In it, he described the Tokugawa period (1603-1868) as an era of oppressive “feudal” rule. In this view, hierarchical divisions between samurai, peasant, artisan, and merchant were strictly maintained ...

During the Tokugawa shogunate, all Jesuits and Portuguese merchants were expelled, ending the Portugal-Japan relations that had begun in 1543. ShÅ gun’s Black Ship has been referenced a few ...

The Tokugawa clan, which produced successive shogun rulers throughout the Edo Period (1603-1867), will hold a ceremony Jan. 29 to formally anoint its first new head in more than half a century.

The Tokugawa Bakufu strictly controlled who could ... Besides the usual daimyo and merchants, the Tokaido saw people from all of Japan’s classes. These included pilgrims traveling between ...

and publishing all played a role in changing Tokugawa society. While merchants were considered lowly, they ended up wielding economic power over the highest social class, the samurai. The government's ...