Japan Photo | Edo period 江戸時代 and history

history
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Edo period (1600-1868) Tokugawa era (1603-1867)
江戸時代 edo-jidai 徳川時代 tokugawa-jidai

The two and a half centuries from 1603, when Tokugawa Ieyasu established the shogunate in Edo, through the Meiji Restoration in 1867 is a unprecedented period of sustained peace and stability, which is attributed to a number of factors. One is the establishment of a strong political organization, with the ruling shogunate supported by faithful regional land barons (daimyô). Another involves efforts to sustain the domination of the warrior class through a social caste system, with the samurai at the top, followed by farmers, artisans and mercants. Also considered as a key factor is the "closed country" policy, which was designed to prevent any interference in Japanese affairs from outside.