FROM THE TOKUGAWA PERIOD TO THE MEIJI

Title RESTORATION

Author(s) Honjo, Eijiro

Citation Kyoto University Economic Review (1932), 7(1): 32-51

Issue Date 1932-07

URL https://doi.org/10.11179/ker1926.7.32

Right

Type Departmental Bulletin Paper

Textversion publisher

Kyoto University
 Kyoto University
Economoic Review
MEMOIRS OF

THE DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS

IN

THE IMPERIAL. UNIVERSITY OF KYOTO

VOLUME VII

2001231
8t:!...:...
"or
f;i

PUBLISHED DY THE DEPART!ltENT

OF ECONOMICS IN

THE IMl'E'ltIAL UNIVERSITY OF' KYOTO

 FROM THE TOKUGAWA PERIOD TO THE
MEIjI RESTORATION

1. PREFACE
The Tokugawa period was an age of feudalism. From
the economic point of view, feudalism was a system in which
land constituted the principal means of production and the
farming population formed practically the sole producing
class, supporting the privileged class called samurai, which
ranked above it. Unlike a similar class in the Kamakura
period, the samurai in the Tokugawa period was an un·
productive class; they did not farm the land. They were
fed by the farmers.
The Tokugawa period is also known as an age of rice
economy, because rice constituted the basis of the finance
and economy of those days. As a general medium of
exchange, however, money came into wider use in this age.
Although it was not an age of currency economy, pure and
simple, as the present age is, money was more extensively
used in that period than in any of the previous periods. In
short, after the middle of the Tokugawa period commerce
and industry witnessed remarkable developments and money
came into general use. This led to the development of
urban districts and to the rise of the chemin (commercial)
class to a position of influence. The land economy that had
prevailed gave way to the currency economy, and a new
econemic power came into being, side by side with the
economic power of the farmer class. These marked eco·
nomic changes rendered it impossible for the samurai class
to maintain their livelihood under the old economic system.
Nor could the farming population support the samurai class
any longer. In such circumstances, the samurai had finally
to bow to the new economic power. They either went to
 FROM THE TOKUGAWA PERIOD TO THE MEI]I RESTORATION 33

the chanin class for financial aid or converted themselves

into virtual chanin or actually adopted chon in ways. On
the other hand. the chOnin class became predominant in
society by virtue of their financial power. Their influence
rose above that of the samurai class, on the one hand, and
made inroads in the agricultural sphere, on the other. In
this way, class distinctions became confused and the founda·
tions of the feudal system badly shaken. In its economic
policy also, the Shogunate, in its closing days, was forced
by various circumstances to adopt many new measures
which ran counter to its traditional policy. The new Meiji
Administration that supplanted the ShOgunate succeeded to
many of these measures. It also depended largely on the
financial power of the chanin class for the execution of its
policy. In the following chapters, I propose to make a
general review of these circumstances.

2. THE AGE OF THE RISE TO POWER OF THE

CHONIN CLASS
In the Tokugawa period, currency economy developed
as against land economy, but when in that period was it
that money came into general use? In the Rojin Zatsuwa
(;j!:A*IIt'i), we find the passage: " There has been a plentiful
supply of gold and silver for the past fifty years." The
years mentioned refer to the Keicho (1594-1614) and the
Genna (1615-1623) eras. In the Tamakushige Beppon (3< (
\..112 11>1<), written by Norinaga Motoori, there occurs the
following remark: "It is since the Keicho era that gold
and silver coins have been in wide circulation. Prior to
that era, small coins only had been in popular use." In the
Keizairoku Shu; (~Jl!i\!i~litilt), Shuntai Dazai says: "In former
days, Japan had little gold and silver, and as coinage was
unknown, gold or silver coins were very rarely used by
people, high or low. In those days, the use of foreign coins
only sufficed. In the Keicho era, however, the supply of
gold and silver became plentiful. Since Kanyeicoins were
34 EIJIRO HONJO
1
struck and put into circulation, it has become the fashion
I
to use gold and silver coins in big transactions and to
employ small coins in minor dealings. . . . . . .. This is,
however, an age of gold and silver. . . . . . . . , and money
is spent a hundred times as much now as in former days."
In the Seidan (i\Ic~), Sorai Ogyu also says: "Formerly
coins were particularly scarce in rural districts. I remember
that in the days when I was still in my native place all
things were bought, not with money, but with rice or oarley.
I learn now, however, that since the Genroku (1688-1703)
era coins have been in circulation even in rural districts so
that things are now bought with money." All the descrip·
tions quoted above show that gold and silver coins were
already in circulation in the Keicho and the Genna eras and
that in the Genroku era they were current even in rural
districts. The phrase "possessor of gold" or "possessor of
silver" was already used in those days in the sense of a
wealthy person.
Why was it, then, that money came into such wide
circulation in the Tokugawa period? It appears that at the
initial stage of the Tokugawa period, the ·output of gold and
silver ore witnessed a sudden increase, which led to the
frequent coinage of gold, silver and copper coins and also
to the unification of the currency system. Moreover, the
sankin·kotai system (a system under which feudal lords
stayed in Edo by turns in the Shogun's service) did much
to increase the use of money by samurai either on their
way to and from Edo or during their sojourn in Edo, the
seat of the Tokugawa Shogunate. Also the development of
castle towns and the progress of commerce and industry
fostered, both among the samurai class and among the
populace, the custom of purchasing all necessaries with ready
money. Sorai Ogyu says (in the Seidan): "The life of
samurai congregated in castle towns is like hotel life, but
these towns are not their fiefs, so they must buy aU things
there, no matter how trifling, not to mention the vital
necessaries of life." In the Taiheisaku (;Io'l'JIt) he says: "As

