Changes

==Life and Career==

==Life and Career==

Prior to taking up the post of ''[[roju|rôjû]]'' (Elders; chief shogunal advisors), Sadanobu studied for a time at the [[Kaitokudo|Kaitokudô]], a merchant academy in [[Osaka]], where he studied political economy under [[Nakai Chikuzan]].<ref>[[Luke Roberts]], ''Mercantilism in a Japanese Domain: The Merchant Origins of Economic Nationalism in 18th-Century Tosa'', Cambridge University Press (1998), 161.</ref>

Sadanobu was born the son of [[Tokugawa Munetake|Tokugawa (Tayasu) Munetake]], and grandson of Shogun [[Tokugawa Yoshimune]]. He served for a time as lord of [[Shirakawa han|Shirakawa domain]] in [[Mutsu province]], and also studied for a time at the [[Kaitokudo|Kaitokudô]], a merchant academy in [[Osaka]], where he studied political economy under [[Nakai Chikuzan]].<ref>[[Luke Roberts]], ''Mercantilism in a Japanese Domain: The Merchant Origins of Economic Nationalism in 18th-Century Tosa'', Cambridge University Press (1998), 161.</ref>

Sadanobu was named Tairô, or head of the ''rôjû'', in 1787, and launched the [[Kansei Reforms]] that same year. Among the most famous or significant sets of Reforms of the Edo period, the Kansei Reforms aimed to restore a Confucian order and sense of propriety to society. Incorporating sumptuary laws alongside a number of other policies, they operated on the belief that if everyone in society performed their role correctly - if farmers acted like farmers, and merchants like merchants, and not like samurai - and refrained from extravagance, all of society would fall into place, peace and Order would reign, and prosperity would result. These policies were thus not guided by what we would today recognize as practical understandings of the laws of economics, but did manage to have some positive effect, unlike the disastrous monetary policies of some other Edo period efforts at Reforms.

Sadanobu was named to the ''[[roju|rôjû]]'' in [[1786]]/6, and was named Tairô, or head of the ''rôjû'', the following year. He launched the [[Kansei Reforms]] that same year. Among the most famous or significant sets of Reforms of the Edo period, the Kansei Reforms aimed to restore a Confucian order and sense of propriety to society. Incorporating sumptuary laws alongside a number of other policies, they operated on the belief that if everyone in society performed their role correctly - if farmers acted like farmers, and merchants like merchants, and not like samurai - and refrained from extravagance, all of society would fall into place, peace and Order would reign, and prosperity would result. These policies were thus not guided by what we would today recognize as practical understandings of the laws of economics, but did manage to have some positive effect, unlike the disastrous monetary policies of some other Edo period efforts at Reforms.

As part of his Kansei Reforms, Sadanobu brought the [[Hayashi clan]] school under shogunate control, rebuilt and expanded the compound, made it a site for the training of shogunate and [[han|domain]] officials, and eliminated from the curriculum any elements which his Confucian sensibilities deemed incorrect or inappropriate. It was at this time that the school was officially renamed "[[Shoheizaka gakumonjo|Shôheizaka gakumonjo]]." The Reforms also included a severe strengthening of censorship and its enforcement, leading much intellectual production to be circulated in manuscript form, so that it would not come into the hands of the [[printing and publishing]] censors.

As part of his Kansei Reforms, Sadanobu brought the [[Hayashi clan]] school under shogunate control, rebuilt and expanded the compound, made it a site for the training of shogunate and [[han|domain]] officials, and eliminated from the curriculum any elements which his Confucian sensibilities deemed incorrect or inappropriate. It was at this time that the school was officially renamed "[[Shoheizaka gakumonjo|Shôheizaka gakumonjo]]." The Reforms also included a severe strengthening of censorship and its enforcement, leading much intellectual production to be circulated in manuscript form, so that it would not come into the hands of the [[printing and publishing]] censors.

Sadanobu also conducted a personal tour of the [[Izu peninsula|Izu]] and [[Miura peninsula]]s, as part of efforts to coordinate the defense of the areas surrounding Edo. However, upon his return to the city in 1793/7, he was informed that he had been relieved of his duties and was forced to step down from the ''rôjû'' council. He was then promoted to an honorary but far less influential position in the ''Tamari no ma''. It was standard for top officials to periodically submit notice of their resignation to the shogun, so that the shogun's refusal of the request could be seen as re-affirming them in their position; at this time, Sadanobu's notice of resignation, normally just a formality, was actually accepted. Historian [[Mitani Hiroshi]] suggests possible reasons for his dismissal included his frequent unilateral action without consulting the young Shogun [[Tokugawa Ienari|Tokugawa Ienari's]] regents<ref>Inari's father [[Hitotsubashi Harusada]], along with the ''daimyô'' of [[Owari han]] [[Tokugawa Munechika]] and of [[Mito han]] [[Tokugawa Harumori]].</ref>, or the excessively ambitious scope of his plans for Edo's coastal defenses. Responsibility for foreign policy and coastal defenses was then given over to ''wakadoshiyori'' [[Hotta Masaatsu]] and ''kattegakari rôjû'' [[Toda Ujinori]].<ref>Mitani, 11-12.</ref>

Sadanobu also conducted a personal tour of the [[Izu peninsula|Izu]] and [[Miura peninsula]]s, as part of efforts to coordinate the defense of the areas surrounding Edo. However, upon his return to the city in 1793/7, he was informed that he had been relieved of his duties and was forced to step down from the ''rôjû'' council. He was then promoted to an honorary but far less influential position in the ''Tamari no ma''. It was standard for top officials to periodically submit notice of their resignation to the shogun, so that the shogun's refusal of the request could be seen as re-affirming them in their position; at this time, Sadanobu's notice of resignation, normally just a formality, was actually accepted. Historian [[Mitani Hiroshi]] suggests possible reasons for his dismissal included his frequent unilateral action without consulting the young Shogun [[Tokugawa Ienari|Tokugawa Ienari's]] regents<ref>Inari's father [[Hitotsubashi Harusada]], along with the ''daimyô'' of [[Owari han]] [[Tokugawa Munechika]] and of [[Mito han]] [[Tokugawa Harumori]].</ref>, or the excessively ambitious scope of his plans for Edo's coastal defenses. Responsibility for foreign policy and coastal defenses was then given over to ''wakadoshiyori'' [[Hotta Masaatsu]] and ''kattegakari rôjû'' [[Toda Ujinori]].<ref>Mitani, 11-12.</ref>

==Legacy==

==Legacy==

==References==

==References==

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