Foundations of the Modern Japanese Daimyo
Author(s): John Whitney Hall
Reviewed work(s):
Source: The Journal of Asian Studies, Vol. 20, No. 3 (May, 1961), pp. 317-329
Published by: Association for Asian Studies
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Foundationsof theModern
JapaneseDaimyo
JOHN WHITNEY HALL
T
HE institutional
foundations
of the Tokugawadaimyohave been obscured
by thelack of insightwhichhistorians
havetraditionally
shownintothe historyof theAshikagaperiodand,in particular,
intothelateAshikaga,or Sengoku,
age.LiketheDarkAgesin Europe,thischapter
ofJapanese
history
hasbeenaccepted
in historiography
as a darkand formless
eraof warand trouble.
Japanese
historians
havedismissed
theSengokuperiodas a timeof ge-koku-io
whenthepoliticalorder
was capriciously
turnedupsidedownby unworthy
leaders.The colorfulWestern
historian,
JamesMurdoch,has heapedhis mostcausticinvectives
upon the main
in Ashikagahistory.
figures
Of thefounder
of theAshikagashogunate
he claimed,
"Takaujimayindeedhavebeenthegreatest
manof histime,butthatis notsaying
verymuch,forthemiddleofthefourteenth
in Japanwasthegoldenage,not
century
butof mediocrities."'
merelyof turncoats,
To MurdochtheSengokuperiodwas a
"vile"age whentheJapanese
peopleshowed,as he putit,a "lustforwarand slaughter. . . utterly
beyondhumancontrol,"
and onlythetimelyarrivalof the "great
trio"of daimyo,Nobunaga,Hideyoshi,
and Ieyasu,savedthe day forJapan.2
WalterDening,Hideyoshi's
is evenmoreeloquentin depicting
biographer,
the
contrast
betweentheSengokuage and thepeacewhichHideyoshibrought.
"The
ofthistime,"he wrote,
"is a history
history
ofsuccessful
usurpation
age afterage....
was a sceneof desolation
The wholecountry
in Japanese
unprecedented
annals.By
the genius,indomitable
of one man,the wholeaspectof
courage,and resolution
To historians
was transformed."3
suchas Murdochand Deningthedaimyo
affairs
of thelateSengokuage wereheroeswho brought
to a chaotic
peace and stability
world.
But not all writers
have drawnthe pre-Tokugawa
centuries
so darklynorthe
EvenMurdochrecognized
someredeeming
daimyoso brightly.
in theAshifeatures
a brighter
sideto thisdarkage has beenfoundby Japanese
kaga period.Recently
todevelopthisnewview,andsubsequently
NakamuraKichijiwasthefirst
historians.
The Sengokuperiodwas a timeofhopeit hasbeenincludedin Western
literature.4
oflightfooted
fulsigns,we aretold,characterized
bytheemergence
peasantswho,as
of freecities;by
ashigaru,vaultedintotheranksof thesamurai;bytheemergence
an expandedforeign
"anti-feudal"
tendencies.
trade;and manyotherpurportedly
The authoris Professorof Historyand Directorof the Centerfor JapaneseStudies at the Universityof
Michigan.
1 JamesMurdoch,Historyof Japan (3 vols.,K6be and London, 1903-1926), I, 580.
2 Murdoch,I, 636.
3 WalterDening, The Life of ToyotomiHideyoshi(I536-98)
(K6be, 1930), pp. 6-7.
4Nakamura Kichiji, H6kensei saihenseishi [History of the Re-establishment
of the Feudal System]
(Tokyo,1939).
317
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318
JOHNW. HALL
to thehistorian.
Justified
or not,thispictureof theSengokuage is paradoxical
hopefulor "progresFor,in proportion
to theemphasis
placeduponthesupposedly
and
"greattrio"is minimized
sive"signsin Sengokusociety,
theworkofMurdoch's
afterhis
thatHideyoshi,
the daimyoare less admired.For whenit is discovered
putsit,
unification
ofJapan,did notcomplete
thesetrends,
and,as one recentwriter
did not"respondwitha planof integration
whichwouldhaveplacedJapanon the
of progressas a modernstateand worldpower,"'the questionarises
threshold
"Whynot?"
The answermostfrequently
of congivenis thatHideyoshiwas a spokesman
servative
slamming
of
feudalinterests.
Nobunaga'sreduction
of Sakai,Hideyoshi's
thedoorin thefaceofthosewhowouldhavefollowed
himoutofthepeasantry,
and
have been held against
Ieyasu'spurported
returnto outgrown
feudalinstitutions
Murdoch's
heroes.Japanese
SuzukiRyoichihas called
historians
havegonefurther.
thesocialsettlement
bya victorious
coaliunderHideyoshia "betrayal"
perpetrated
tionoffeudalgroupsagainstthestruggling
nomin.In hiswords,"The newabsolute
feudal hegemony. . . suppressedthe furtheranti-feudalstruggleof the peasantry
thatthe"great
.... "6 Whatarewe tobelieve:thatthedarkagesweredarkorbright,
trio"wereheroesor traitors?
The answerto thisquestionliesin thestudyof thedaimyowhoemergedas the
newpolitical
masters
ofJapanandofthemethods
bywhichtheygainedandgoverned
theirdomains.Of all theinstitutional
products
of theAshikagaperiod,thedaimyo
werewithoutquestionthemostsignificant.
A studyof theAshikagaperiodin the
figures
of Japanese
local
lightof theevolution
of thedaimyoas therepresentative
and nationalgovernment,
ratherthan as individualheroes,can illuminatethis
or of
enigmatic
chapterof Japanese
history,
divorcedfromthelabelsof ge-koku-j0
it is only as we tracethe institutional
originsof the
hero-worship.
