What Are The Strengths And Weaknesses Of The Toku-Gawa Shogunate

Japan was governed by the Toku-gawa Shogunate, instead of the emperor who was just a figure head. The Toku-gawa Shogunate was a secular government under a shogun (Bulliet, 728). There were also daimyos, who were given control of specific areas with little intervention of the Shogunate. There were many weaknesses in early Japan history. The biggest weakness came when they were threatened from the outside (Bulliet, 728). The main reason behind this was the necessary resources required to prevent invasion were not permitted in Japan. In attempt to minimize exposure to foreign powers the shogun prevented any foreigners from entering Japan, as well as anyone leaving Japan (Bulliet, 728). In 1792, Russian and British ships were spotted off the Japanese coast. This is when Japan’s local lords realized the threat posed to their country, in result many local lords took control and began developing armies, arsenals, and shipyards …show more content…
The new leader called this the Meiji Restoration, which was a political program that followed the removal of the Toku-gawa Shogunate in 1868. The first step was to collect a group of young leaders that would lead Japan to centralization industrialization, and imperialism (Bulliet, 729). The new emperor issued a Charter Oath in 1868 in which he included a phrase “Knowledge shall be sought throughout the world and this shall be strengthened the foundation of the imperial policy” (Bulliet, 729). The new moto of Japan became the embracing of all foreign ideas, institutions, and techniques, and techniques that could be beneficial to the Japanese nation. During this time the government was able to establish heavy industry, due to decades of industrial development and financing in the provinces (Bulliet, 729). With Japans new powerful army and upgraded educational system, the oligarchs began to attempt the creation of the of new way of life in