| Transcript |
- PREVIOUS SPREAD
13. Kunihisa Utagawa (1832-91) Crossing the Oi River/
Traversee de la riviere Oi Woodblock print
Porters ferrying a daimyo procession over the Oi river can be seen with. Mt. Fuji near Edo in the distance.
U. Kuniteru Yusai (1808-76)
Fukuroi, Series: Suehiro Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido Woodblock print
OPPOSITE
15. Sadahide Utagawa (1807-73) Kawasaki, Series: Suehiro Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido Woodblock print
An elaborate daimyo procession boards dozens of boats to cross the Rokugo River to Kawasaki Station.
To reduce the possibility of conspiracy and to keep the daimyo subservient, the Tokugawa authorities enforced an alternate year attendance at court (sankin kotai) which required the daimyo and huge retinues of samurai and their servants to constantly make the trek between their homes and the capital of Edo. All the daimyo were forced to leave their wives and families as hostages throughout the year in Edo and were required to spend great fortunes to maintain one or more costly residences in the city. About half the population of the city of Edo, or half a million people, was composed of this inactive warrior class. Nearly 70 per cent of the city was taken up by the residences of the wealthy daimyo and the residences of their samurai, who lived in split row-houses called nagaya. Thousands of builders and carpenters were imported from various parts of the country to construct their homes and gardens.
On their journeys to Edo the daimyo tried to outshine their peers by outfitting their samurai in the finest armour in a grandiose display of martial power. As the processions passed through the towns and countryside, the commoners along the route were required to prostrate themselves on the ground. Woodblock print artists made wonderful images of the pageantry of retinues of musketeers, lancers, archers and porters accompanying the daimyo. A highly dynamic social competition developed in which the daimyo had representatives (rusui) monitor one another to ensure their display of pomp and ceremony met or exceeded the current standards. [13-15, 87]
These daimyo processions, which could consist of several hundred or several thousand people, were important socio-economic events along the Tokaido, the great coastal road between Kyoto and Edo. This constant movement of daimyo and their entourages throughout the country increased the flow of commerce in the country, brought new riches to shopkeepers and innkeepers along the route and spread cultural conformity in Japan. These treks were exceptionally costly and time consuming for the daimyos and prevented any chance of plotting an insurrection. At the same time, the Edo government created a sophisticated and efficient secret police system that kept the daimyo under constant surveillance. Furthermore, the daimyo were expected to provide troops for the shoguns army and to provide labourers for expensive construction projects. If they failed to meet their obligations, they could be punished by having their fiefs confiscated. Because of these forced long residences in the city, over time the daimyo were transformed from warriors into courtiers, with no means of sedition and few military aspirations.
Because of the sankin kotai and the need for widespread shipping of goods for these journeys and the daimyos stays in Edo city, a well-developed communications network was created in Japan. Goods were transported by canals or coastal waters as
26
|
|---|
