Genroku Culture and the Kyoho Reforms

Centered on the era of the fifth shogun, Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, Genroku culture blossomed in Kamigata (Kyoto and Osaka). The following Kyoho Reforms(under the eighth shogun, Yoshimune) were the first of the three major Edo reforms.

Basic Knowledge

Fifth shogun Tokugawa Tsunayoshi(reigned 1680-1709):
・Government by civil principles(a shift from military rule); established the Yushima Seido (Confucian temple)
・Edicts on Compassion for Living Creatures(from 1685; protection of dogs, cattle, horses, and other animals, especially dogs; he was called the “Dog Shogun”)
・To address worsening finances, Ogiwara Shigehide, commissioner of finance, reminted coins (lowering their quality to increase the quantity)
Sixth shogun Tokugawa Ienobu and seventh shogun Tokugawa Ietsugu:
・The Shotoku Rule led by their tutor, Arai Hakuseki
・Restored the quality of coins to pre-reminting levels (Shotoku gold and silver); restricted Nagasaki trade (New Regulations for Trade with Foreign Ships, 1715)
Genroku Culture(late 17th to early 18th century, centered in Kamigata):
・Ihara Saikaku: ukiyo-zoshi, The Eternal Storehouse of Japan, Calculations of the World, The Life of an Amorous Man
・Matsuo Basho: haikai, The Narrow Road to the Deep North. “The stillness—sinking into the rocks—the cicada's voice”
・Chikamatsu Monzaemon: scripts for puppet theater and kabuki, The Love Suicides at Sonezaki, The Battles of Coxinga
・Hishikawa Moronobu: founder of ukiyo-e, Beauty Looking Back
・Ogata Korin: Rinpa school, Red and White Plum Blossoms Screen, Irises Screen
・Tawaraya Sotatsu: founder of the Rinpa school, Wind God and Thunder God Screen
・Seki Takakazu: culmination of Japanese mathematics, Hatsubi Sanpo
・Miyazaki Yasusada: Complete Agricultural Encyclopedia(Japan's first full-scale agricultural book)
The Kyoho Reforms of the eighth shogun Tokugawa Yoshimune(1716-1745):
① Ashidaka system (1723) — increased stipends only during office, making it possible to appoint capable people
② Agemai system (1722-1731) — required daimyo to pay 100 koku for every 100 koku of assessed rice yield, in exchange for halving the time they had to stay in Edo under sankin-kotai
③ Encouragement of new-field development and the fixed-tax system(fixed annual taxes at a set amount)
④ Suggestion Box(1721)—a box for written opinions from common people; led to the establishment of the Koishikawa養生所 (free medical facility)
⑤ Regulations for Lawsuits(1742) — basic law for justice and administration
⑥ Easing restrictions on imported Western books (1720) — permitted Chinese translations of Western books unrelated to Christianity, laying the foundation for later Dutch studies
⑦ Establishment of the Three Tokugawa Branch Houses (Tayasu, Hitotsubashi, and Shimizu)

Further Study (Background and Effects)

The essence of Genroku culture was the “emergence of townspeople's culture.” Until then, aristocrats, warriors, and monks had been the main cultural leaders, but during the Genroku era, townspeople (merchants) in Osaka and Kyoto became the central cultural figures because of their economic power. Ihara Saikaku's ukiyo-zoshi, Chikamatsu Monzaemon's puppet theater, and Hishikawa Moronobu's ukiyo-e all reflected the lives and sensibilities of townspeople.
The Kyoho Reforms were a restoration-oriented reform that sought to return to Ieyasu's ideals. Yoshimune rebuilt the shogunate's finances through practical reforms, including frugality, new-field development, securing tax revenue, and appointing capable people. Yoshimune was also called the “Rice Shogun” and struggled to stabilize rice prices.
The Koishikawa養生所, created through suggestions from the Suggestion Box, was one of the world's first public free medical facilities and was also the setting of Shugoro Yamamoto's novel Red Beard and Akira Kurosawa's later film Red Beard.
Easing restrictions on imported Western books led to the later development of Dutch studies and created the foundation for works such as New Book of Anatomy (1774) by Sugita Genpaku and Maeno Ryotaku.

Points of Caution (Easily Confused)

① Distinguish Genroku culture (late 17th to early 18th century, Kamigata) from kasei culture (early 19th century, Edo). Genroku was the early stage of townspeople's culture; kasei was its mature stage. ② The Kyoho Reforms (Yoshimune) were the first of the three major Edo reforms, followed by the Kansei Reforms (Matsudaira Sadanobu) and the Tempo Reforms (Mizuno Tadakuni). ③ Learn the Suggestion Box(established during Yoshimune's reforms) together with the Koishikawa養生所(the medical facility created from opinions submitted to the box). ④ Learn Chikamatsu Monzaemon(playwright) together with Takemoto Gidayu(founder of Gidayu-bushi, who performed his works).

Practice

1. Give the name of the haikai poet who represented Genroku culture and wrote The Narrow Road to the Deep North.
2. Give the name of the eighth shogun who carried out the first of the three major Edo reforms, the Kyoho Reforms.
3. Give the name of the suggestion box established during the Kyoho Reforms to hear the opinions of common people.