Fall of the Samurai: From the Tokugawa to Early Modern Japan Fall of The Samurai: From The Tokugawa Era to Early Modern Japan

Japanese samurai are counted among the world's most popular military forces; they emerged in pre-medieval times and were active from the seventh to late nineteenth century. The samurai were initially employed as mercenaries, but quickly evolved to become the Japanese Empire's chief military force; before long, they transformed, in effect, into Japan's ruling class. While the transition of the samurai from leading ordinary military lives to being embroiled in inter-clan intrigues and elite political events was relatively rapid, their military-influenced moral principles and core values remained intact throughout. Their improved sense of devoted spirituality and integrity were, in fact, so well-known that they became the inspiration for great stories of courage, which resound even now with readers. This odd balance of deadly effective military strength with gentlemanly, noble behavior is demonstrated by the samurai's armors and graceful weapons (Gordon, 2008).

The samurai's foundations date back to 710-794 A.D. (the Nara Age), which was characterized by a constant and strong influence of China on Japan's technology, military code, and culture. The Japanese government in those days reflected the Chinese style, and comprised of political, instead of military, leaders. The nation's Imperial Court and Emperor, unlike those in prior periods, were happy to sit back and witness conflicts developing from afar; they were reluctant to personally go to battle like their antecedents. Japan's military style reflected the Chinese methods, and demanded that all capable Japanese men volunteer directly under the Emperor's command (Gordon, 2008).

Though the ill-trained 'heishi' or draftees constituted the major part of Japan's Imperial Army, a small group of mounted, professional warriors also existed within military ranks; this force grew in size over time. Gradually, a separation arose between the military and peasant classes, accelerated appreciably by Fujiwara Nakamaro, the leader of the Fujiwara clan and a member of the Imperial court, who depended on professional warriors over the draftees. The concept of a trained national army gained increasing popularity, leading to the draft's abolition in 792 AD. The 'heishi' were replaced by warriors hailing from local mercenary clans. Therefore, by the end of Nara Age, the Japanese Imperial Army was well-trained, constituting the foremost samurai, who started forming their independent clans in the Heian era (Hane & Perez, 2009).

Japan's Heian Period, which lasted from 794-1192 AD, can be regarded as the age when the samurai truly rose to power. Several historians deem this era as the summit of Japan's cultural growth, with a move from adopting foreign customs to creating internal policies. The samurai's power grew along with Japan's flourishing culture. Samurai clans and houses started forming, with feudal clan lords procuring and controlling land with the help of their samurai armies. They could offer more protection to communities, as well as lower taxes than that levied by the increasingly detached government; this led to the samurai progressively winning people's loyalty. With the gradual decline of the Emperor's power, regional clans of the samurai assumed the status of de-facto provincial rulers, and leading forces in Japan's political as well as economic spheres (Hane & Perez, 2009).

However, with growth of individual clans' authority, inter-clan conflicts also sprung up. The Japanese central government was not powerful enough to intervene, leaving samurai clans free to fight other clans, for serving personal interests. The latter part of the Heian Period witnessed a large number of rebellions, like the 935 Masakodo Rebellion, the 1055 Early 9 Years War, as well as the Later 3 Years War many years since. inter-clan wars became widespread. The era's major samurai families included the Fujiwara clan (which was politically influential), and the warrior clans of Minamoto and Taira (James, 2010). The era was shaped by their battles, ending with the 1180 Gempei War between the Minamoto and Taira clans; the Minamoto revolted against the rule of the Taira, seizing Kyoto and forcing the Emperor to declare Shogun, the leader of the Minamoto clan as Japan's effective ruler and grand general of the armed forces. The Emperor's role was reduced to merely a ceremonial title and his rights to governmental participation were withdrawn. The Gempei War's outcome firmly cemented the new Shogunate government; the samurai were formally declared as Japan's ruling class (McLaren, 2013). These events marked the onset of Kamakura age.

To understand the reasons behind Japanese samurai's overthrowing of a governmental system presumably developed to serve their personal interest, and how they managed to achieve it, one needs to look, firstly, at the samurai who got involved in this movement, which aimed at...

