Tokugawa Society and Japanese Modernization
-The cultural blooming of Japanese society and the international influence during the period from the 17th to the 19th century.

Organizer: KASAYA Kazuhiko, Professor

　It has generally been understood that Japanese modernization began in 1853 when Commodore Perry of the US arrived with his East India Squadron. He delivered the American President’s letter addressed to the Shogun and demanded that Japan open its country. In introductory books, it has been common to start the story of Japanese modern history from this moment. The standard narrative that follows is: Japan had to make a decision to open the country by concluding a treaty of peace and amity with the US in 1854; continuously signed similar treaties with major European nations; further concluded a treaty of amity and commerce with the US that determined Japan’s new direction of international relations; domestically experienced political strife over these treaties, which finally developed into a state of civil war; finally saw the Meiji Restoration that realized the unification of the country in the name of the Emperor; then, the Japanese modernization took shape… This is the average understanding among the Japanese concerning the historical evolution from the Tokugawa time towards the Meiji period.
　However, from a more global point of view, it is clear that such historical experience of Japan is not natural or common. During the same period, Asian countries were largely colonized or encroached upon by Western powers. Such state of Asia (or world) in the 19th Century tells us that it was particularly significant from a perspective of the history of civilizations that Japan could maintain its independence and succeed in the development of a capitalistic economy as well as a modern society. In order to understand why it was possible for Japan, it would be far from enough to mention the Meiji Government’s modernization policy. Here, it is inevitable to pay attention to the capacity already possessed by the Japanese society prior to Meiji: Tokugawa Japan had foreseen ambitions of Western powers towards Asia; taken nation-wide measures to cope with them; and actually had ability to compete with them.
　How did the society of Tokugawa Japan come to have such capabilities? This is the theme of this team research project. Kasaya Kazuhiko’s previous project, “Japan in the 18th century: cultural conditions and international environment” focused on the 18th century of Tokugawa Japan and shed light on a variety of new cultural trends stemming in the society. This new project has a widened focus, and will deal with the whole Tokugawa period from the 17th to the 19th century. It will synthetically address the above-mentioned question involving scholars from various fields.

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