Conversely,
as themoldersof
daimyobackintotheAshikagaperiodthattheirtruesignificance
in TokugawaJapancan be understood.
localgovernment
Toyoda
In recent
years,
Japanese
historians
suchas NagaharaKeiji,Sat6Shin'ichi,
seriousattention
to the
Takeshi,It6Tasaburo,andNakamuraKichiji,havedirected
institutional
originsof thedaimyo.Althoughthesescholarshavenotalwaysagreed
oftheirdata,theirstudieshavegivenus a usefulperiodizaupontheinterpretation
forthisfieldofstudy.Basically,
tionand nomenclature
whatthesemenhavedoneis
to makea seriesof cross-sectional
of Japanese
localadminanalysesof thestructure
century
istration
at fourpointsin timefrom,roughly,
themiddleof thefourteenth
This admittedly
to theendoftheseventeenth
artificial
segmentation
of the
century.
of socialchangehas providedthedata forthepostulation
continuum
of fourideal
of theprevious,
and
daimyotypes,each buildingsuccessively
upontheinstitutions
areasofhegemony.
eachembracing
Theyare: (i) theshugolargerandmoreeffective
theperiodfrommid-fourteenth
century
tosomewhat
daimyotypewhichcharacterize
untilthe 1490's, (2) thesengoku-daimyo
type
beyondtheOninwars,approximately
intothe1560's and 1570's, (3) theshokuh5before1500 andcontinued
whichemerged
5 RyusakuTsunoda, Wm. Theodore de Bary,Donald Keene, comp., Sources of the JapaneseTradition
(New York, 1958), p. 322.
6 Suzuki Ry6ichi,"Shokuh6-seikenron" ["On the Shokuh6 Political Structure"],RekishigakuKen-
Nihonrekishikdza [Lectureson Japanese
History](8 vols.,Tokyo,
and NihonshiKenkyfikai,
kyfikai
1952), IV, 86.
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MODERN JAPANESE DAIMYO
319
daimyotypewhichcameintobeingunderNobunagaand Hideyoshi
and lasteduntil
theearlyseventeenth
century,
and (4) thekinsei-daimyo
typewhichbecamedominant
duringtheTokugawaperiodand maturedby theend of theseventeenth
century.7
Each of thesetypesexhibited
certaindistinctive
patterns
of socialand politicalorganizationwithinseverallevelsof government:
(i) thelevelof ultimate
authority
and sanction
fortheexercise
oflegalor administrative
powers,(2) thelevelofpower
betweenlocal
organization
amongthelocalelite,and (3) thelevelof relationships
powerholdersand thevarioussubordinate
groupsoflocalinhabitants.
The possibility
thatthemilitary
confusion
of theSengokuperiodmaskedmany
fundamental
andevenrevolutionary
socialandpolitical
changeshasnotbeenignored
completely
byhistorians.
The traditional
emphasisuponthe"reunification"
ofJapan
has impliedtheadoptionof certain
new practices
of military
and politicalorganization.G. B. Sansomhaslaidconsiderable
stress
on theshiftin socialorganization
from
clan to familyand on thechangingnatureof feudallaw.8K. Asakawahas studied
theevolving
oflandtenureandfiscaladministration.9
patterns
Whathasbeenlacking
has beena recognition
ofthefullmagnitude
and variety
of theinstitutional
changes
whichaccompanied
theemergence
ofthemoderndaimyoand thecapacity
to describe
A structural
thesechangescomprehensively.
studyofthedaimyodomainprovides
the
materials
forsuchan integrated
treatment.
It maybe argued,ofcourse,thata singlepattern
ofdaimyoevolution
cannotpossiblyemergefromthediverselocalhistories
ofthescattered
regionsofJapan.And it
is unquestionably
truethat,in terms
oftimingandpattern,
socialchangein Japanhas
shownconsiderable
regionalvariation.
On theotherhand,enoughworkhas been
donebyJapanese
historians
toshowthatthereis a "mainstream"
ofdaimyoevolution
illustrated
bytheprogression
of thefouridealtypesdescribed
above.The following
of theinstitutional
amplification
originsof themoderndaimyocombines
thisrecent
workofJapanese
historians
withdatatakenfromthecasestudyof a singlelocality:
the provinceof Bizen,whichoccupiestodaythe southeasterni
thirdof Okayama
The history
Prefecture.
of theriseof the moderndaimyoin Bizen followsrather
withthe
closelythemainstreamof daimyodevelopment.
it contrasts
Admittedly,
patternin someof thefringeareasof theJapanese
islands,as thosefamiliarwith
Asakawa'sworkon Satsumawillrecognize.10
ButtheBizencaseis closeto thenorm
see: NagaharaKeiji,
of themoreaccessible
and generalized
writings
of thesehistorians
7 Fora selection
of theShugoDomain"],Shakaikeizaishigaku,
"Shugory5kokusei
no tenkai"["The ChangingStructure
Structure
ofthe
"Shugory6kokusei
no tenkai"["The Changing
XVII (Feb. 1951), 103-104; SatoShin'ichi,
taikei[NewSerieson Japanese
History](6 vols.,Tokyo,1952-1954),
ShugoDomain"],ShinNihonrekishi
of the SengokuDaimyo
no keisei"["The Structure
IIJ,81-I27; ToyodaTakeshi,"Sengoku-daimyo-ry6
ToyodaTakeshi,"Shokuh6seiken"["The Shokuho
Domain"],ShinNihonrekishitaikei,III, I97-223;
kenkyui
josetsu"["InPolitical
Structure"],
Nihonrekishi
kOza,III, I85-208; It6Tasabur6,"Kinseidaimyd
troduction
to theStudyof theModernDaimyo"],Shigakuzasshi,LV, nos.9 and iI (Sept., Nov. 1944);
NakamuraKichiji,"Kokudakaseidoto h6kensei-Bakuhan
taiseino seikaku-" ["The kokudakaSystem
System-"],Shigakuzasshi,LXLX,nos.7-8 (July,
and Feudalism-TheNatureof theShogunal-Daimyo
Aug.I960).
8 GeorgeB. Sansom,Japan-AShortCultural
History(rev.ed.,New York,1943), pp. 362-365.
9 AsakawaKan'ichi,tr.and ed.,The Documents
of theFeudd
ofIriki,Illustrative
oftheDevelopment
Institutions
ofJapan(New Haven,1929).
' 0Satsuma, thesceneof theAsakawa'sstudyoftheIrikihousedocuments,
is one of thefewregions
in
as a
of Kamakuraorigin,theShimazu,managedto retainitspowerand continue
whicha shugofamily
daimyoundertheTokugawahegemony.
