Changes

<!--Expansion of roads and communications, economic growth, agricultural intensification, emergence of merchant class, merchant organizations (guilds), rice brokers (banks), export of silver and copper, urbanization-->

<!--Expansion of roads and communications, economic growth, agricultural intensification, emergence of merchant class, merchant organizations (guilds), rice brokers (banks), export of silver and copper, urbanization-->

Even so, the 17th century was a period of fantastic economic growth and development for Japan, as the foundations were laid for the nation's economic infrastructure. Japan had very few true "cities" of any significant size prior to 1570 or so, but castle towns began to grow up around that time, and by 1700, Japan had some of the largest cities in the world. In 1700, the population of Edo is said to have been around one million people, with Osaka and Kyoto each boasting 300,000, and the castle towns of [[Nagoya]] and [[Kanazawa]] each home to roughly 100,000. In total, the 260 or so [[jokamachi|castle towns]] in the realm were home to around ten percent of the total population of the islands,<ref>Arne Kalland, ''Fishing Villages in Tokugawa Japan'', University of Hawaii Press (1995), 18.</ref> making Japan one of the most urbanized societies in the world, alongside only England/Wales and the Netherlands. Some scholars have even suggested that Japan's dramatic process of urbanization in this period may have been unprecedented among any pre-industrial society in history.<ref name=eiko35/> Osaka, Edo, and to a lesser extent Kyoto emerged as major commercial centers over the course of the period, and extensive transportation networks formed, shipping goods by road, river, and sea across the entire country. The primary thoroughfare on land was the [[Tokaido|Tôkaidô]], connecting Edo and Kyoto. By the end of the 17th century, at least twenty-four shipping companies were operating out of Osaka, transporting goods to and from Edo.

Even so, the 17th century was a period of fantastic economic growth and development for Japan, as the foundations were laid for the nation's economic infrastructure. Japan had very few true "cities" of any significant size prior to 1570 or so, but castle towns began to grow up around that time, and by 1700, Japan had some of the largest cities in the world. In 1700, the population of Edo is said to have been around one million people, with Osaka and Kyoto each boasting 300,000, and the castle towns of [[Nagoya]] and [[Kanazawa]] each home to roughly 100,000. In total, the 260 or so [[jokamachi|castle towns]] in the realm were home to around 10 percent of the total population of the islands,<ref>Arne Kalland, ''Fishing Villages in Tokugawa Japan'', University of Hawaii Press (1995), 18.</ref>, rising to around 22% later in the 18th century,<ref>Kenneth Pomeranz, ''The Great Divergence'', Princeton University Press (2000), 35.</ref> and making Japan one of the most urbanized societies in the world, alongside only England/Wales and the Netherlands. Some scholars have even suggested that Japan's dramatic process of urbanization in this period may have been unprecedented among any pre-industrial society in history.<ref name=eiko35/> Osaka, Edo, and to a lesser extent Kyoto emerged as major commercial centers over the course of the period, and extensive transportation networks formed, shipping goods by road, river, and sea across the entire country. The primary thoroughfare on land was the [[Tokaido|Tôkaidô]], connecting Edo and Kyoto. By the end of the 17th century, at least twenty-four shipping companies were operating out of Osaka, transporting goods to and from Edo.

Guilds also grew more numerous and more organized in this period, further expanding the organization of the economy as a whole. The medieval ''[[za]]'' were transformed into ''[[kabunakama]]'', groups of merchants or artisans in a given specialty who were granted licenses by the shogunate to engage in a given type of work. Many merchants in the major ports of Nagasaki, Kagoshima, and Tsushima formed relations with shippers and warehousers called ''[[tonya]]'', who organized the transport, storage, and handling of goods shipped from these ports to the markets of Osaka and Edo.  

Guilds also grew more numerous and more organized in this period, further expanding the organization of the economy as a whole. The medieval ''[[za]]'' were transformed into ''[[kabunakama]]'', groups of merchants or artisans in a given specialty who were granted licenses by the shogunate to engage in a given type of work. Many merchants in the major ports of Nagasaki, Kagoshima, and Tsushima formed relations with shippers and warehousers called ''[[tonya]]'', who organized the transport, storage, and handling of goods shipped from these ports to the markets of Osaka and Edo.  

*ukiyo-e, urbanization, kabuki & bunraku, kibyoshi/sharebon, pleasure quarters (Yoshiwara)

*ukiyo-e, urbanization, kabuki & bunraku, kibyoshi/sharebon, pleasure quarters (Yoshiwara)

==Society==

==Society==

The population of the archipelago at the beginning of the Tokugawa period is estimated at roughly 18 million people, expanding to around 30 million by around 1750. The population fluctuated but did not grow significantly after that; records from [[1872]] indicate a population of 33.1 million.<ref name=brief133>Schirokauer, et al., 133.</ref> Many historians once attributed this stagnation in population growth to Malthusian causes, suggesting that the archipelago had reached the maximum it could support given the level of agricultural technology, etc., available at that time. Beginning in the 1970s, scholars such as [[Thomas Smith]], [[Susan Hanley]], and [[Hayami Akira]] argued that, instead, it was conscious social efforts at population control, including [[infanticide]], later marriage, and abortion, undertaken not as a desperate response to extreme poverty, but out of a recognition of the need to have small families in order to preserve a certain level of quality of life, which caused this leveling-out of the population growth curve. Some have suggested, however, that while such an explanation may be appropriate for some regions, or some classes of society, it cannot necessarily hold true across the board.<ref>[[Luke Roberts]], ''Mercantilism in a Japanese Domain: The Merchant Origins of Economic Nationalism in 18th-Century Tosa'', Cambridge University Press (1998), 62.</ref>