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 FROM THE TOI(uGAWA PERIOD TO THE MEllI RESTORA110N 35

in hotel life one must needs buy all things necessary for
living, money is the most important thing for travellers.
Never in any age since the foundation of the country has
money been so indispensable to life as during the last 100
years." These descriptions clearly denote the fact that the
economic life of those days had attained the stage of
currency economy. It may be said that the impression
became general among the people of that time that money
could do anything. Banta Yamakata, in his book Yumeno·
shiro (;iI''''«i), says: "Since the middle times of Tokugawa
Era, gold and silver coins are to be met with every where.
The possession of gold and silver means wealth. The foolish
are held to be wise, and the wicked good, if only they are
possessed of gold and silver. On the contrary, one who
has neither gold nor silver is poor. However wise he may
be, he is dubbed a fool. A clever man with no money is
regarded by the public as a dul1ard, and a good man so
circumstanced is looked upon as a worthless person. Money
can restore a ruined family to former prosperity. As al1
things, life or death, success or failure, depend on the pos·
session or non-possession of gold, all people, irrespective of
rank or trade, run after gold as the first requisite for
existence." Thus, the enormous power of gold and silver
came to be generally recognised. In the previous ages land
was regarded as the only source of wealth, but now gold
and silver became by for the most important. Notwith-
standing the fact that the idea of respecting cereals and
despising money was assiduously inculcated by some people,
money was sought after by all classes, and it found wide
circulation not only in urb:m but in rural districts also.
As already stated, the currency economy developed
steadily in those days. In such an age, those who have
talent for business can amass wealth and gain much in-
fluence. After a prolonged period of tranquiIIity, martial
arts were at a discount then, and spears and swords were
hung up out of the way. War becoming merely a matter
of history, selfindulgent habits prevailed, and everybody's

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36 EIJIRO HONJO

sole desire was to accumulate money and lead a luxurious

life. There was no room for the use of military power
and it was supplanted by money power. And it was the
chOn in class which possessed money power. The Shogunate
and many clans which were in financial straits, therefore,
either requisitioned money from rich merchants in Edo,
Kyoto and Osaka, or went obsequiously to them for loans,
so that they could balance tbeir budgets satisfactorily. In
the Keizairoku (fJJ!i'lijq;), it is mentioned: "The present-day
feudal lords, big and small, go obsequiously .to merchants
for loans of money. It is only through the financial aid of
rich merchants in Edo, Kyoto, Osaka and other places that
they can get along." This illustrates at once how largely
the feudal lords were dependent upon rich merchants for
their livelihood and how great was the influence of the
chanin class who possessed money power. In the Chanin
KOkenroku (PlTA1fJ!.~~), a book written by Takafusa Mitsui,
an ancestor of the Mitsui family, the author gives a rough
description of how about fifty rich merchants in Kyoto
went bankrupt during fifty or sixty years some time in
the Genroku era both through the loans they had made to
feudal lords and through their own ostentatious habits_ It
is clear from what is written in this book that the feudal
lords of Kaga, Satsuma, Sendai, Rigo, Aki, Inaba, Nambu,
Owari, Kii, Choshii, Tosa, Saga, Yonezawa and Fukuoka
borrowed money from Kyoto merchants in order to balance
their budgets.
In those days, many feudal lords had warehouses in
Osaka, Edo and other cities for the purpose of seiling rice
and other products of their respective provinces. Most of
the feudal lords in Oshu provinces had their warehouses in
Edo; but the great majority of feudal lords including those
of Saikoku, Chiigoku, Rokkoku, Kwanto and Tohoku districts
had their warehouses in Osaka. They either sold the pro-
ducts of their fiefs there or with the commodities as
security, they borrowed the money they needed. Function-
aries of different ranks and with different duties, called
 FROM THE TOKUGAWA PERIOD TO THE MEI]I RESTORATION 37
i
kurayakunin, kuramoto, and kakeya were appointed to these