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320
JOHN W. HALL
centralJapan,and it was thisarea which
of theprocessas it unfoldedthroughout
bothin socialchangeand politicalunification.
providedleadership
had a
in theeighthcentury,
established
Bizen,one of theoriginal66 provinces
withstrongtiesto thecenterof courtinstableadministration
of relatively
history
a populaan areaofabout670squaremiles,itsupported
at Kyoto.Comprising
fluence
Duringthe
century.
personsbytheendoftheseventeenth
tionofjustunder400,000
bythedaimyoof Okayama,hereditarily
dominated
Tokugawaperiod,it w.s totally
assignedto thehouseofIkeda.AlthoughBizendid notprovidethebaseof support
gave
powerduringtheearlyAshikagaperiod,it eventually
fora majorshugo-daimyo
theUkida,whichgainednationalprominence
daimyofamily,
riseto an indigenous
bytheIkedaduringthe
The Ukidaweresucceeded
underNobunagaandHideyoshi.
and it was thelatterhousewhichperfected
earlyyearsoftheTokugawahegemony,
of themoderndaimyoin Bizen.
theinstitutions
The shugo-daimyo
witnessed
century
duringthelasthalfofthefourteenth
The warsofthedynasties
bearingthetitleof shugoand
localfamilies
of a groupof powerful
theemergence
military
by theAshikagashogun.These shugowereessentially
givenappointment
exerand
of
the
shogun
subordinates
military
the
as
both
they
served
for
governors,
governors.11
of the formerimperialprovincial
civilfunctions
cisedthe remaining
of the later
forerunners
the institutional
were,in effect,
governors
These military
suchas theShimazu,Otomo,or Date, did
daimyo,althoughin onlyrareinstances,
theirpowerto becomedaimyoat a laterage.
manageto perpetuate
shugofamilies
wereprovinces
and appointment
The unitsof shugojurisdiction
(kuni) suchas
legal powersvestedin themby the
Bizen,over whichtheyexercisedprescribed
In mostprovinces,
in principle
fromtheemperor.
whoderivedhisauthority
shogun,
of the
authority
existedbetweenthe jurisdictional
a sizeablediscrepancy
however,
system
The imperialbureaucratic
authority.
shugoand theareaof theirenforceable
had notyetfully
and controls
allegiances
ofmilitary
was nearlydead,butthesystem
takenitsplace.This,in essence,was theweaknessof theAshikagapolicy,and not
and mediocrities.
turncoats
Murdoch's
Bizen,duringtheearlyAshikagaperiod,was dividedintosomeI05 shoenunits,
Of
and absenteeproprietorships.
welterof resident
undera confusing
administered
located
26
court
by
4 by
families,
centrally
family,
these,4 wereheldbytheimperial
and I2 by the Hosokawafamilywhosehead servedas deputy
templesor shrines,
underresident
shogun(kanrei).Thirtyor moresmallshoen wereheld,probably
mostofthemformer
families,
bymilitary
jit3.'2One ofthesehouses,
proprietorships,
11 It6 Tasaburo, Nihon h6kenseidoshi [Historyof Feudal Institutions
in Japan] (Tokyo, I95I), p. 142;
Yoshimura Shigeki, Kokushi-seidoh6kai ni kansuru kenkyfi[A Study of the Decline of the System of
ProvincialGovernorships](Tokyo, 1957). For a case studyof a shugo familyin the vicinityof Okayama
see: Matsuoka Hisato, "'Ouchi-shino hattento sono ry6kokushihai" ["The Emergenceof the Ouchi House
to i6kamachi [Daimyo Terriand its Systemof TerritorialControl"], in Uozumi S6gor6,Daimy&-rydkoku
toriesand castle towns] (Kyoto, 1957).
12These figureswere compiled by Madoka Kanai from the following sources: Nagayama Usabur6,
OkayamaKen nochishi[Historyof AgriculturalLand in OkayamaPrefecture](Okayama, 1952), 394-452;
Nakamura Naokatsu, Sho5enno kenkysi [Studies on shkoen](Tokyo, I939), 60I-643; Takeuchi Rizo,
Nishioka ToranoJiryosh6en no kenkysi[Studies on Temple Shken] (Tokyo, 1942), 63-64, 77, 471-472;
III, 882-886; Shimizu
suke, Sh6enshino kenkyd[Studies on Skden History] (3 vols., Toky6, I956-I957),
Masatake,Sh6en shiryo[Documentson Sh6en] (2 vols., Toky6, 1933), 1121 ff.
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MODERN JAPANESEDAIMYO
321
of shugo of Bizen,butlostthetitleto a
heldtheappointment
theMatsuda,briefly
provinceof Harima.The Akapower,theAkamatsuof the neighboring
stronger
matsuservedas shugo ofBizenformostoftheyearsfromI364 to I522.13
In
Fromalmostanypointof viewthebasisof Akamatsupowerwas precarious.
andotherholdofcompleteness,
degrees
heldI2 shoenin varying
Harima,thefamily
theAkamatsumay
In itshomeprovince
over6 otherprovinces.
ingswerescattered
of thebushi familiesas
a tenthof thelandand counteda majority
havecontrolled
were
proprietors
ofabsentee
courtandreligious
theiralliesorvassals.Buttheinterests
In BizentheAkamatsuheldbuttwoof theI05 shoen,
stillevidentin theprovince.
of the
submission
on the uncertain
restedalmostentirely
so thattheirauthority
oftheUrakami,
Matsudahousewhichdominated
Bizenandon theservices
western
holdovereastern
fora precarious
who,as jitOofoneoftheAkamatsush6en,fought
Bizen.To bothofthesehouses,theAkamatsuassignedtitlesas deputy-military-governors(shugodai).
and thatoflegal
authority
theareaofenforceable
ofa gap between
The existence
in
theshugo placedupontheirparticipation
accounts
fortheimportance
jurisdiction
and thereliancetheyplacedupontheshogun's
theaffairs
oftheAshikagashogunate
thatthisreliance
irony,however,
It is an historic
supportin theirown localaffairs.
upon centralratherthanlocal sourcesof powerwas to be theirundoing.The
andthecourtinvolved
oftheshogunate
theshugo feltforthelegalauthority
necessity
turned
of thecapital.But as theshugo families
themmoreand morein theaffairs
and holdingtheirterritheirattention
to Ky6to,theyfoundthetaskof organizing
vassals
and trusted
of relatives
toriesincreasingly
beyondtheirmeans.The network
and dividedin loyaltiesand interests.
on whomtheydependedbecamescattered
basedon primogeniNeithertheforceoftheoathof allegiance
norfamily
solidarity
on thenationalstagedrewtheshugo and
turehad beenperfected."4
Competition
losttheirholdover
theirarmiesawayfromtheirpowerbases,so thattheygradually
in theprovinces
began
Real initiative
thelowerechelonsof theirown subordinates.
veryoftento theshugodai who had been
to passto anotherlevelof localfamilies,
rootsin thelocalsoil.In theOninwar,theshugo families
ableto putdownstronger
or became
opposingeachother,so thatnearlyall disappeared
themselves
exhausted
jurisvassals.BetweenI467 and theI530's, thefar-flung
thepuppetsoftheirstronger
and a secondwaveoffamilies
oftheshugo brokeintofragments,
dictional
territories
thepieces.
of localorigininherited
The sengoku-daimy6
thetwo
In Bizen,thecollapseof theAkamatsubetweenI483 and I522 brought
theMatsudaand Urakami,to thefore.Theirswas nota simple
shugodaifamilies,
however.