The main players were low-ranking tozama samurai and, in particular, the independent and strong Satsuma domains of southernmost Kyushu, Shikoku's Tosa, and far-west Honshu's Choshu (McLaren, 2013). Samurai of lower ranks had observed for long that the Tokugawa office and rank system was wholly hereditary. In their view, merit was largely ignored. A person hailing from a low-ranking household could never rise to any position of wealth or power or gain any official appointment. Further, a number of samurai from low-ranking backgrounds felt they were more capable and competent than higher-ranking ones, who assumed lofty positions based solely on lineage. During the later days of the Tokugawa rule, the phrase "daimy's skill," or daimygei began indicating something or somebody wholly lacking in quality or talent (McLaren, 2013). Numerous lower-ranking samurai did not hesitate to express their opinions frankly.
Grievances of the samurai worsened with certain events that transpired during the earlier 19th century. Rampant disease, famine, and mortality resulted from the bad harvests of the 1830s. The poverty-ridden areas of northeastern Japan bore the brunt of these crises. The severity and number of peasant protests rose steeply when the government proved incapable of providing relief adequately (Schirokauer, Lurie, & Gay, 2007). Concurrently, the leaders of Japan witnessed with consternation, the decimation of China's Qing Empire by the English during the initial 1839-1842 Opium Wars. Subsequently, western powers cut China "like a melon." Japan was already successful in driving back the Russians and English, in 1790s-1800s and 1820s, respectively. The 1840s brought about a possibility of America trying to "open" Japan. Commodore Matthew Perry led an American naval delegation in 1853 as a spokesperson for the then-American President Fillmore, who demanded that the country agree to diplomatic and trade dealings with the U.S. A deadline of 6 months was given to the 'Shogun' for considering this proposal. Internal observers, particularly the powerful daimy, understood that the Japanese government did not have any novel ideas on how to tackle this external threat, on top of the many domestic issues they faced. Ultimately, Shogun'al authorities conceded, despite disapproval of the emperor, and signed diplomatic and trade treaties with America. Treaty terms accorded Western powers great advantages; Japan was, finally, relegated to the status of a semi-colony (Schirokauer, Lurie, & Gay, 2007).

Starting out as armed forces under Japanese noble clans and the Emperor, the samurai steadily amassed sufficient power to take over the government, instituting Japan's first samurai-governed system following the 1160 Heiji Rebellion. They slowly gained the status of a noble Japanese class, developing a strongly-influential tradition and culture. Samurai, after the 11th century, were required to be educated and cultured. Social mobility permitted heroic individuals to attain samurai status till 1586. Subsequently, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, hailing from a poverty-ridden peasant household, acquired the position of grand minister and formulated a law that made the samurai clan heritable and permanent, and forbade them from carrying weapons, effectively putting an end to Japanese social mobility till the Edo Shogunate was dissolved in 1868 by Meiji revolutionaries (Schirokauer, Lurie, & Gay, 2007).

Contemporary samurai's roots are disputed; however, the general belief is that, during the 6th century, foot-soldiers, mounted warriors, and archers might have established a proto-samurai. After the unsuccessful military engagement of Japan with Korea's Silla dynasty and Tang China, widespread reforms were enacted in the country; of these the 646 C.E. Taika Reform which the Emperor K-toku issued is highly significant. It introduced administrative and cultural practices of China across Japan's bureaucracy and aristocracy. The samurai army was ultimately disbanded by the Tokugawa, following which their authority began diminishing. During the Emperor's regime, mighty clans surrounding Kyoto took up ministerial positions, with their relatives buying their way into the positions of magistrates. These magistrates, for the purpose of repaying debts and accumulating wealth, often levied hefty taxes on peasants, causing several to lose their lands. With increased threats of robbery, the clans started recruiting the exiled citizens and providing them rigorous martial arts training to become capable guards (Schirokauer, Lurie, & Gay, 2007). Little bands of guards would escort tax collectors for dissuading bandits and thieves from attacking; their presence was sufficient to meet this end. These armed retainers or samurai held an advantage, by being the sole arms bearers, an advantage that quickly became evident. Political marriages and protective agreements helped them accrue political power, and they ultimately superseded the traditional aristocratic classes (Schirokauer, Lurie, & Gay,…