Tokugawa shogunate
The Tokugawa shogunate (/ˌtɒkuːˈɡɑːwə/ TOK-oo-GAH-wə; Japanese: 徳川幕府, romanized: Tokugawa bakufu, IPA: [tokɯgawa, tokɯŋawa baꜜkɯ̥ɸɯ]), also known as the Edo shogunate (江戸幕府, Edo bakufu), was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868.
Tokugawa shogunate
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| 1603–1868 | |||||||||||||
Mon of the Tokugawa clan
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| National seal 經文緯武 (from 1857) | |||||||||||||
| Capital | Edo (Shōgun's residence) Heian-kyō (Emperor's palace) | ||||||||||||
| Largest city | Osaka (1600–1613) Heian-kyō (1613–1638) Edo (1638–1867) | ||||||||||||
| Common languages | Early Modern Japanese Modern Japanese | ||||||||||||
| Religion | State religions: Japanese Buddhism Confucianism Others: Shinto Shinbutsu-shūgō Japanese Buddhism Christianity (banned, until 1853) | ||||||||||||
| Government | Feudal dynastic hereditary military dictatorship | ||||||||||||
| Emperor | |||||||||||||
• 1600–1611 (first) | Go-Yōzei | ||||||||||||
• 1867–1868 (last) | Meiji | ||||||||||||
| Shōgun | |||||||||||||
• 1603–1605 (first) | Tokugawa Ieyasu | ||||||||||||
• 1866–1868 (last) | Tokugawa Yoshinobu | ||||||||||||
| Historical era | Edo period | ||||||||||||
| 21 October 1600 | |||||||||||||
| 8 November 1614 | |||||||||||||
| 1635 | |||||||||||||
| 31 March 1854 | |||||||||||||
| 29 July 1858 | |||||||||||||
| 3 January 1868 | |||||||||||||
| Currency | The tri-metallic Tokugawa coinage system based on copper Mon, silver Bu and Shu, as well as gold Ryō. | ||||||||||||
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| Today part of | Japan | ||||||||||||
| Part of a series on the |
| History of Japan |
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The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil wars of the Sengoku period following the collapse of the Ashikaga shogunate. Ieyasu became the shōgun, and the Tokugawa clan governed Japan from Edo Castle in the eastern city of Edo (Tokyo) along with the daimyō lords of the samurai class. The Tokugawa shogunate organized Japanese society under the strict Tokugawa class system and banned most foreigners under the isolationist policies of Sakoku to promote political stability. The Tokugawa shoguns governed Japan in a feudal system, with each daimyō administering a han (feudal domain), although the country was still nominally organized as imperial provinces. Under the Tokugawa shogunate, Japan experienced rapid economic growth and urbanization, which led to the rise of the merchant class and Ukiyo culture.
The Tokugawa shogunate declined during the Bakumatsu period from 1853 and was overthrown by supporters of the Imperial Court in the Meiji Restoration in 1868. The Empire of Japan was established under the Meiji government, and Tokugawa loyalists continued to fight in the Boshin War until the defeat of the Republic of Ezo at the Battle of Hakodate in June 1869.