While many daimyō who fought against him were extinguished or had their holdings reduced, Ieyasu was committed to retaining the daimyō and the han (domains) as the foundations of his new shogunate. Daimyō who sided with Ieyasu were rewarded, and some of Ieyasu's former vassals were made daimyō of strategically positioned regions across Japan. The sankin-kotai policy, in an effort to constrain rebellions by the daimyō, mandated the housing of wives and children of the daimyō in the capital as hostages.
Government
The bakuhan system (幕藩体制, bakuhan taisei) was the feudal political system in the Edo period of Japan. Baku is an abbreviation of bakufu, meaning "military government"—that is, the shogunate. The han were the domains headed by daimyō. Beginning from Ieyasu's appointment as shogun in 1603, but especially after the Tokugawa victory in Osaka in 1615, various policies were implemented to assert the shogunate's control, which severely curtailed the daimyō' independence. The number of daimyō varied but stabilized at around 270. Although the shogunate was nominally under the control of the Emperor of Japan, it was actually governed by the shōgun, the supreme military leader.
The bakuhan system split feudal power between the shogunate in Edo and the daimyō with domains throughout Japan.
Economy
After the unification of Japan, the discovery of new silver mines and the improvement of mining techniques, the extraction and export of silver from Japan increased dramatically, particularly to Ming China. Between 1560 and 1600, the annual export of silver ranged from 33 to 49 tons, but due to the Ming ban on trade with Japan, the import of Japanese silver was facilitated by the Portuguese. In the early 17th century, Japanese silver exports continued to rise, with the import of luxury goods such as silk (reaching up to 280 tons per year in the 1630s). Silk was so abundant and inexpensive in Japan that even some peasants were able to afford it, leading to a rise in its popularity among the lower classes.
In 1601, the Hokusan region became the domain of Tokugawa Ieyasu.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Tokugawa shogunate (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Tokugawa Shogunate: Key Facts
| Capital | Edo |
|---|---|
| Official language | Early Modern Japanese |
| Religion | Shinto |
| Form of government | hereditary monarchy |
| Currencies | Tokugawa coinage, ryō |
| Founded | 24 March 1603 |
| Dissolved | 9 November 1867 |
Preceded by
- Toyotomi government
Succeeded by
- Government of Meiji Japan
- Empire of Japan
Facts from Wikidata Q205662 (CC0).
Tokugawa Shogunate Map Over Time
Dated world maps on which Tokugawa Shogunate appears, with the other states of the time.
Tokugawa Shogunate Timeline
Key historical inflections from foundation to peak territorial expansion
Expansion to peak recorded area of 461,627 km² in 1865 CE.
Tokugawa Shogunate: Frequently Asked Questions
When did Tokugawa Shogunate exist?
Tokugawa Shogunate is dated to 1600 CE – 1869 CE, in the Early Modern & Age of Discovery era.
What was the capital of Tokugawa Shogunate?
The capital of Tokugawa Shogunate was Edo, (Shōgun's residence), Heian-kyō, (Emperor's palace).
How large was Tokugawa Shogunate at its peak?
At its peak in 1865 Tokugawa Shogunate covered about 461,627 km².
How did the map of Tokugawa Shogunate change over time?
Tokugawa Shogunate appears on 4 dated world maps in the atlas, from 1600 CE to 1850 CE. Each shows its borders in that year next to the other states of the time.
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