Tokugawa Tsunayoshi
Tokugawa Tsunayoshi ( Japanese 徳 川 綱 吉 ; * February 23, 1646 ; † February 19, 1709 ) was the fifth shogun of the Japanese Tokugawa dynasty, who ruled the country from 1680 to 1709.
Life
Tokugawa Tsunayoshi was born the son of Tokugawa Iemitsu and his concubine Keishōin ( 桂 昌 院 ; 1627-1705). He was thus one of the great-grandchildren of the founder of the Tokugawa dynasty Tokugawa Ieyasu . Unlike his older brother Tokugawa Ietsuna , he was not brought up for political business. When his father died, Ietsuna took office as the fourth Shogun of the dynasty as intended, but he died in 1680 at the age of 39. Since there was no son to succeed him, Tsunayoshi rose to Shogun after some arguments.
Despite his erudition, he soon proved to be a power-conscious politician. Sakai Tadakiyo , one of Ietsuna's powerful advisors, who had acted against his appointment, was replaced by Hotta Masatoshi , who received the rank of Tairo . Another vassal, noticed for mismanagement, was forced to practice seppuku (hara-kiri) and his fiefdom was confiscated. It should not have been the only case of a connection between a rigid understanding of ethics and asset growth.
Even under Ietsuna, attempts had been made in the second half of the sixties to restrict imports of luxury goods, prohibit the export of silver, regulate prices for women's kimonos and the like. to stabilize the economic situation. These efforts continued under Tsunayoshi - with little success - whereby the moral rigor again and again came through. In 1682, prostitution and female service in tea houses were banned. The following year he tightened the code for the class of feudal lords ( Buke Shohatto ). The neo-Confucianism of Zhu Xi , which the Tokugawa regime had introduced and tightened up in a form sharpened by Korean scholars, was increasingly propagated under Tsunayoshi . This went as far as annual lessons at court, which he gave himself.
At the same time he introduced some Shinto ceremonies at the court of the Tennō in Kyoto, which had not been carried out for a time for financial reasons, and took measures to repair the Tennō graves. Through the appointment of scholars and artists to Edo, there was an upswing in the classical sciences and arts during the so-called Genroku period. The interest in Western science and technology that was evident in his predecessors slackened significantly during his reign and only rose again under the Tokugawa Yoshimune.
On the advice of the monk Ryūkō ( 隆 光 ), who exercised a great influence as a spiritual advisor at court for more than two decades, he also turned to the protection of living beings. In 1687 the mistreatment or killing of animals was forbidden under threat of severe punishment and a "law for compassion for living beings" ( 生 類 憐 れ み の 令 , Shōrui Awaremi no Rei ) was passed. Since he was born in the year of the dog , he was particularly concerned with the fate of the stray dogs, which he had collected and cared for, which earned him the nickname “dog shogun” ( 犬 公 方 , inu kubō ).
Such measures put another strain on the national budget. In addition, there were fires, earthquakes, bad harvests and a bad foreign trade balance. Hotta Masatoshi fell victim to an attack in 1684. In his place, Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu took over the affairs of state. In 1702, in order to get out of trouble, he had the gold and silver coins melted down and the gold content of the newly minted gold coins significantly reduced, but this did not ultimately become a permanent solution.
During Tsunayoshi's reign, the historical events that form the basis of the story of the 47 Rōnin took place , in which 47 followers avenged the death of their liege lord. The events are considered to be an exemplary example of the unconditional loyalty of the samurai and are counted among the national myths of Japan.
Tsunayoshi and Engelbert Kaempfer
The Lemgo doctor and research traveler Engelbert Kaempfer got to know Tsunayoshi on two trips to Edo that the head of the Dutch trading post Dejima had to undertake in order, as every year, to express the thanks of the Dutch East India Company for the permission to trade in Japan. After the official referral of the factor leader, during which there was no contact with the Shogun, the Europeans were led to another hall. Although Tsunayoshi remained hidden behind rush mats, there were questions and answers, etc. Kaempfer describes Tsunayoshi as an eccentric ruler who dealt with all sorts of matters, including song and dance demonstrations. Although no Shogun had such encounters arranged before and after Tsunayoshi, the scene with Kaempfer's "pickled herring dance" established itself in the European readership's image of Japan. It was processed by writers and given a comment by Goethe .
During his two years in Japan, Kaempfer had not escaped the severity and rigidity of Tsunayoshi's rule. He even tells a joke about horses and dogs that he picked up from the Japanese. But in his treatise on the Japanese isolationist policy , Tsunayoshi comes off well as a guarantor of a peaceful and safe society:
“He is the reigning monarch Tsinojos, (a son of Ijetzna) ... is a great and honorable gentleman, heir to paternal virtue, at the same time a strict observer of the laws and very gracious to his subjects. He was brought up in the teaching of Confucius from an early age, and wields the scepter as is appropriate to his people and country. Under him all citizens and the most perfect harmony live, honor all their gods, obey the laws, following their superiors, show courtesy and love to their peers. "
literature
- Beatrice M. Bodart-Bailey: The dog shogun: the personality and policies of Tokugawa Tsunayoshi. Univ. of Hawai'i Press, Honolulu 2006, ISBN 0-8248-3030-X .
- Peter Kapitza: Engelbert Kaempfer and the European Enlightenment. In memory of the Lemgo traveler on the occasion of his 350th birthday on September 16, 2001. Iudicum, Munich 2001, ISBN 3-89129-991-5 .
- Josef Kreiner (Hrsg.): Small history of Japan. Philipp Reclam Jun., Stuttgart 2010, ISBN 978-3-15-010783-6 .
- Wolfgang Michel: Prostratio and pickled herring dance. Engelbert Kaempfer's experiences in Edo Castle and their background. Japanese Society for German Studies (Hrsg.): Asiatic Germanist Conference in Fukuoka 1999 - Documentation. Sanshūsha, Tokyo 2000, pp. 124-134. Digitized in the Kyushu University Institutional Repository (QIR) (PDF; 398 kB)
Remarks
- ↑ A ronin is an abandoned samurai
- ↑ In his edition of Kaempfer's book, Dohm replaced Kaempfer's "pickled herring dance" with "monkey antics"
- ↑ More on this from Michel: Prostratio and pickled herring dance. 2000.
- ↑ Quoted from the German translation by Christian Wilhelm Dohms in: Engelbert Kaempfers History and Description of Japan . Meyer, Lemgo 1779.
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Tokugawa, Tsunayoshi |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | 徳 川 綱 吉 (Japanese) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Japanese shogun |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 23, 1646 |
| DATE OF DEATH | February 19, 1709 |