In the 12th century, rivalries and civil war among powerful Japanese families led to the creation of the shogunate. In this system, Japan retained an emperor, but only as a figurehead, while the shogun held supreme power. Between 1333 and 1600 the Ashikaga family controlled the shogunate. But all was to change with the Onin War (1467-1477).
The civil conflict, the Onin War, destroyed the shogunate system and created a more decentralized political atmosphere in Japan. Without central authority, the powerful families, called daimyo ('great names') came to control large swaths of territory. The daimyo had the protection of their own warriors, the samurai, and didn't have to answer to any central political system.
The ruling daimyo now began constantly fighting each other over the century. This was the period of the Warring States, from the late 15th to the late 16th century. A more centralized authority replaced the warring states beginning with the Tokugawa rulers.
In the late 16th and early 17th century, three powerful leaders consolidated authority over Japan and came to keep the warring daimyos under relative control. The first was Oda Nobunaga (1568-1582), who captured Japan's capital at Kyoto and began the process of pacifying the outlying areas. Nobunaga was assassinated by one of his generals.
His successor, Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1582-98) made large strides in centralizing control over Japan. From his capital at Osaka, Hideyoshi used his military and support system to persuade most daimyo to accept his authority. He also introduced a national currency for all of Japan, thus increasing his influence.
Neither Nobunaga or Hideyoshi had proclaimed themselves shogun, however. But Tokugawa Ieyasu (1598-1616) did in 1603. Ieyasu and the other Tokugawa rulers continued the process of centralizing control over the daimyo. As a Tokugawa contemporary put it, 'Oda pounds the national rice cake, Hideyoshi kneads it, and in the end, Ieyasu sits down and eats it.' The Tokugawa were so successful that the Tokugawa shogunate lasted until 1868 when another civil war plunged Japan into another phase of its history.
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Around the same time that Japan transitioned from the Warring States Period to centralized rule, China experienced profound changes of their own. After a long period of rule by the Mongols, the Ming rulers re-energized the empire, extended Chinese rule into Mongolia and Central Asia, and turned an agrarian society into the world's most impressive civilization. The Ming created an enormous hierarchy of bureaucracy and government officials, presided over the explosive growth of cities and trading centers, and witnessed the doubling of China's population. To project imperial power, Ming emperor Yongle ordered a maritime expedition across the Indian Ocean to impress other civilizations.
But cracks began to appear in Ming rule. The rulers of the 16th and early 17th centuries were not of high quality. Corruption crept in throughout the government. Rich landowners consolidated their control over the countryside, displacing peasants and leading to unrest. In the cities, too, workers rioted as the economy faltered. Crop failures and natural disasters went unaddressed by the Ming rulers. The Ming were losing control, and in the 1640s, Li Zicheng, a disgruntled imperial employee, led a rebellion against the dynasty. When Zicheng occupied the capital at Beijing in 1644, the last Ming emperor committed suicide by hanging himself in the gardens of his palace.
The Manchus, from Manchuria, north of the Great Wall of China, invaded and picked up the pieces. They proclaimed the Qing (pronounced Chi'ing) dynasty, which lasted from 1644-1911. Though the Qing rulers maintained and adopted the existing political and bureaucratic structures of the Ming, they were determined to change the culture of China. Rulers ordered their new subjects to adopt the queue hairstyle (shaved foreheads and a braided queue in the back or else. 'Lose your hair or lose your head' was the common refrain.
Although this and other measures were harsh, the Chinese soon accepted the Manchus as their legitimate overlords. Contributing to this was the series of strong rulers in the 17th and 18th centuries. Emperors Kangxi and Qianlong both worked to pacify the country, effectively addressing social and economic challenges, and restoring both peace and prosperity.
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After a violent period of warring states in 15th- and 16th-century Japan, the country came to be decentralized as local warlords called daimyos ruled and fought amongst themselves. In the early 16th century, the Tokugawa took control and pacified much of the country. In this Tokugawa shogunate (1603-1868), Japan was under centralized rule. The Ming dynasty ruled in China from the 14th to the 17th century, but was conquered by the Manchus, who inaugurated the powerful Qing dynasty after 1644.
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Ohio Assessments for Educators - Integrated Social Studies (025): Practice & Study Guide79 chapters | 652 lessons | 53 flashcard sets
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