The Final Decades of the Shogunate

-Japan experienced little change during 1st half on 19th century -Shogunate combined central bureaucracy w/ alliances between daimyos & samurai -Government was financially unstable at the time -Maintaining the feudal shell was costly. -Long budget reform spurt in the late 18th century -Weakened the Shogunate in the 1850s -Impeded response to crisis induced by western pressures -Japanese intellectual life and cultural development under Tokugawa regime -Schools and academies expanded beyond the elites and nobles -Dutch studies kept alive the knowledge of the Dutch through translators -Japanese economy continued to develop into 19th century -By 1850s, economic growth had slowed -Increase in rural riots -Riots were easy to suppress but..

Quiet time compared with the Tokugawa Shogunate Government ran into financial problems Taxes were based on agriculture despite the fact that Japans commercialization was growing This put severe constraint on the growth of the economy The government spent a lot of money because they had to pay samurai for their loyalty to them Attempt at reforming the budget caused successful momentum But the cause was notably unsuccessful and it caused problems for the Shogunate Neo Confucianism gained among Japanese elites at the expense of Buddhism Japan became more and more secular especially among the upper classes Intellectual life was kept fairly interesting and creative because of debates between various Confucian schools Education was no longer limited and it reached through to commoner schools Terakoya taught reading, writing, and rudiments of Confucianism to ordinary people The ban on western books was ended in 1720 Dutch medicine created a new interest in western scientific advances In 1850, there were schools of Dutch studies in every major city in Japan Commerce expanded as merchant companies established monopoly privileges everywhere Manufacturing gained grounds in consumer good markets such as soy sauce and silks Changes in Japan were comparable to the changes that took place in the west not long before Limitations constricted agricultural expansion and population increase Rural riots increased from the late 18th century onward. They were mostly aimed at the wealthy peasants, merchants, and landlord controls But protests contributed to considering change when Japan was joined by a challenge from the outside.