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===Genroku===
===Genroku===
The period from 1688 to 1709 was known as the [[nengo|Imperial era]] of ''[[Genroku]]'', and is remembered as a period of incredible wealth among the commoner merchant classes of Japan's cities, and of a great flowering of popular culture.
The period from 1688 to 1704 was known as the [[nengo|Imperial era]] of ''[[Genroku]]'', and is remembered as a period of incredible wealth among the commoner merchant classes of Japan's cities, and of a great flowering of popular culture. [[Kabuki]], ''[[bunraku|jôruri]]'' puppet theatre, ''[[ukiyo-e]]'' and a wide range of forms of humorous literature, along with the culture of the [[Yoshiwara]] pleasure quarters came into their own at this time, though they would mature later in the 18th century.
[[Tokugawa Tsunayoshi]] became shogun in 1680, and exercised absolute rule without a [[Tairo|Tairô]] to serve as chief adviser. His rule was quite strict at times, but it was also quite arbitrary, and Tsunayoshi is generally regarded as one of the least competent of the shoguns. Even so, the bureaucrats and administrators under him did well, maintaining the day-to-day governance of the nation, and Japan saw several decades of incredible prosperity before the bubble burst and real problems began to sink in.
Even the peasantry of the most rural districts are said to have enjoyed some degree of prosperity at this time, but it was the merchant classes of Osaka, Kyoto and Edo who truly prospered. The myriad economic developments of the previous century converged at this time to create immense wealth for those best in a position to take advantage of it. Merchants flaunted their wealth, and while the period is remembered as a Golden Age of art and literature, it was also a period of hedonism and frivolous expense. Stories abound of merchants, courtesans, and others who frivolously wasted away their money on drink, clothes, and other pleasures; a few merchants are known to have even bought out the entire Yoshiwara solely for themselves for a night or two.
===Stasis===
===Stasis===
