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Introduction
The Tenpō era is often described as the beginning of the end of bafuku government. Though the era accomplished much through its reforms, and also culturally speaking, the injury inflicted on the Tokugawa system of government during the Tenpō period was unparalleled. Public order and dissatisfaction with government with a main issue, but the bafuku was not entirely at fault for the stir amongst the people. For example, the failure of crops in 1833, which soon became a lengthy disaster endured for over four years called the Great Tenpō famine, was caused mainly due to poor weather conditions. It became simply too cold for crops to flourish or receive needed warmth and water. Prices skyrocketed, as well. These dire circumstances sparked many rebellions and riots across Japan over the course of the Tenpō years. [1] Weary and desperate for someone to blame, the people rose up against the government, and Ōshio Heihachirō, known for leading one of the largest rebellions, even stated the crop failure due to poor weather was a sign of Heaven's disappointment and retribution aimed towards the government itself. [2] Mizuno Tadakuni's reforms were meant to remedy these economic issues, but the reforms could not rescue the bakufu from its ultimate collapse.
Great Tenpō Famine
The Great Tenpō famine of the 1830s was a devastating term in which the whole of Japan suffered sinking temperatures and loss of crops, and in turn, merchant prices began to spike. Many starved to death during this grim time. In areas like Takayama, the death rate spiked as high as nearly forty-five percent per thousand. [3] Crops continued to fail in the countryside, prices increased and upplies diminished, forcing people to compete to survive with what meager funds they had. The samurai also suffered the effects of the famine, dealing with lower wages from the Japanese domain governments in anticipation for challenging fiscal issues to come. To further the already dire conditions of the famine, illness eventually began to spread, and many who were starving could not resist forms of sickness such as pestilence, smallpox, measles and influenza. [4] Thousands died from hunger alone at the pinnacle of the crisis in 1836 to 1837. [5]
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Notes
- ^ Jansen, Marius B. (2000). The Making of Modern Japan, p. 247
- ^ Jansen, Marius B. (2000). The Making of Modern Japan, p. 249
- ^ Hall, John Whitney. (1991). The Cambridge History of Japan, vol. 4, p. 699
- ^ Jansen, Marius B. (1995). The Emergence of Meiji Japan, p. 5
- ^ Jansen, Marius B. (1989). The Cambridge History of Japan, vol. 5, p. 119
References
- Marius B. Jansen. (2000). The Making of Modern Japan. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
- John Whitney Hall. (1991). The Cambridge History of Japan, vol. 4. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
- Marius B. Jansen. (1995). The Emergence of Meiji Japan. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
- Marius B. Jansen. (1989). The Cambridge History of Japan, vol. 5. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
- Conrad D. Totman. (1993). Early Modern Japan. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
- Mikiso Hane and Louis G. Perez. (2009). Modern Japan: A Historical Survey. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
- Louis Frédéric. (2002). Japan Encyclopedia. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
- David J. Lu. (1997). Japan: A Documentary History. Armonk, NY: East Gate Book.
- William B. Hauser. (1974). Economic Institutional Change in Tokugawa Japan: Osaka and the Kinai Cotton Trade. New York: Cambridge University Press.
- David Shavit. (1990). The United States in Asia: A Historical Dictionary. Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group.
- L. M. Cullen. (2003). A History of Japan, 1582-1941: Internal and External Worlds. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
- Mark E. Cunningham and Lawrence J. Zwier. (2009). The End of the Shoguns and the Birth of Modern Japan. Minneapolis, MN: Twenty-First Century Books.