The territories
controlled
bythese
fromtheAkamatsu,
caseof inheritance
13Mizuno Kyoichiro,"Shugo Akamatsu-shino ry6kokushihai to Kakitsu no hen" [The Territorial
of the shugo AkamatsuHouse and the Kakitsu Incident], Shirin,42 (I959),
Administration
254-28I.
"For an analysis of the institutionalweaknesses of a shugo house similar to the Akamatsu see:
Koyamada Yoshio, "Muromachijidai no Mori-shini tsuite" ["On the Mri House during the Muromachi
Period"] Rekishi byciku, 7.8 (I959),
24-26; Fukui Sakuji, "Mori-shi no daimy6 ryoshuseino hatten"
["The Developmentby theM6riHouse-ofitsSystemof Daimyo TerritorialControl"], Geibichihoshikenkyd,
V-VI (I954),
I7-24.
Sugiyama Hiroshi,Shoen kaitai katei no kenkyu [(Studieson the Dissolusionof the
.
Sh6en] (Toky6, I959),
I38-192
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322
JOHNW. HALL
emerging
wereof a new and moreruggedtype.In them,thegap
sengoku-daimy65
it had
controlhad beenwipedaway,or,morecorrectly,
betweenlegaland effective
by actual
unsupported
authority
to lay claimto jurisdictional
becomeimpossible
military
force.
In theregionof Bizentoday,theremainsof over200 smallhilltopfortifications,
ofa newkindofpolitical-military
datingfromtheSengokuperiod,standas evidence
At thebottomof Bizenelitesomilitary
basedon entrenched
organization
power.15
in theirimmediateneighborthemselves
asserting
ciety,smallbushilandowners,
of a fortand
unitseach consisting
consolidated
hoods,builtup smallbut strongly
of thefortthemanymyosha,or
withintheprotection
unifying
surrounding
fiefs,
of a
Thesewerethebuildingblocksofthepowerstructure
cultivators,
ofthesefiefs.
or ki.
leaderof whichwas themountedfighter,
theindividual
newwarnngsociety,
organizedintolargervalley-wide
Such leaderswere graduallyand systematically
of theformer
undertheleadership
hierarchies
of loyalties
shugodaiduringthewars
coercionthatthe
upon military
of the Sengokuera. But whileit was primarily
theyutilizedas welltheresidue
hegemony,
shugodaireliedfortheirregional
former
official
titles.
fromtheirprevious
whichremained
and legalauthority
ofprestige
ledbythe
powercameintoexistence
ofmilitary
centers
In Bizen,twocompeting
thempowershad entrenched
Matsudaand Urakami.'6Each of theselongstanding
fromwhichtheycouldextendcontroloverthelesser
fastnesses
selvesin mountain
The Matsuda,conregions.
geographical
military
houseswithinsmallbutdefensible
Bizen,counted350 kiamongtheirvassals
trolling
theAsahiRivervalleyof western
or,rather,
Theirdomain,
5000 menin emergency.
in theI490's andcouldmuster
including20 major
fluidboundaries
was an area of relatively
sphereof influence,
fortsand manysmallerones.The Urakamisphereof powerwhich
tributary-valley
untiltheI550's.
Bizendidnotreachfullmaturity
embraced
theYoshiiRiverofeastern
heldby 59 major
of somei72 separatefiefs(chi'gydchi)
By thattimeit consisted
and fewheldlessthanwhatwas later
directly,
vassals.'7Each vassalwas enfeoffed
ofthese59 vassalsas
Of500 koku.Thus we can visualizethemajority
theequivalent
of long
his own followers
and land-holdings
each possessing
pettycastle-holders,
leaders
suchas theUrakamiand Matsuda,werein effect
standing.
Sengoku-daimyd,
mostof
referred
to as kokujin),
coalitions
oflocalfamilies
(generally
of separate
hadbeen
theshoensystem
as jito.Thesecoalitions
whichhadgrownup within
overa longperiod
oftimeandwerecharacterized
bya heavyrelidrawntogether
and
in addition
to bondsof vassalage
andmarriage
relationships
anceon kinship
trueoftheMatsuda,
forpurposes
ofsolidarity.
Thiswasparticularly
enfeoffment
wereheadsofbranch
families
orwerelinked
tothe
ofwhosesupporters
themajority
ties.18
Matsuda
marriage
bydirect
oftheSengoku
period
Asa general
I530 orso,thedaimyo
rule,atleastuntilafter
overterritories
whichapproached
in sizethoseofthe
didnotacquirejurisdiction
(2 vols.,Okayama,
Prefecture]
ofOkayama
History
Kentsushi[Survey
Nagayama Usaburo,Okayama
II, 987-I011.
16 Okayama Shiyakusho,OkayamaShi shi [History
of OkayamaCity](6 vols., Okayama, I938), II,
on Kibi,Volume
da sanshui(Senkibu) [Collected
Writing
shuisei
f. Tanaka Seiichi,ed., Kibigunsho
II95
15
I930),
(Tokyo,1921).
Chronicles)]
3, (Military
Archives],UrakamiUkida ry5kebugenchc[House Rolls of the
17 Ikeda-kemonjo [Ikeda-house
Urakamiand Ukida],doc. Zatsu, 717.
18 OkayamaShishi,II, I325.
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MODERN JAPANESEDAIMYO
323
shugo.But theirgripwas moresecureand complete.
Theirholdingsand thoseof
theirfollowers
werecloselycompacted
intocontiguous
domainswhich,in mostinstances,
hadbeenwonordefended
in battle.ITus thedistinction
between
boundaries
of legaljurisdiction
and outright
controlhad beenlargelyobliterated.
Withinthis
area,thecomplexdivisionofrightswhichcharacterized
theshoensystem
had given
way to theholdingof land in fief.By now the absenteeinterests
of courtiers
or
distanttempleshad beenalmostentirely
squeezedout.In otherwords,thevertical
linesofauthority
and control
had beenpulledshortand taut.Verylittleadministrativeand almostno fiscalcontactexistedbetweentheprovinces
and Kyoto.The individualdaimyodomainswereessentially
independent.