The population of the archipelago at the beginning of the Tokugawa period is estimated at roughly 18 million people, expanding to around 30 million by around 1750. The population fluctuated but did not grow significantly after that; records from [[1872]] indicate a population of 33.1 million.<ref name=brief133>Schirokauer, et al., 133.</ref> Many historians once attributed this stagnation in population growth to Malthusian causes, suggesting that the archipelago had reached the maximum it could support given the level of agricultural technology, etc., available at that time. Beginning in the 1970s, scholars such as [[Thomas Smith]], [[Susan Hanley]], and [[Hayami Akira]] argued that, instead, it was conscious social efforts at population control, including [[infanticide]], later marriage, and abortion, undertaken not as a desperate response to extreme poverty, but out of a recognition of the need to have small families in order to preserve a certain level of quality of life, which caused this leveling-out of the population growth curve. Some have suggested, however, that while such an explanation may be appropriate for some regions, or some classes of society, it cannot necessarily hold true across the board.<ref>[[Luke Roberts]], ''Mercantilism in a Japanese Domain: The Merchant Origins of Economic Nationalism in 18th-Century Tosa'', Cambridge University Press (1998), 62.</ref>

Samurai are believed to have comprised, during the Edo period, roughly six percent of the population of the archipelago, while merchants or townsmen (''chônin'') comprised another 7-8%, and peasants or villagers (''hyakushô'') the remaining 87% or so.<ref name=craig71/> Government work was the chief avenue seen as an honorable path for samurai, while most forms of merchant or artisan (craftsman/manufacture) work, as well as agricultural labor, were seen as being beneath them, unfitting for someone of samurai status. Since samurai were so numerous, however, and there were only so many government positions, by [[1705]], it is believed that roughly one-quarter of the shogun's vassals were unemployed.<ref>Craig, Teruko (trans.). ''Musui's Story: The Autobiography of a Tokugawa Samurai''. University of Arizona Press, 1988. p.xii.</ref>

Samurai are believed to have comprised, during the Edo period, roughly six percent of the population of the archipelago, while merchants or townsmen (''chônin'') comprised another 7-8%, and peasants or villagers (''hyakushô'') the remaining 87% or so.<ref name=craig71/>, while roughly two percent of the archipelago's inhabitants were considered ''[[eta]]'' or ''[[hinin]]'', classes of outcastes associated with physical and spiritual pollution.<ref name=brief135>Schirokauer, et al., 135.</ref> Government work was the chief avenue seen as an honorable path for samurai, while most forms of merchant or artisan (craftsman/manufacture) work, as well as agricultural labor, were seen as being beneath them, unfitting for someone of samurai status. Since samurai were so numerous, however, and there were only so many government positions, by [[1705]], it is believed that roughly one-quarter of the shogun's vassals were unemployed.<ref>Craig, Teruko (trans.). ''Musui's Story: The Autobiography of a Tokugawa Samurai''. University of Arizona Press, 1988. p.xii.</ref>

Samurai earned their incomes as stipends paid by their lords in fixed amounts of rice (measured in ''[[koku]]''). Roughly 80% of ''daimyô'' were paying out stipends to their retainers by 1700, and roughly 90% of samurai were reliant on such stipends by 1800, with only ten percent earning their incomes more directly, locally.<ref name=brief133/> This latter group, in many cases, earned their incomes more directly on account of being subinfeudated with their own sub-domains. Though most ''han'' eliminated sub-fiefs and turned all their retainers over to stipends during the 17th century, some, such as [[Tosa han]], allowed as many as 400 senior retainers to maintain their own sub-fiefs as late as the beginning of the Meiji period; those men levied taxes on the peasants on their lands and received incomes directly in that manner.<ref>Roberts, ''Mercantilism'', 89-90.</ref> As stipends were not reassessed and rarely increased (without a promotion in rank or position), by the late Edo period, many samurai became impoverished, even as many members of the commoner townsman class (''[[chonin|chônin]]'') became wealthier and wealthier, earning their incomes off economic activity (i.e. manufacture and trade).

Samurai earned their incomes as stipends paid by their lords in fixed amounts of rice (measured in ''[[koku]]''). Roughly 80% of ''daimyô'' were paying out stipends to their retainers by 1700, and roughly 90% of samurai were reliant on such stipends by 1800, with only ten percent earning their incomes more directly, locally.<ref name=brief133/> This latter group, in many cases, earned their incomes more directly on account of being subinfeudated with their own sub-domains. Though most ''han'' eliminated sub-fiefs and turned all their retainers over to stipends during the 17th century, some, such as [[Tosa han]], allowed as many as 400 senior retainers to maintain their own sub-fiefs as late as the beginning of the Meiji period; those men levied taxes on the peasants on their lands and received incomes directly in that manner.<ref>Roberts, ''Mercantilism'', 89-90.</ref> As stipends were not reassessed and rarely increased (without a promotion in rank or position), by the late Edo period, many samurai became impoverished, even as many members of the commoner townsman class (''[[chonin|chônin]]'') became wealthier and wealthier, earning their incomes off economic activity (i.e. manufacture and trade).