I warehouses in Osaka. Kurayakunin, officials detailed from

their respective clans, at first performed the duties of
kuramoto as well as their own, but later chanin were made
kuramoto, whose duty it was to take charge of the ware·
housed goods. The kakeya's duties were t(4 receive money
for the goods sold and keep it in custody. The kuramoto
often performed both duties. The kakeya in Osaka, like the
fudasashi in Edo,did duty as financial agents for samurai.
Feudal lords gave allowances· of rice to kakeya, and treated
them in the same way as they did their karo (chief retainers).
Zenyemon K6noike was kakeya for the five clans of Kaga,
Hiroshima, Awa, Okayama and Yanagawa. He was also
purveyor to the Owari and Kii clans. The allowances of
rice which he received for his services as such aggregated
10,000 koku. Even a branch family of the KOnoikes was
the recipient of allowances of rice for seventy men. Such
being the case, the life of rich merchants such as Zenyemon
K6noike, Gohei Hiranoya, and Gohei Tennojiya was as self-
indulgent as that of feudal lords. The influence exerted by
kuramoto over the clan finance was accordingly very great.
Several commercial families served as kuramoto for the
Sendai clan at different times, but particularlY well-known
is the connection of the clan with Heiyemon Masuya, of
Osaka. As Seiryo Kaiho says in his book, Masuya had
the Sendai clan finance under his control.
Once samurai borrowed money from chanin, it was no
easy task for them to pay their debts. Very often they
became more and more deeply involved in debt until they
were obliged to make importunate overtures to their credit-
ors for consent to payments by instalments spread over a
long period or to the remission of the interest. As for the
kuramoto, the creditors, they acquiesce in their debtors'
demands, because they were usually able to recover the
principal of their loans in ten years or so in the interest
on them, allowances of rice, presents, etc. which they got
from their debtors. In case debtors refused to meet their

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38 EIJIRO RONJO

obligations, they often resorted to the method of boycotting

such defaulting feudal lords by agreement among money
lenders. Unable to obtain any loans of money anywhere
in such circumstances, officials in the service of such lords
were obliged to apologise and make presents to their
creditors and pay the old debts so that they could obtain
fresh loans. In the Kyoho era (1716-1735) already, there
were cases of reprisals adopted by aggrieved chanin against
samurai. It often happened in Edo that chanin insulted the
samurai who had failed either to pay their debts or to pay
for articles bought, by planting paper banners or putting
up defamatory placards at the doors of the defaulters. In
December of the 14th year of Kyoho (1733), the Shogunate
issued a decree ordering severe punishment for chanin who
might thenceforward go to such lengths as thus to insult
samurai. At any rate, the samurai were helpless before the
money power of the chanin.
It was at the same time observable that many chanin
extended their financial influence to agricultural districts
and became extensive landowners. When there were an·
nexations of land or reclamations of land, their influence
made insidious advances. Land reclamation works in those
days were sometimes undertaken on contract with chanin,
a fact which shows that chanin capital was often invested
in such works. This does not, of course, mean that the
chanin converted themselves into regular farmers, but it
means that they acquired the status of landowners in ad-
dition to their status as rich merchants."
In short, both the samurai class and the farming class
had to yield to the chanin class in money power. In the
Chanin Bukuro (~Ai'i'II), we find the following passage:
" All classes of people have gradually become slaves to gold
and silver, and as such treasures have mostly fallen into
the possession of the chanin class, rich chOnin are sometimes

1) See my article; Changes of Social Classes during the Tokugawa

Period, in this Review, vol. III, No. 1.

