In 1603, the head of the Tokugawa Clan proclaimed himself shogun, thus starting the rule of the clan in Japan. Having set up a complete military dictatorship of the samurai by the 17th century, the Tokugawa Clan managed to completely centralize and augment its authority.
The Tokugawa’s strong central authority put an end to feudal fragmentation and resulted in the minimization of wars between feudal lords. Now, samurai served only to put down peasant and civilian revolts.
As for the samurai’s social status, by then, they were at the top since the shogunate closely monitored the estate system of power and subordination. The following hierarchy system was developed: samurai – peasants – artisans – merchants. Of course, the samurai ranked the highest as they were a support of the Tokugawa regime and were considered the core of the nation and the best people. There was a separate group of court aristocracy. Even though officially, it ranked above samurai, in fact, it was deprived of any political and economic power.
Although the samurai estate was considered single on paper, the Tokugawa regime clearly divided the samurai by their ranks. In addition to the gokenin, the existing samurai of the highest military nobility, feudal lords whose status depended on the size of their lands, a new samurai class of hatamoto was established. Hatamoto, translated from Japanese, means the standard-bearer, and this class of samurai was directly subordinate to the military government and the shogun.
The hatamoto samurai had the powers that the gokenin did not have. They had the right to a private audience with the shogun and could enter the building from the main entrance. In the event of war, the hatamotos formed the shogun’s army and were part of the shogun’s administration. According to the social hierarchy, the hatamoto and gokenin samurai were followed by baishin (a vassal of vassal), and the lowest samurai estate was ashigaru, ordinary soldiers.
Separately from the samurai estates, there were ronin. Ronin is a samurai who has let his master die or has been cast out from the clan or has left the suzerain voluntarily, for example, for a blood feud, and could return to service after. Many ronin who were unwilling or unable to be engaged in farming, handicrafts or trade, since they had no livelihood, gathered in gangs and robbed small villages or bystanders on the road. Ronin often became hired killers who would stop at nothing for money.
By the 17th century, the number of samurai reached approximately 400,000 and about two million together with their families. Japan’s population itself at that time was about 16 million.
The number of samurai varied by region, depending on the wealth and the size of the lands of the feudal lords. This means that the richer the feudal lords in a particular province are, the more samurai lived there.
The majority of the samurai did not own lands and were rewarded rice for serving. The unit of measurement of this payment was koku, rice ration. The extent of the payment depended, of course, on the samurai status. With the received rice, the samurai could keep their families, buy clothes, household items, etc. In fact, it was the only source of income since the Tokugawa shogunate prohibited samurai to be engaged in crafts, trade, and usury, considering it shameful for them. However, the samurai were exempt from taxes.
As for the samurai’s conduct during the Tokugawa shogunate’s rule, they were to be guided by the “Buke hatto” code written by Tokugawa Ieyasu in 1615. The code listed the rules of samurai’s conduct on service and at home, how samurai must treat their weapons, serve the feudal lords and address the feudal lords whom they serve, what clothes must be worn by each samurai class, what literature they must read, and it also explained marriage matters.
In addition to the rules and duties, the Buke hatto strictly protected the samurai’s honor. One of the articles of the code stated that a samurai could kill a peasant or citizen on the spot if they insulted him. Peasants, once they notice a samurai, had also to take off their hats and go on their knees, no matter where they were – on the roadside or at work. Every such meeting with a samurai could have ended in death for a peasant. A peasant or citizen could also be punished for that a samurai could consider it excessive. However, a samurai could also be punished by death for violations that would have not resulted in death for a peasant. For example, for disobeying an order or breaking their promises, samurai had to commit hara-kiri.
The reign of the Takugawa Family was a period of supreme development for samurai. During this period, the samurai’s culture, customs and rules were fully developed.
See also
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Tsutsui Sadatsugu
Tsutsui Sadatsugu (June 6, 1562 – April 2, 1615) was a prominent figure in the Sengoku and early Edo periods, known as the cousin and adopted heir of Tsutsui Junkei, the feudal lord of Yamato Province. Following Junkei's death in 1584, Toyotomi Hideyoshi relocated Sadatsugu to Iga Province, where he oversaw the construction of Iga Ueno Castle, marking the height of his prominence.
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Matsudaira Kiyoyasu
Matsudaira Kiyoyasu (September 28, 1511 – November 29, 1535) served as the 7th lord of the Matsudaira clan during Japan's tumultuous Sengoku period. Renowned as the paternal grandfather of Tokugawa Ieyasu, one of Japan's "great unifiers," Kiyoyasu expanded his clan’s influence, bringing all of northern Mikawa Province under his control after subduing the Saigo clan. His power was further symbolized by the construction of Okazaki Castle, a testament to the Matsudaira’s growing dominance.
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Matsudaira Hirotada
Matsudaira Hirotada (June 9, 1526 – April 3, 1549) was a daimyo and lord of Okazaki Castle in Mikawa Province during Japan’s turbulent Sengoku Period. He is best known as the father of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of the Tokugawa shogunate.
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Ikeda Tsuneoki
Ikeda Tsuneoki (1536 – May 18, 1584), also known as Ikeda Nobuteru, was a prominent daimyo of the Ikeda clan and a distinguished military commander during Japan's Sengoku and Azuchi-Momoyama periods. He served under the influential warlords Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Tsuneoki’s connection to Nobunaga began early, as his mother, Yotokuin, was Nobunaga’s wet nurse and later became a concubine to Oda Nobuhide, Nobunaga's father.
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Oda Nobutaka
Oda Nobutaka (1558–1583) was a samurai of the Oda clan, also known as Kanbe Nobutaka after being adopted as the head of the Kanbe clan, which governed the central region of Ise Province. He was the third son of Oda Nobunaga, born to a concubine named Sakashi. Nobutaka was referred to as "San Shichi," possibly because he was born on the seventh day of the third month in the Japanese lunar calendar. However, there is a theory suggesting he was born twenty days earlier than his elder brother, Oda Nobukatsu, but due to delays in reporting and the low status of his mother’s family, he was acknowledged as Nobunaga’s third son.
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Yamauchi Kazutoyo
Yamauchi Kazutoyo (also spelled Yamanouchi; 1545/1546? – November 1, 1605) was a prominent samurai and retainer who served Oda Nobunaga and later Toyotomi Hideyoshi during Japan's Sengoku and Azuchi-Momoyama periods. His father, Yamauchi Moritoyo, was a descendant of Fujiwara no Hidesato and a senior retainer of the Iwakura Oda clan, which opposed Oda Nobunaga. Moritoyo was also the lord of Kuroda Castle in Owari Province. Kazutoyo is especially renowned for his marriage to Yamauchi Chiyo, whose wisdom and resourcefulness played a key role in his rise to prominence.
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Saito Tatsuoki
Saito Tatsuoki (6 September 1548 - 1573) was a daimyo of Mino Province during Japan's Sengoku period and the third-generation lord of the Saito clan. He was the son of Saito Yoshitatsu and grandson of Saito Dosan. His mother was a daughter of Azai Hisamasa, making him a nephew of Azai Nagamasa and a relative of Oda Nobunaga's first wife, Nohime, who was also a daughter of Saito Dosan.
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Kyogoku Tadataka
Kyogoku Tadataka (1593–1637) was a Japanese nobleman and the head of the Kyogoku clan during the early 17th century, a pivotal time marked by the Tokugawa consolidation of power. His childhood name was Kumamaro, and he hailed from a lineage claiming descent from Emperor Uda (868–897). Tadataka was the son of Kyogoku Takatsugu and one of his concubines, with his paternal grandfather being Kyogoku Takayoshi.
