Historic Realms: The Tokugawa Shogunate Quiz

Answer: triple hollyhock

The triple hollyhock is said to be a representation of Yatagarasu, a three-legged crow common to many East Asian mythologies. The Tokugawa family line has some irregularities; the shoguns attempted to legitimize their dynastic rule as relatives of the Matsudaira clan.

Many historians believe that this effort was falsified, and that the Tokugawa clan came from another ancient clan. Yet, in the end, Tokugawa shoguns ruled Japan for over 200 years, whether or not their ancient lineage didn't quite check out.

Answer: Sengoku Period

The Sengoku period took place under the Ashikaga shogunate, and was marked with disloyalty to the shogun and several warring factions. Also during this time, lesser (but capable) lords and soldiers made their way into power, a process known as "Gekokujô", or "the low overcomes the high".

The daimyo began infighting, and older, long-established families, such as the Takeda and Imagawa clans, began to consolidate power. The shogunate was very weak during this period, and the clans were quick to take advantage of an ineffective central power.

The Showa Period takes place during World War II, with Emperor Hirohito being the Showa ruler.

Answer: Oda Nobunaga

Oda Nobunaga was a very shrewd political and military leader, and no wonder, since his calculations were developed early on with the quick death of his father and the subsequent maneuvers he had to perform in order to secure his own claim as daimyo of the Oda clan. After he had unified his own Owari province, he moved to consolidate his power and influence over the region, defeating an army of over 20,000 Imagawa troops with his mere 3,000 men.

Soon after, Nobunaga began to play the many daimyo off one another and conquering the many lands around Kyoto. He brought together many daimyo under his rule and ended the Ashikaga shogunate. After his death (by the betrayal of one of his generals), Toyotomi, a former sandal bearer and close ally of Nobunaga, ruled briefly. Later, Tokugawa Iesayu would take over and establish the Tokugawa shogunate with a large swath of the lands Nobunaga had consolidated previously.

The three incorrect answers are all chefs from the Japanese television program "Iron Chef".

Answer: Edo

Kyoto was the city where the old shoguns had kept power, but too many influential daimyo had a strangle-hold on the lands around the city. To negate the effects of these influential daimyo, Tokugawa Iesayu moved the center of power closer to his lands to Edo, which is now known as Tokyo.

This new capital city was relatively small, but would grow and continue to prosper with the continuation of the Tokugawa Shogunate, ultimately becoming increasingly urban. The name of the city was changed to Tokyo when the shogunate ended.

Answer: False

Social mobility was actually more pronounced in the Sengoku period before the Tokugawa Shogunate took power. As illustrated by the concept of "Gekokujô", low lords and even soldiers could end up as powerful daimyo.

It was ironic that it was Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who had gained so much power from lowly sandal bearer to ruler of Oda Nobunaga's lands, that instituted many of the edicts that would ban such social mobility. Strict class hierarchies were established and expected to be followed once the Tokugawa clan created their shogunate. Because the instability of the previous system, this was seen as necessary for the shogunate to operate definitively.

Answer: Nanban

The samurai and ninja were instruments of the shogun (who was called the "Bakufu" in Japanese). However, it was the "Nanban" that were completely foreign to the Japanese. The word traditionally meant "southern barbarian", or those from Southeast Asia. However, since there was no word for Europeans, this catchall was given to them as well.

The Portuguese were the first to land in Japan as early as 1543, and their presence grew before the Tokugawa came to power. The Nanban introduced the arquebus, a type of firearm, to the Japanese. Christianity also spread to Japan during this time as missionaries began to arrive. At first, the religion was accepted, especially since the Japanese (as Shintos) were more wary of Buddhism. However, during Tokugawa rule, it became apparent that Christianity had the potential to become a destabilizing force and many of its practices were outlawed.

Answer: espionage and oversight of administration

The metsuke (which loosely means "focusing of the eyes") were officials who reported on the activities of lesser officials. The activities of the daimyo and higher officials were dealt with by the "ômetsuke". The metsuke engaged in covert espionage to uncover any discontent in the shogunate, but were also involved in the day-to-day affairs of administration. Any signs of the misuse of funds or of missing taxes was reported by the metsuke.

While not samurai or ninja, these officials were often just as feared. Sometimes the metsuke resorted to torture in order to obtain the information they wanted.

Answer: Ronin

The ronin were often considered criminals, and many did eventually begin to work for criminal enterprises. However, it was mostly due to the shogunate's disregard for daimyo sovereignty and strict social structure that these ronin were forced to find less-than-desirable work. Some were prideful and refused to work for other daimyo, even though their disgraced lords were no longer in power.

In 1651, the Keain Uprising was formulated and many of these well-trained former samurai planned to take Edo. Their original plan was to begin an enormous city-wide fire to distract the shogun's forces, and then attack Edo Castle. However, the plan failed after it leaked to the shogun's spies and the ronin were slaughtered.

Answer: The arrival of an American fleet under Commodore Perry

Japan's isolation could be considered a reasonable action considering what the shogunate had seen in the colonization of the rest of Asia. The isolation resulted in the continued persecution of Buddhists and Christians, as well as anyone deemed too foreign. The shogunate tried to stamp out all foreign influence, though there were exceptions, especially concerning trade.

However, Commodore Matthew Perry brought four technologically-superior warships to Japan in 1853, and demonstrated their capabilities, demanding the Japanese open their ports. The Japanese called the ships the "kurofune" or "The Black Ships". About a year later, Commodore Perry signed the Kanagawa Treaty with the Tokugawa shogunate and the nation was open to foreigners once again.

Answer: Boshin War

The Satsuma clan was ready to pounce against the Tokugawa, but the rise of Tokugawa Yoshinobu and his apparent strength as a leader scared the clan into action and they began their rebellion. This period was marked drastically by the modernization of Japan's military, and even though the Emperor's forces fought for more independence from foreign powers, they utilized foreign intervention from the British to help them win the war.

Tokugawa Yoshinobu's forces were defeated outside of Kyoto, and once he realized that it was the Emperor who was raising this army, he desired an end to the hostilities. He surrendered himself to the Imperial army and resigned from the position of shogun. With the last Tokugawa shogun out of power, the Meiji emperor became the de facto leader of the Japan, ending rule by shogunate in Japan.