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 FROM THE TOKUGAWA PERIOD TO THE MElfI RESTORATION 39

honoured by nobles with invitations to their mansions.

Thus, the chonin class has risen above farmers in social
standing before the public was aware of it." Not only was
the chonin class superior to the farming class, but it was
even superior to the samurai class. It must be clear from·
what I have already described that the chonin class acquired
great social prestige by" means of the money power which
it monoplised.
In the Tokugawa period, the chonin class made a
remarkable development. There were many chonin who
amassed enormous fortunes and led lives even more luxuri·
ous than that of feudal lords, squandering tens of thousands
of ryo in all sorts of selfish pleasures. In Edo, Bunzaemon
Kinokuniya and Mozaemon Naraya were the most notable
examples. They accumulated immense fortunes and lived
in great luxury. Kuranosuke Nakamura and Juemon Nani·
waya, of Kyoto, and Tatsugoro Yodoya, of Osaka, also
startled the public of their time by building themselves
magnificent mansions and spending huge sums on gorgeous
clothing and costly food. They were typical of the voluptu-
ary chonin of the Genroku era. Some time in the Empo
era (1673-1680), the story goes, Rokubei Ishikawa, a rich
Edo merchant, and his wife visited Kyoto. On hearing of
their visit, the wife of Juemon Naniwaya, of Kyoto, in her
desire to outshine Rokubei's wife in sumptuous attire, had
made for herself a silk satin garment embellished with a
landscape of Kyoto in flashing silk broidery. Rokubei's wife,
on the other hand, walked about the streets of Kyoto,
garbed in a quiet black silk garm~nt with a nandina
pattern. The Kyoto citizens who saw them both thought
that Juemon could afford greater splendour than Rokubei,
but what was their surprise when they learned afterwards
that each berry of the nand ina in the pattern of the
garment worn by Rokubei's wife was a coral globule.
In bygone ages, it was generally believed that samurai
formed the governing class, farmers the productive class
and choni" the useless class. These class features gradually
 40 EljlRO HONJO

changed, and in the Tokugawa period the samurai class

became powerless, the farming class exhausted and im-
poverished, and the chanin class rose to power.

3. CONVERSION OF SAMURAI AND FARMERS

INTO CHONIN
The samurai in the Tokugawa period either left their
native places to live in their castle towns or went to Edo
in attendance on their feudal lords in their regular visits
to the seat of the Shogunate under the sankinkotai system.
In the case of the direct retainers of the Shogun, they took
up their permanent residence in Edo. Large towns were
centres of the currency economy where commerce and in-
dustry were most developed and where chanin who were
possessed of great money power Iived. It was but natural
that the samurai who lived in such towns should have
gradually attained higher standards of living until they
found themselves unable to support themselves on their
regular stipends_ To make their livelihood even more dif-
ficult, many clans were driven by their straitened financial
circumstances to adopt what was caIled the hanchi (half-
stipend) system. Under this system the feudal lords bor-
rowed part of the stipends from their samurai. The amount
of reduction in stipends varied; it was not necessarily 50
per cent. In some cases, samurai had to give up one third
of their stipends and in other cases one-fourth.
As samurai were in such financial straits, they did job-
work besides practising economy. Even by such means
they could not keep themselves out of debt. They very
often contracted heavy debts and put themselves helplessly
in the hands of usurers. Samurai who used to value honour
above all became, by force of circumstances, so degenerate
as to put material gains before every thing else. It became
the fashion among them not to do anything which did not
bring them material profit. The habit also grew on them
of taking commission from merchants for articles purchased

