Япония в эпоху Токугава

For adequate perception of the complexity and ambiguity of the historical development it is not sufficient to study the facts of the political history alone. It’s necessary to be acquainted with the economic history of the country and to study the economic activities of the people and the social interaction in their course, the level of technological development, the progress of agriculture etc., while taking into account the geographical factor — the general ecological conditions, the fertility of land and the farming technique. It was admitted by Russian orientalists, and in the 1980"s the numerous publications appeared, where the significance of studying the economic history of the Orient was stressed[14].

The complexity of the historical process is the result of the interaction of various objective and subjective factors. But the pattern of this interaction is determined by man. Obviously, the special attention to the human factor is a distinctive feature of the contemporary historical studies, though quite long ago lord Bolingbroke stated that the true subject of history is a human being[15]. In Russian japanology, the genre of historical biography is represented by a brilliant book about Toyotomi Hideyoshi by A. A. Iskenderov[16]. In my opinion, Tokugawa Ieyasu, who, without any doubt, was an outstanding personality, is worthy of a special research work as well. There is an Arabic proverb that says that «people look much more like their times than like their fathers». Continuing this thought one can say that the adequate perception of any epoch is impossible without understanding people who leaved in that time and without finding out the motives of their deeds.

All this concerns not only political leaders. For instance, the Japanese system of marketing and management, that is now in the focus of international interest, roots in the practice of the merchant dynasties of the Tokugawa era, such as Mitsui, Sumitomo, Ono, Konoike, and Yodoya. Despite the inferior social status, the Japanese merchants of that time were quite successful in the trading and financial spheres. Historical roots of the Japanese business philosophy originated and developed during the Tokugawa era. The Regulations of the merchant families, appeared in the XVIII century, give an indication of the ethic foundations of Japanese merchants’ professional activity. And it is from their midst where the intellectuals of the Meiji era rose from.

The characteristic feature of the Tokugawa era was also the economic activity of farmers who formed the major mass of Japan’s population. The agriculture was the main branch of national economy, and the development of the Japanese village reflected all the changes that took place in the political and socio-economic life of Tokugawa Japan.

The economic growth and recessions had a great influence on the demographic processes in Japan. The socio-economic factors affected the life expectancy, the birth and death rates, the social culture, the recreation and the nutrition, and changed the way of life in all the spheres of the Japanese society. And, in reverse, the demographic factor affected the material production and the economic activity of a family. Thus, the economic and demographic situations were interdependent.

So far, the data of historical demography relating to a human being himself were of little use in Russian japanology. However, these data provide some precious material on the agrarian history, on the structure of the population in various regions and feudal estates, on the causes of increasing or decreasing of the rural and urban population, on the structure of employment, migration, etc.

Actually, the interaction between the society, the national economy and a man in Tokugawa Japan is the subject of the present historical study.

Глава 1 Япония в период смутного времени Поиски выхода из кризиса (XV–XVI века)

…в истории ничто не оканчивается

вдруг и ничто не начинается вдруг;

новое начинается в то время, когда

старое продолжается.

С. М. Соловьев

Сэнгоку дзидай — «низы подавляют верхи»