Changes

The reigns of the shoguns following Yoshimune show the beginnings of decline, the final decades of the century being characterized primarily by political corruption and rampant inflation. The problems of these decades are usually associated with a shogunal official by the name of [[Tanuma Okitsugu]], who gained significant power and became Tairô in [[1767]]. Bribes became quite common within the halls of power, and morals decayed on the streets.

The reigns of the shoguns following Yoshimune show the beginnings of decline, the final decades of the century being characterized primarily by political corruption and rampant inflation. The problems of these decades are usually associated with a shogunal official by the name of [[Tanuma Okitsugu]], who gained significant power and became Tairô in [[1767]]. Bribes became quite common within the halls of power, and morals decayed on the streets.

The [[1783]] eruption of [[Mt. Asama]], combined with the [[Great Tenmei Famine]], which lasted almost ten years, was widely taken as an ominous omen and symbol that the country was in need of serious change and a return to virtuous leadership. Following Tanuma's death, [[Matsudaira Sadanobu]] rose to prominence among the ''rôjû'' and oversaw extensive financial reforms and the imposition of strict sumptuary laws known as the [[Kansei Reforms]]. These reforms, like others earlier in the Edo period, were based on notions of propriety and the idea that if people dressed and acted according to their traditional roles, society as a whole (i.e. the nation) could return to prosperity. In other words, the reforms were founded more on Neo-Confucian philosophy than on practical understandings of the economic and social reforms that were needed. Nevertheless, even as the government cracked down on free expression, economic benefits were seen.

The [[1783]] eruption of [[Mt. Asama]], combined with the [[Great Tenmei Famine]], which lasted almost ten years, was widely taken as an ominous omen and symbol that the country was in need of serious change and a return to virtuous leadership. Tanuma's successor as Tairô, [[Matsudaira Sadanobu]], oversaw extensive financial reforms and the imposition of strict sumptuary laws known as the [[Kansei Reforms]]. These reforms, like others earlier in the Edo period, were based on notions of propriety and the idea that if people dressed and acted according to their traditional roles, society as a whole (i.e. the nation) could return to prosperity. In other words, the reforms were founded more on Neo-Confucian philosophy than on practical understandings of the economic and social reforms that were needed. Nevertheless, even as the government cracked down on free expression, economic benefits were seen.

The end of the 18th century also saw the emergence of significant expressions of anti-shogunate sentiment. A number of writers and thinkers spoke out against the shogunate, seeking not the overthrow of the entire system, but still a return to virtuous rule. The [[Mito school]] and ''[[rangaku]]'' and ''[[kokugaku]]'' movements were just two of the schools of thought that emerged significantly in this period, alongside a number of ''[[shinshukyo|shinshûkyô]]'' (New Religions) and writers such as [[Ogyu Sorai|Ogyû Sorai]] and [[Hiraga Gennai]]. Discontent was of course not limited to the elite, and the period saw a great many [[peasant uprisings]] as well - by some estimates, as many as "465 rural disputes, 445 peasant uprisings, and 101 urban riots" just in the fifteen years from 1830-1844 alone.<ref>Schirokauer, et al., 154.</ref>

The end of the 18th century also saw the emergence of significant expressions of anti-shogunate sentiment. A number of writers and thinkers spoke out against the shogunate, seeking not the overthrow of the entire system, but still a return to virtuous rule. The [[Mito school]] and ''[[rangaku]]'' and ''[[kokugaku]]'' movements were just two of the schools of thought that emerged significantly in this period, alongside a number of ''[[shinshukyo|shinshûkyô]]'' (New Religions) and writers such as [[Ogyu Sorai|Ogyû Sorai]] and [[Hiraga Gennai]]. Discontent was of course not limited to the elite, and the period saw a great many [[peasant uprisings]] as well - by some estimates, as many as "465 rural disputes, 445 peasant uprisings, and 101 urban riots" just in the fifteen years from 1830-1844 alone.<ref>Schirokauer, et al., 154.</ref>