--- ----"--, •.... _.- -~--- -- ---~------ -----

 FROM THE TOKUGAWA PERIOD TO THE MEI]I RESTORATION 41

for, or on behalf of their lords. In many other ways, they

tried to realise gains by utilising the offices which they held
in their clans. Even when taking some one into his service,
a samurai made the go· between offer some money in return.
In adopting a child, he made a point of choosing the scion
of a rich family. The right of succession in the family of
a retainer of the Shogun was actually sold for money.
Some feudal lords in those days made poor samurai carry
on certain industries with a view to affording them relief.
The samurai's pursuit of material gains and their attempts
to earn their livelihood by means of industrial work or job·
work indicate that, finding themselves unable to support
themselves under the economic system then prevailing, they
were compelled to alter their modes of living so as to adapt
them to the changing economic conditions. Nor was this
all. Many gave up their status as samurai and converted
themselves into chanin. The result is that samurai blood
runs in a good many famous old families of merchants."
Now as to the farming class. The fundamental policy
pursued to keep farmers in subjection was to prevent them
from raising their standards of living. For the execution
of this policy, various restrictions were imposed on their
clothing, food, habitation and other phases of life. That
such steps were taken in order to restrain farmers to their
wretched existence is clear from the official instructions of
the Keian era (1149). It was strictlY forbidden for farmers
to lead a luxurious life in imitation of chanin and towns-
people. The agricultural communities were detached from
town life, farmers were segregated from chanin and the
growth of economic knowledge among the farming popula-
tion was checked. Although farmers were groaning lmder
the heavy weight of taxation, they had a natural desire to
improve their condition of life. It was impossible to keep
them contented with their wretched life forever. With the

2) For particulars, see my article: The Decay of the Samurai Class,

in this Review, Vol. II, No.!.

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42 EIJIRO HONjO

gradual ralsmg of the standards of living among other

classes of people, and especially as they witnessed the
prodigal life of the chOnin class, their natural desire for a
better life was whetted. This rendered their lot only the
harder through the higher cost of living. Norinaga Motoori
says in his book: "Farmers in dire distress have been
particularly numerous of late years. There are two chief
reasons for this. One is the heavy taxes which they are
called upon to pay to the lord and the other is their gradual
acquirement of extravagant habits in conseqnence of the
general tendency for all classes to live luxuriously.""
As already mentioned, it was the policy of the powers
that were in those days to prevent the contact of farming
communities with town life and keep farmers and chonin
apart, but some farmers, enamoured of the life of chanin,
settled down in town and became merchants or town
labourers. Some formed matrimonial alliances with chanin
families. Even those who remained in their villages gave
up the plough and turned shop· keepers. It is a fact gene·
rally admitted that the expansion of big cities-Edo in
particular--was largely due to the settlement there of many
people from the provinces. It appears that there was a
remarkable development of urban life already in Kyoho
times." Thus, there were, needless to say, many chonin
who had been farmers in their earlier life. It is said that
there were many Kamigata (Kyoto, Osaka and neighbourhood)
men-natives of Ise and Omi provinces especially-in Edo.
It is probable that these Kamigata men included many who,
abandoning agricultural life in the provinces, settled down
in Edo as merchants.

3) See my article: The Agrarian Problems in the Tokugawa Regime,

in this Review, vol. I, No.2.
4) See my article: Population Problems in the Tokugawa Era, in
this Review, vol. II, No.2.

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-..--------------------------------- -]

FROM THE TOKUGAWA PERIOD TO THE MEI]I RESTORATION 43

4. ADOPTION OF CHONIN WAYS BY THE SHOGU-

NATE AND MANY CLANS
As already described, the samurai and the farming
classes gradually developed the tendency to turn merchants
or adopt chonin ways in order to accommodate themselves
to the changes in economic conditions. A similar tendency
was also manifest in regard in the Shogunate and many
clans. Kagetaka Toyama urged the necessity of the mone-
tary power being taken over by the authorities. In his
book he says; "If the lords, the samurai and the people
generally, are to be enriched, the money power should not
be left in the hands of commercial men." In the Shiimai-
ken Josho (Jlk*mJ:l!!) also it is urged that the right of con-
trolling rice should be taken over by the authorities. These
arguments were all advanced from the desire of extending
the financial power of the Government, so that the authority
of the Government might be firmly established through the
overthrow of chonin power and prestige. In fact, many
instances may be cited where the Shogunate and many clans
acted after the fashion of chonin in order to meet the
changes that came over economic conditions. The inaugura-
tion of a system analogous to the monopoly system and the
establishment of the Sambutsu-Kaisho (products gathering
storehouse) for provincial products are cases in point. In
the Keizairoku (*!l1/ll1jq;1, we find the following;-
"All high samurai and feudal lords nowadays use
money in all transactions, just as merchants do, and so
they are bent on possessing themselves of as much gold
and silver as they can. They seem to regard the posses-
sion of money as the most essential need of the day.
The shortest way to get money is to engage in commercial
transactions. In some clans it has been a long-established
practice to find the wherewithal to pay the expenses of
their clans by means of such transactions, thereby making
up for the smallness of their fiefs. The feudal lord of
Tsushima, for instance, is master of a small province and

----_.---- --------- ...-- --------,._--- .-----,.,--.--------- --~------. -----------

44 EIJIRO BONJO

his fief produces only a little over 20,000 koku of rice.

