Oda Nobunaga: muskets and open markets
Oda Nobunaga started from the Owari region. He trained large foot-soldier armies and used muskets in volleys at the battle of Nagashino (1575). He removed the last Ashikaga shogun in 1573, ending the Muromachi bakufu, and built Azuchi Castle (1576). With rakuichi-rakuza he opened markets and removed guild monopolies, so trade grew; he also ended the power of some armed temples. He died in 1582, forced to suicide when a vassal attacked him at Honno-ji.
Toyotomi Hideyoshi: survey, sword hunt and status
Toyotomi Hideyoshi, once a foot-soldier, rose in Nobunaga's army and defeated rivals. He finished unifying Japan in 1590. His main policies:
- Land survey (kenchi): each field measured, its rice yield (kokudaka) recorded and the cultivator named. Tax and military duty followed from this number.
- Sword hunt (1588): farmers and temples had to give up swords, spears and guns, to stop revolts.
- Separation of warriors and farmers: warriors moved into castle towns, and farmers stayed on the land.
- Two invasions of Korea (1592, 1597) failed and ended with his death in 1598.
European contact
In 1543 Portuguese sailors reached Tanegashima island. Japanese smiths copied their muskets quickly, which changed war. In 1549 the Jesuit Francis Xavier began Christian missions. Portuguese (and later Spanish) merchants brought silk and guns and took silver; this is called Nanban ("southern barbarian") trade. Some daimyo became Christian partly for trade. In 1587 Hideyoshi ordered missionaries to leave, worried about loyalty and about lands going to the Church, but he still welcomed trade.
Why this is called a transition
After a century of war, one authority again ruled most of Japan. New castles, a measured countryside and a clear class line prepared the ground for the Edo order (next lesson). The period of Oda and Toyotomi is also called Azuchi-Momoyama, after two castles.
Try it
Make a table with four rows (muskets, free markets, land survey, sword hunt). In one column write the leader, in the next the effect. Cover the effect column and quiz a friend. In the 3D, tap each tool and say its effect first.
Key formulas and definitions
- Nobunaga: ousts Ashikaga shogun 1573; Nagashino 1575; dies 1582
- Hideyoshi: land survey; sword hunt 1588; unifies 1590; Korea 1592, 1597
- Portuguese at Tanegashima 1543; Xavier 1549
- Missionary expulsion order 1587
- Kokudaka = rice yield of a field, used for tax and duty
Worked examples
1. A field measures 3 units and yields 30 koku of rice. The tax is 40 percent of the yield. How many koku is the tax?
40 percent of 30 = 0.4 x 30 = 12 koku. Surveys let the state find this number for every field.
2. Why did the sword hunt help keep peace?
Farmers who had no weapons could not easily rise in revolt or join a warlord. Only warriors carried arms, so the ruler could control force.
3. Why did muskets change war after 1543?
A trained foot soldier with a musket could stop a mounted warrior. Large armies and new castles with strong walls became the key to winning.
Common mistakes
- Giving Hideyoshi the credit for Nagashino. It was Nobunaga.
- Thinking the Portuguese came to conquer. They came as traders and missionaries.
- Mixing the sword hunt (1588) with the land survey. They are two separate policies.
- Forgetting that the 1587 order was against missionaries, not trade.