Withinthemthepowerand
authority
relationships
consisted
of a hierarchically
structured
system
of allegiances
in whichmilitary
servicewas exchanged
forgrantsoffief.Furthermore,
theexercise
ofthefunctions
ofgovernment,
coincided
withthoserelationships.
It is thissituation
whichcan be compared
mostcloselywiththemodelof decentralized
in
feudalism
Europe.
The shokuhJ-daimya
In Bizen as elsewhere,
no soonerhad the new local powersconsolidated
the
domainsfromwhichtheycoulddrawextensive
than
military
and economicsupport,
theybeganto contest
forterritory
amongthemselves.
Beginning
duringthe I530's
and reachinga crescendo
afterI560, the struggle
ragedforlocal and, eventually,
nationalhegemony.
In most locales-and this was true of Bizen-the original
sengoku-daimyd
did notsurvivethedevastating
warsof theI530's to I560's. Again
theywerereplacedbya newgroupoffamilies
whichshowedstillgreater
capacities
forleadership
and organization
This
underthestrenuous
of warfare.
requirements
was theheydayofge-koku-j6,
when,according
to thetraditional
view,military
uptheirlegitimate
starts
displaced
howsuperiors
In actuality,
bytreachery
and trickery.
ever,it is clearthatthesenew leaders,who inherited
the domainsof theirformer
lordsand proceeded
to carveout evenlargerterritories,
builttheirsuccessesupon
certain
clearly
defined
institutional
advances.
The basicweaknessofthedaimyooftheearlySengokuperiodwas that,as time
wenton, theirvassalsbecameincreasingly
The new
powerfuland insubordinate.
daimyoofthelateSengokuperiodwereableto imposea sufficiently
control
effective
overthefighting
menandtheresources
oftheirdomains,
a specialcapacity
thatkept
themrelatively
freeof suchcentrifugal
in
forces.
This capacitywas wellillustrated
thegrowingconcentrations
of military
and economicmightwhichthenewdaimyo
in thegreatcastleheadquarters
assembled
of theirdomains.
In Bizen,thisnew stageof organization
was achievedby the military
leader
UkidaNaoie.YThe history
ofUkida'sriseis remarkably
tothatofthebettersimilar
knownmilitary
ofthisage,suchas Oda Nobunaga,ToyotomiHideyoshi,
figures
or
tookoverBizen.In I545, Ukida Naoie, a minor
Ikeda Terumasa,who eventually
vassalof theUrakami,was givencommandof a smallforton Bizen'ssea frontier.
He was assigned30 menforitsdefenseand a smallfiefnearby.Here werethein19 The UkidaHousehas leftbehindonlya veryfewdocuments
to itsriseas thefirstgreat
relating
due to itsviolent
daimyoofBizen,perhaps
demisein i6oo. The availablerecords
arefairly
wellassembled
in OkayamaShi shi,II, 1403 f. A fewhouserollsrecovered
fromthearchives
of the6oka familyare
foundin theOkayamaKenritsu
Toshokan(OkayamaPrefectural
Library).
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JOHNW. HALL
324
to takeoverall of Bizen
whichwas eventually
of a new powerstructure
gredients
in auinnovations
Thereweretwo important
provinces.
and partsof neighboring
of his 30 men.In
thecommander
Ukida Naoie was in effect
relationships.
thority
thewordsoftheday,he was theiryorioya(parent)and theyhisyoriko(children).
from
fundamentally
differing
Betweenthemwas a chainof commandrelationship
thesemenweremaintained
or oathofvassalagetie.Secondly,
marriage
theprevious
on Naoie'sfief.Theylivedin hiscastleandlivedoffhislandwhichadjoinedit.Thus
betweenthesemenand theirleaderwas morecomplete.
thedegreeof dependence
theirwayoutofthecornerof Bizen,he addedto
As Naoie and hismenfought
of outlying
his fiefsand beganto setout someof his own yorikoas commanders
castles.Abouthalfof his originalband becameunitcommanders
(kumigashira)
within
theirown vassals,and fiveof thesebecamemajorcastleholders
possessing
involvedcertainriskswhicha
The grantingof such privileges
Naoie's territory.
In a sense,it meanta returnto theolder
leaderlikeNaoie musthaverecognized.
because
necessary
status.Butitwas unquestionably
lord-vassal
formoflessdependent
controloverhis excentralized
Naoie had notyetdevelopeda sufficiently
effective
overhis
hisdominance
As it was,Naoie workedhardto maintain
pandingterritory.
pullingbackhis majorvassals
commands
and periodically
frequently,
men,rotating
a largeforceoftroopsunder
he maintained
Moreover,
tohisowncastleheadquarters.
of his holdingswas
centerof gravity
so thatthemilitary
hisown directcommand,
to succlearlylocatedin hismaincastle.Thus Naoie movedhis own headquarters
Okayamacastle,newlybuiltto house
cessively
largercastlesuntilin I573 he entered
fromIo,ooo to
By thistimeNaoie was mustering
his swellingcorpsof fighters.
campaigns.His fiefsextendedovernearlya tenthof
15,000 men in his frequent
stillvassalto thehead of theUrakamihouse,
Bizen.20Althoughhe was nominally
to haveambitions
ofhisown.
he was beginning
whilelocalleaderssuchas UkidaNaoie
century,
Afterthemiddleofthesixteenth
centralized
withintheirown terrimilitary
organizations
wereperfecting
strongly
heldtotheirsystems
theolderregional
lords,suchas theMatsudaorUrakami,
tories,
coalitions
of independently
to relyon the
enfeoffed
vassals.Continuing
of extended
of theirmountain
theycameto dependmoreand
castles,
invulnerability
presumed
to do theirfighting.
theywere
rhoreupontheirownsubordinates
As a consequence,
theirvassalsa dangerous
rateofgrowthand freedom.