He is, however, rich, and is even better·off than a lord
with a fief of 200,000 koku, because he purchases Korean
ginseng and other goods at low prices and sells them at
high prices. The lord of Matsumae has a small fief of
7,000 koku, but through the sale of the products of his
own clan and of articles produced in Ezo (Hokkaido), he
is richer than a lord of, say, a fief of 50,000 koku. Again,
the lord of Tsuwano, despite his small fief of 40,000 koku,
has wealth comparable to that of a lord of a fief producing
150,000 koku of rice, because much profit accrues to him
from the manufacture and sale of pasteboard. The lord
of Hamada in the same province follows the example set
by the lord of Tsuwano and encourages the manufacture
of pasteboard in his own clan. This makes him as' rich
as a lord with a fief ot more than 100,000 koku, though
his fief produces only 50,000 koku of rice. Satsuma is,
of course, a big clan, but its incomparable wealth is due
to its monopolistic sale of goods imported from the
Luchus. Chinese goods also are imported into Satsuma
through the Luchus, and then sold widely in this country.
Since the Tsushima, Matsumae and Satsuma clans have
a monopoly of the importation of. foreign goods and sell
them to other clans, they are much richer than other
clans of similar dimensions. As for the clans of Tsuwano
and Hamada, they are rich because of their sale of the
products of their respective clans. The lord of Shingu
has a fief of only 30,000 koku, but as he sells the land
and marine products of Kumano, his wealth is to be
compared with that of a lord of a fief of 100,000 koku."
The monopoly system was alreadY in existence ·in
many clans in the early days of the Tokugawa period, but
it increased in popularity after the middle of the period.
The Sambutsu·kaisho, which were mostly established in and
after the days when Yoshimune was Shogun, were originally
intended for the encouragement of production, but later
many of them assumed the character of markets for the
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FROM THE TOKUGAWA PERIOD TO THE MEllI RESTORATION 4S

sale of provincial products. That is to say, they partook of

the nature of monopoly. For the purpose of regulating
prices, the Shogunate often prohibited cornering operations.
In October of the 13th year of Tempo (1842), it vetoed the
monopoly sale of provincial products in the various clans
of the Kinai, Chligoku, Saikoku and Shikoku districts.
This veto was issued in the year following the prohibition of
wholesalers' guilds under the Tempo Reform plan, and it is
clear that it had the reduction of the prices of commodities
in view. In the closing days of the Tokugawa period, the
Shogunate itself attempted to adopt a system resembling
monopoly by establishing the Sambutsu·kaisho. This policy
was not prompted by the motive of regulating prices, but
was designed to deprive the commercial class of its influence
and to replen ish the depleted coffers of the Shogunate.
Whatever may have been the motive, the fact remains that
the Shogunate attempted to do what it forbade the various
clans to do in the 13th year of Tempo. This Sambutsu·
kaisho was planned in November of the second year of Ansei
(1855), and in November of the first year of Keio (1865),
but each time the plan fell through. That the Shogunate
attempted to seize the commercial rights which had been
monopolised by merchants shows that the Shogunate itself
developed the tendency to engage in commerce. It testifies
to a marked change in the spirit of the age.
Besides the above·mentioned plan, many new measures
which ran counter to the traditional policy were adopted in
the closing days of the ShogUnate, as, for instance, the im·
portation of new Western technical arts, the introduction of
the company system, and the issue of notes."J All these
measures were necessitated to meet the economic changes
of the times, and they throw a sidelight on the adoption
by the Shogunate and the clans of commercial ways. It is
noteworthy that these were visualised in the policy pursued

5) See my article; The New Economic Polity in the closing days of

the Tokugawa Shogunate. in this Review, voL IV, No.2.

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 46 EI]IRO HON]O

after the Meiii Restoration (1868)-in the first ten years of

Meiii especially.

