Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
One effect of this strict rule was to create an atmosphere of relative peace and isolation
in which the arts excelled. There were great advances in haiku poetry,
bunraku
puppet
plays and kabuki theatre. Crafts such as wood-block printing, weaving, pottery, ceramics
and lacquerware became famous for their refined quality. Some of Japan's greatest expres-
sions in architecture and painting were produced, including Katsura Rikyū in Kyoto (
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) and the paintings of Tawaraya Sōtatsu, pioneer of the Rimpa school. Furthermore,
the rigid emphasis of these times on submitting unquestioningly to rules of obedience and
loyalty has lasted in the arts, and society at large, to the present day.
By the turn of the 19th century, the Tokugawa government was characterised by stagna-
tion and corruption. Famines and poverty among the peasants and samurai further
weakened the system. Foreign ships started to probe Japan's isolation with increasing in-
sistence and the Japanese soon realised that their outmoded defences were ineffectual.
Russian contacts in the north were followed by British and American visits. In 1853 Com-
modore Matthew Perry of the US Navy arrived with a squadron of 'black ships' to de-
mand the opening of Japan to trade. Other countries also moved in with similar demands.
Despite being far inland, Kyoto felt the foreign pressure, which helped bring to a head
the growing power struggle between the shōgun and emperor, eventually pushing Japan
back into a state of internal conflict. A surge of antigovernment feeling among the Japan-
ese followed and Kyoto became a hotbed of controversy. The Tokugawa government was
accused of failing to defend Japan against foreigners, and of neglecting the national recon-
struction necessary for Japan to meet foreign powers on equal terms. In the autumn of
1867, forces led by Satsuma and Chōshū samurai armed with English weapons attacked
the palace demanding an imperial restoration. The ruling shōgun, Keiki, offered his resig-
nation to avoid bloodshed, and Emperor Meiji resumed control of state affairs. This devel-
opment has since been referred to as the Meiji Restoration.