Duringthe
obligedto permit
I56o's and theI570's, themanykokujinvassalsoftheUrakamiwereshowingsigns
It was now increasingly
possibleforsuchlocalfamiliesto makealof restlessness.
powerssuchas theM6rito thewest,the
liancesoutsideof Bizenwithneighboring
orevenwithOda Nobunaga,whohadbegunto pushwestward
Amagotothenorth,
thehead of theUrakamihousecouldonlydefromKy6to.By thistime,however,
vassalsin line.WhileUrakamiMunekage
penduponUkidaNaoietokeephisrestless
theUkidareduced,
citadelofTenjinyama,
one afteranother,
the
satin hismountain
reasons.One by one,
tributary-valley
powersoftheUrakamivassalsfordisciplinary
thesmallhilltopcastlesofthisareawereputto thetorch.In I568, theMatsudawere
Whilethiswas goingon,theUrakami,
wipedoutunderUkidaNaoie'sgeneralship.
oftheUkidaand otherclosevassals,failedto expandtheir
on theloyalty
depending
to keep pace withthe processof consolidation.
resources
By
landedand military
20
UrakamiUkidary6kebugencho.
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MODERN JAPANESE DAIMYO
325
Naoie movedintoOkayamacastle,he,notUrakamiMunekage,
I573, whenUJkida
forces,
and his castleat Okayamawas
themajority
of Bizen'smilitary
commanded
of a succession
In I577, Naoie, usingthe pretext
largerthanthatof his overlord.
Tenjinyamaand displacedhis lord.Bizen
disputein theUrakamihouse,stormed
of small
the network
was now unifiedunderhis command.Withina generation,
enfeoffed
hilltopcasdeswhichhad stoodforthe independently
kokulinhad been
bytheUkida at Okayama.
domaincommanded
bytheconsolidated
superseded
on Okayama,was typicalof thosebroughtunder
The Ukida domain,centering
of military
notonlyon a generation
It rested,
byNobunagaand Hideyoshi.
control
oftenures.
oflandrightsand simplification
redistribution
buton extensive
conquest,
measto a uniform
andconverted
surveyed
landwasbeingsystematically
Productive
orhousemen
ure(kokudaka).Naoieheldsome400,000 koku.His retainers,
(kashin),
ofofficer
A bandofsomeI400 retainers
fashion.
inchainofcommand
wereorganized
statuswereorganizedinto I4 groups(or kumi) each headedby a trustedcomcastleholdersguardingthefronSevenoftheseweresetup as subsidiary
mander.2'
to Okayama.Each held lands producingover
tiersof Bizen and the approaches
daimyo.Buttheywereobligedto
io,000koku.In otherwords,theywereembryonic
of lesserstatuswere
residein Okayama.The unit commanders
(kumi-gashira)
an
basis.This was essentially
theirmenon a yorioya-yoriko
officers
whocommanded
of familyto
in whichtherewas a minimumidentity
armytypeof organization
sourceof the
localityor dependenceupon familyties for loyalty.A significant
was thebalancebetweendaimyo'slandsand thoseof
daimyo'spowerin thissystem
was nowheld
In theUkida domain,some25 percentoftheterritory
his retainers.
of standing
This madethemaintenance
directly
by thedaimyoas chokkatsuchi.22
divisionscontrolled
by the daimyo(the daimyo'sown kumi) possible
mercenary
paid,notin
if needed.Suchtroopswerefrequently
and useableto maintainloyalty
butin ricestipends.
fiefs,
developin Bizen,two significant
Fromthepointof viewof localgovernment
of theUkida domain.Firstof all, despitethe
mentsaccompanied
theconsolidation
overBizen
authority
and administrative
proprietary
of complete
Ukida acquisition
of
by theacquisition
on thebasisof conquest,
thisconquestwas cappedeventually
was acquired,first
In Bizen,thislegal authority
fromhigherauthority.
legitimacy
then
as shugofromtheAshikagashogun,
fromtheM6riwhohadsecuredlegitimacy
ofthecapitalandofthepowersoftheshogunate
fromOda Nobunagawhosecontrol
WhenUkida Naoie died in I580, his
gave himde factoif notde jure legitimacy.
Nobunaga'sred seal
son securedconfirmation
of his statusin Bizen by receiving
overBizenunderthenew
legaljurisdiction
certificate
(shuinjo),a tokenofcomplete
in Ky6to.23
The use oftheshuinjaas thecapstone
ofsovereignty
structure
emerging
extended
byHideyoshi.
ofa newnationalpoliticalorderwas further
ofsociety.
relatedto themoregeneralstructure
development
The otherimportant
21See 6oka-kemonjo[6oka HouseArchives],
UkidaChu7nagon
HideicKyo kashichigyocho
[Rollof
Lord UkidaHideie],OkayamaKenritsu
doc.
Toshokan,
FielsoftheHousemenof theMiddleCounsellor,
692.8/132.
22 Taniguchi
oftheBizenDomainAdSumio,"Bizenhanseino kakuritsu
katei,"["The Establishment
[CollectedResearchPapersfromthe
ministration"],
kenkyashfiroku
OkayamaDaigakuKy6ikugakubu
II (I956), I-3.
SchoolofEducation,
OkayamaUniversity],
23 Okayama
Shi shi,1I, I492, I504. The significance
of theshuinj6is discussedin OkunoTakahiro,
Nobunagato Hideyoshi
[Nobunagaand Hideyoshi](Tokyo, I955), 6I-63. But the technicalstudyof the
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326
JOHNW. HALL
of thedecentralized
of theshoen and theweakening
Becauseof thedisappearance
ofthe
commonto findtheinhabitants
it becameincreasingly
system
ofenfeoffment,
groupsand classes.The
treatedas functional
domain,bothsamuraiand commoners,
enfeoffed
ofindividually
as we haveseen,was nota cluster
Ukidabandofretainers,
pattern
forthesengoktvassals,thetypicalorganizational
and locallyindependent
intokumiwithinwhichthedaimyo'smenwereassigned
daimyo.It was organized
rankand functo military
according
differentiated
whichwerecommonly
statuses
of vassalclassification-cadets
categories
Thus thefamily-based
tion.24
(kamon),or
rankterminology-generals
than military
vassals(fudai)-becameless important
officers
unitcommanders
(bangashira),
(kara), groupcommanders
(kumigashira),
was
officers
(heishi),petty
(kachi),orfootsoldiers(ashigaru).Status,onceachieved,
becauseofthe
partly
mobility,
buttherewas alsoconsiderable
stilllargely
inheritable,
at the
military
defeatof daimyoand theirretainers
through
constant
displacement
evacuatedabovethem.
top and theneed forthosebelowto fillout the positions
interto thedaimyothrough
of retainers
theloyalty
The kumimethodof securing
ofa transition
ofas something
maybe thought
groupleaders(kumigashira)
mediary
enfeoffment,
practice
ofindependent
oftheprevious
Retaining
somefeatures
system.
ofthedaimyo.
to thedirectinterference
it nonetheless
yieldedincreasingly
relationWithinthedomainat large,also,theverticalchainof fiscalor loyalty
cultivator
(myashu),were
enfeoffed
(jito) and subordinate
proprietor
shipsbetween
classrelationships
structured,
functional
to givewayto large,horizontally
beginning
and
merchants,
betweenthe"daimyo'smen"(kashin)and groupssuchas farmers,
relianceon classorgroup
artisans.25
This changewas accompanied
bytheincreasing
to
andciviladministration
methods
ofmilitary
andtheuseofbureaucratic
legislation
social
and kinshipties.Hideyoshi's
replacetheolderrelianceon personalallegiances
by taking
of thesetrends.In particular,
policywas to a largeextentan extension
he laid thefoundain carrying
reassessment,
cadastral
out a nation-wide
leadership
and taxation.