5. THE MEIJI RESTORATION (1868)

As already explained, the chcmin class gained much
influence in and after the middle of the Tokugawa period
and the growth of the currency economy followed. In con-
sequence, the feudal system, which was based on land
economy, was badly shaken. Even by reason of these
internal circumstances, the feudal system was nearing its
end. The invasion of foreign capitalism which synchronised
with these changes compelled the opening of the country
to foreign intercourse, culminating in the downfall of the
Tokugawa Shogunate_ From the economic point of view,
the age of land economy, on which the feudal system was
founded, was superseded by the age of currency economy,
which was incompatible with the former, and then came
the importation of foreign capitalism.
It was not, however, the chanin class, but the samurai
class of the lower grades, that brought down the Tokugawa
Shogunate. The fact that the chonin class played no im-
portant part in the overthrow of the Shogunate was partly
due to the imperfect political and economic awakening of
the chanin class, whose influence could not rise above a
certain level because of the feudalism and the exclusion
policy that ruled in those days. Another contributory cause
was that the actual political change was induced both by
the foreign relations and by the movement launched for the
overthrow of the ShOgunate by patriots, a circumstance
whicb afforded low grade samurai a better chance to
participate in the work of the Restoration. These low
grade sam urai could not earn their living under the feudal
system, nor could they give fuI! play to their talents under
it. This naturally caused much discontent among them,
and they keenly felt the necessity of changing the existing
order of society. When they saw the opportunity they

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 FROM THE TORVGAWA PERIOD TO THE ME!f! RESTORATION 47

seized it energetically for the realisation of their cherished

desires. Disregarding the counsels of upper grade samurai.
they managed to establish a stable new Government on the
ruins of the feudal system.
The Restoration did not take political power from the
samurai class. The only change that took place was that
power passed from the upper grade samurai to the lower
grades. It was. however. impossible for all low grade
samurai who played a part in the Restoration to be put in
Government offices. They were therefore given pension
bond certificates instead of their former stipends. and had
to live as best they could with them in accordance with
the dictates of the new currency economy. Some of tbese
samurai took to trade but in most cases they failed. Re·
cognising the necessity of removing a menace to politics
by providing these samurai with regular employment. the
Government devised means to give them work. Reclama-
tion works and the encouragement of agriculture were
among these measures. It further encouraged and subsidised
the establishment of the State Bank. the Nippon Railway
Company and other companies. A vigorous policy of pro-
tective interference was pursued in order to make them
operate their undertakings on the advanced Western plan.
The result was that they gradually constituted themselves
a new economic influence as the advanced leaders of the
business world, far-reaching reforms in the social and
economic organisations of this country following. It is an
irony of fate that the samurai who used to despise money
became the pioneers of the industrial world and leading
capitalists. The part played by low grade samurai before
and after the Meiji Restoration was, indeed, very important.
It is, of course, true that the great majority of them were
swept away by the tidal waves of the Restoration, but some
low grade samurai who took an active part in the great
political change seized political power, while some others
secured money power and became capitalists.
It was in the Genroku era that the currency economy

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 48 EIJIRO HONJO

began to encroach on the natural economy of old-world

Japan. The main source of revenue for the Shogunate,
which was based on the feudal system, was from the natural
products of the land. In the meantime, the new wealth in
the shape of money was monopolised by the chanin class,
and with the progress of the currency economy, the military
power of the samurai class gradually gave way to the
money power of the chanin class. When the Meiji Restora-
tion came (1868), the chanin class, which had made much
headway in the Tokugawa Age, was deprived of the
privilege~ and official protection which it had previously
enjoyed, and was compelled to devise means to support it·
self in a world of free competition. The chanin class in
the Tokugawa period valued gold so highly that it regarded
wealth as the "pedigree of the chanin." Although the idea
of making money was well developed among these chanin,
they lacked either the enterprising spirit or the passion for
new enterprises. In a capitalist society that was ushered
in after the Restoration, therefore, they failed to take the
lead. It was the former low grade samurai, such as Shibu-
sawa and Iwasaki, who played the leading part in the new
capitalist Eociety. The conversion of the Mitsui into modern
capitalists was due to the able presence of Rizaemon Mino-
mura, who was formerly a samurai, in their management.
It would, however, be too hasty a conclusion to say that
the chanin class made no contribution to the Meiji Restora·
tion. For, but for the wealth of chanin which they could
utilise, the samurai from Choshu and other clans would
have been unable to achieve the stupendous task of the
Meiji Restoration. It was by the help of the money supplied
by chanin-by Osaka chanin especialIy-that the battles of
Toba, Fushimi, Edo and the North-East could be fought by
the Imperial Army. They also supplied funds to the Meiji
Government and lent financial aid to note issues and other
financial measures. Osaka was then the virtual treasury of
the Government. Indeed, it was said that 70 per cent. of
I Japan's wealth was in Osaka. Such being the case, those
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FROM THE TOKUGAWA PERIOD TO THE MEI]I RESTORATION 49