It is to thesenewtechtionfora new system
of ruraladministration
thesuccessof the
thatwe can attribute
organization
niquesofpoliticaland military
and in buildingand mainin recruiting
armiesoftensofthousands
shokuh6-daimy6
ofa greatcastleat
size.Bizensaw notonlytheerection
tainingcitadelsofgrandiose
of
ofthelandand an accompanying
reordering
resurvey
Okayamabutan intensive
undertheUkida.28
theagricultural
population
to the"redseal" of
fromtheAshikagaShogun'sconsent
in thetransfer
of authority
legalissuesinvolved
hasyettobe made.
NobunagaandHideyoshi
Hideie
of theUkidahouserolls.See especially:
24This is revealedin thestructure
UkidaCheZnagon
Kyo kashichigy6ch6.
as more
the resulting
condition
shouldbe interpreted
overwhether
the controversy
25Disregarding
studieshavc agrecdupon the importance
of ccrtain
Japanesc
"feudalistic"
thanthe previoussituation,
no
See ShimizuMitsuo,Nihonchu-sei
of ruraland urbancommunities.
basicchangesin theorganization
Taikdkenchiron [On the
sonraku[The MedievalVillagein Japan](Tokyo,I942); MiyagawaMitsuru,
no
Gakkai,H6ken ryoshusei
CadastralSurveyof Hideyoshi](2 vols.,Tokyo,1957); Shakaikeizaishi
of FeudalProprietorship-Various
kenchiwo megurushomondai[The Establishment
kakuritsu-Taik6
Relatedto theHideyoshiCadastralSurvey](Tokyo,I957); ArakiMoriaki,"Taik6 kenchino
Problems
oftheHideyoshi
Survey"],
Foundations
Cadastral
rekishiteki
zentei"["The Historical
Rekishigaku
keny^i,
I63 and I67 (1954).
26 Forstudies
ofthelandsystem
undertheUkidaseeKanaiMadoka,
ofthereorganization
oftheeffects
XLII (I59), 9-20;
"Shokuho6-ki
ni okeruBizen"["BizenduringtheShokuhoPeriod"],Chihoshi
kenkygi,
and Hideyoshi's
Cadastral
ShibataHajime,"Sengokudogos5toTaik6kenchi"["The SengokuLocalGentry
VI,No. 8 (I958), 5263.
Survey"],
Rekishiky5iku,
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MODERN JAPANESE DAIMYO
327
The kinsei-daimy6
organizaand military
ofpolitical
in technique
Despitethemarkedimprovement
hegemony,
underHideyoshi's
to a standstill
tionevolvedbythedaimyowhofought
forthemorestableage whichfolwereto proveinsufficient
thesenew techniques
betweenthedaimyoof theShokuho
lowed.Thus,despitetheoutwardresemblance
lay betweenthem.
differences
age and thoseof theTokugawa,manyinstitutional
ofthedaimyodomainswas
evolution
ofinternal
Betweeni6ooand I700,theprocess
ofdaimyofromlocaleto locale,and
shifting
thefrequent
bytwofactors:
accelerated
of peace.Bizen was typicalof mostJapanin thisreatmosphere
thepredominant
Bizen in short
daimyohousesgoverned
afteri6oo,fivedifferent
spect.Immediately
movingto Okayamafrom
succession.
It was notuntilI632 thatIkeda Mitsumasa,
untili871.27These changes,it shouldbe
Tottori,setup the linewhichcontinued
forBizen,butbyorder
weremade,notas a resultoflocalwarsorbattles
emphasized,
was,for
to peacefulconditions
of theTokugawashogun.The periodof adjustment
ceased,thethreat
For,oncethefighting
experience.
mostpartsofJapan,a traumatic
of harshmilitary
fortheexercise
justification
of war,whichhad actedas a powerful
ofgovernto devisenewtheories
ceasedto exist.It nowbecamenecessary
discipline,
and to
practices,
of power,to clarifyadministrative
mentbasedon new sanctions
ofthepeople.
security
workforthesocialand economic
withtheirnew-won
commensurate
ofgovernment
In theirsearchfora newtheory
thekinsei-daimyo,
as is wellknown,adopteda numberof Confucian-based
powers,
In Bizen,thisadoptionawaitedthe
of sovereignty
and socialmorality.
principles
as an
of thedaimyo'sposition
whoseenunciation
pioneerworkof IkedaMitsumasa,
in a
agentof heavenundertheguidanceof theshogun,placedthedaimyosecurely
whichhe ruled.28
thesocialstructure
orderandjustified
political
"naturally
ordained"
on
of administration
theirmethods
to improve
Afteri6oo,thedaimyocontinued
theirlegalcodesin the process.Withinthe
a morebureaucratic
basis,amplifying
and
overhis retainers
powerof thedaimyowas increased
domain,thecentralizing
while,at thesametime,he becamelessa personaldespotand morea legal
subjects,
all subsidiary
castleshad
century,
symbol.In Bizen,by theend of theseventeenth
ofhighranking
was
ofdirectenfeoffment
retainers
beeneliminated,
andthepractice
in all butnameonly.The daimyo'smen
displacedbythestipend(h6roku)system
localadhis officers
(kashin).Withinthedomaina uniform
werenow considered
was placedovertheurban
staffed
officers,
ministrative
bythedaimyo's
organization,
werenowstrictly
ordered
to
retainers
according
alike.The daimyo's
andruralsectors
orderfromashigaruto karo.Although
in ascending
12 ranks(kakyaor kakushiki)
werestillgroupedintokumi,theirrealrelatheseretainers
fordisciplinary
purposes
and
to thedaimyowas on thebasisof servicein rankwithinthemilitary
tionship
remnants
of feudalpractice,
suchas
civilbureaucracy.