who took an active part in the establishment of the Meiji

Government acted very wisely in securing the financial aid
of Osaka merchants. It is doubtful whether the Meiji
Government could otherwise have been established so
successfully.
The financial straits of the Government at the time of
the Restoration were almost beyond imagination. The
Government made rich merchants, shrines and temples
in big cities contribute money so as to help it to tide over
the pressing financial crisis. Donations were often exacted
from these rich men for putting the finances of the Govern·
ment on a stable basis. It was not on a few millionaires
only but on many others also that these contributions were
levied. In the Government campaign for raising the State
financial funds, for instance, 650 people were summoned to
the local Government office on two occasions in Osaka alone
and ordered to donate sums. The list of the donors shows
that collections were made from many ordinary citizens as
well as from millionaires. The Dajokwan notes and other
notes also did much to maintain the national finance in the
early days of Meiji. Recourse was had to these note issues
when it was realised that the Government could not keep
on collecting donations interminably and that this policy of
raising funds became unworkable. These notes were, of
course, inconvertible, and consequently their circulation was
attended with great difficulties. Many devices were accord·
ingly invented to put them into circulation. That. the
finances of the Meiji Government were maintained by the
circulation of these inconvertible notes testifies, in a sense,
to the financial strength of the people at large. At the
same time, it must be noted that their circulation owed
much to the credit and efforts of the Mitsui and other mil·
lionaires who helped in the matter. The same thing may
be said of the issue of notes in the closing days of the
Shogunate, Thus viewed, it is obvious that the financial
power of the chanin class had a great deal to do with the
consummation of the Meiji Restoration. It is nevertheless

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 EIJIR() HON]O

true to say that the Meiji Government was supported by

the financial power of the public rather than by that of a
few millionaires exclusively.
On the other hand, in the economic world, the currency
economy had already been making good progress, and,
moreover, towards the end of the Tokugawa Shogunate,
new measures such as have already been mentioned were
adopted. The new Meiji Government came into being just
when the Shogunate had by this means been making a big
volte·face in its policy, in order to meet the requirements
of the new age about to be born. It too launched various
economic enterprises to cope with the needs of the times
and introduced Western material civilisation, This accounts
for the fact that the capitalist society which followed the
Meiji Restoration was built up not by the chanin class but
by low grade samurai who seized power in the Meiji
Government.
The political transition from the Tokugawa Shogunate
to the Meiji regime did not deprive the samurai class of
political power. Power simply passed from the upper grade
to the lower grade samurai. As the economic changes took
place in the circumstances already described, moreover, the
economic development subsequent to the Restoration em·
bodied nothing but the gradual growth of the germ which
had already been in existence in the closing days of the
Tokugawa Shogunate. It is not correct to say that all of
the important economic measures adopted by the Meiji
Government were conceived and carried out after the
Restoration. This fact deserves the attention of all students
of the nature of the reforms effected at the time of the
Restoration.

6. THE CONCLUSION
In short, the Tokugawa Age was a time in which there
was a general tendency for all classes to become merchant·
like. In order to cope with the changes in economic life,

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 FROM THE TOKUGAWA PERIOD TO THE MEllI RESTORATION 51

measures were taken in all quarters to encourage com-

mercialisation_ Such measures became more pronounced as
time passed_ The downfall of the Tokugawa Shogunate
was partly due to these circumstances at home and partly.
owing to the invasion of foreign capitalism. This capitalism
means after all the development of the policy of commercia-
lisation. Such being the case, it may be said that the
consummation of the Meiji ~storation and the subsequent
economic developments denote the fruition of this com-
mercialisation policy.
The establishment of the Meiji Government was, in so
far as form is concerned, due to the activity of lower grade
samurai, and these samurai formed the nucleus of the new
Government. The money power of chon in was, however,
at the back of their success. It was because they could
utilise the financial power of chonin that they could bring
the new Government into being. The money was not
supplied by a few millionaires only; it is more correct to
say that the wealth of the people generally was mobilised.
It is accordingly noteworthy that the new Meiji Government
had the support of the people at large.
EUIRO HONJO

1
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