Thoughcertainceremonial
stillremained,
theirimportance
diminished.
Oaths of
audiencesand investitures,
Withinthesamuraiclassin Bizen,
werenowtiedto postsin thebureaucracy.
loyalty
rewarded
was giving
byenfeoffment
then,a shiftfrompersonalvassalageprivately
27 For an analytical
of theBizendomainundertheIkedasee Taniguchi,
of thestabilization
treatnent
"Bizenhansei,"pp. 4-14.
28 See J. W. Hall, "The Confucian
F.
Teacherin TokugawaJapan,"David S. Nivisonand Arthur
I959), pp. 272-277.
Confucianismin Acion (Stanford,
Wright,
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328
JOHN W. HALL
way to a systemof militarystatuseswhich led to a civil and militarybureaucracy.
Loyaltywas becominga principleratherthan a privatecommitment.29
the lowerlevelsof societyin Bizen. Under the
Changesof a similarsortaffected
by class or funcimpactof Confuciantheory,the people (tami) were distinguished
tion and placed under broad legal codes.30For the farmersespecially,the change
frompersonalindentureto membershipin the village as taxpayingtenantsof the
daimyowas a majorchange.Afteri6oo in Bizen,firstthe directhold of the samurai,
thenof the shoya or villageheads,overthe villagerswas replacedby a bureaucratic
It has been claimed that the strictclass structure
systemof local government.31
a "refeudalization"
by theTokugawa constituted
perfected
adoptedbyHideyoshiand
of Japanesesociety.Somewhatthe reverseis probablycloserto the truth.For the
of legallydefinedstatuses(mibun) freedmanysectorsof Japanesesoestablishment
based on
and morepersonallyconceivedrelationships
cietyfromthe morerestrictive
charThese trendswere not,of course,uniformly
privatevassalageor indenture.32
however,the dominantpatternof the instiacteristic
of all Japan.They constituted,
tutionalchange which accompaniedthe rise of the daimyo of Tokugawa times.
carriedout in most
Moreover,theyinvolvedchangesnot easilymade nor successfully
of Japanuntilwell into the Tokugawa age. In fact,the Tokugawa daimyodid not
untilat leastI700.
matureinstitutionally
socialchangein Japan,but not
The Sengokuage was indeeda timeof significant
simplyof the capriciouskind impliedby the phrasege-toku-jd. Bizen saw not only
the riseand fall of a processionof militaryhouses,but also a radicalchange in the
whichjoined govof relationships
and in the structure
methodsof local government
and products.
ernmentand society.In thisthe daimyowerebothparticipants
that whichprovidedthe sanci. At the highestlevel of politicalorganization,
tionsfor exerciseof power,Bizen passed fromthe shakyjurisdictionalauthority
restingon uncertainmilitarysupportand a weak legacyfrom
of theshugo-daimyJ,
vestedin the daimyoby virtue
to a nearlyabsoluteauthority
theimperialtradition,
of the shogunalcharter(shuinjo), the imperialconsent,and Confucianprinciples
of morallyexercisedauthority.
of power,Bizen passed fromthe systemof
2. At the level of the organization
to the Sengokusystem
utilizedbytheshugo-daimy&,
extendedfamilyrelationships,
to
the
(kumi) systemof the
direct
military
group
decentralized
enfeoffment,
of
29 TaniguchiSumio, "Han kashindanno keiseito koz6-Okayama-hanno baai" ["The Structure
and
Houseband-The Case of Okayama"],Shigakuzasshi,LXVI, No. 6 (JuneI957),
Organizationof the hAan
594-6I5.
0 See Hampo Kenkyuikai,
ed., Hamposhui,I, Okayama-han[Collectedhan laws, i, Okayama-han]
(2 vols.,Tokyo, I959-I960);
OkayamaShishi,vols. III and IV, forthe mostextensivepublishedsources
on Okayamalegislation.
31 Hamp6 Kenkyiikai,
op. cit.,I, i86, 263; Kanai Madoka, "Ojoya no gy6sekikuiki ni tsuite-Bizenof theo3joya-The Case of Bizen-han"],Shigakuzasshi,
Jurisdiction
han no baai" ["On theAdministrative
LXII, No. i (Jan.,1953), 66-71.
32NakamuraKichiji,in his article"Kokudaka seido to h6kensei"(cited in note 7) has recentlyreversedthe dominantacademictrendin Japanled by Arakiand Miyagawawho have takenthe standthat
the finalatrepresents
the Tokugawaperiodbroughta trueserfdomto the Japanesepeasantand therefore
of feudalismin Japan.Nakamurahas emphasizedthemany"non-feudal"aspectsof theTokugawa
tainment
politicaland socialstructure.
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MODERN JAPANESE DAIMYO
329
Shokuhoperiod,to therank(kakya)or status(nzibun)structure
utilizedbythe
daimyoof theTokugawaperiod.
3. At thelevelof thecommoninhabitants
of Bizen,thereoccurred
a gradual
shiftfroma conditioncharacterized
predominantly
by vertically
structured
perto one based increasingly
sonalrelationships
on administrative
and class-defined
relations
betweengovernment
and individual.
Largesegments
of Japanese
society
weredeveloping
new horizontal
relationships
withinthe boundaries
definedby
suchsocialconcepts
as rankand status.
To returnto our questionof interpretation
regarding
Japan'sdarkages,it is
that
obviousthatone ofthecommonfallacies
ofhistorians
has beentheassumption
thedaimyoandthesystem
oflocalcontrol
he represented
remained
constant
throughestabouttheseveralcenturies
preceding
I700. Changesin thenatureof thedaimyo
in factrepresented
lishment
a dynamic
theSengokuand
themewhichranthrough
of warfare
earlyTokugawaperiods.Thesechangesunderlay
condition
theconfused
duringthe Sengokuera and continued
to affect
Japanesegovernment
and society
evenafterthesupposedfreezing
ofsociety
byTokugawaIeyasu.Hindsight
criticism
has beenheapeduponHideyoshiand Ieyasufortheirfailureto unifyJapancompletelyand fortheir"return"to a restrictive,
status-bound
societycut offfrom
A moreaccurateanalysisofthestateof localgovernment
contact.
foreign
and social
organization
showsthatJapanunderwent
manymajorinternal
changesafteri59o
and thatthesechangescan byno meansbe characterized
as retrogressive.
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