The Great Mogul Era

Japanese: 大御所時代 - おおごしょじだい

The Bunka-Bunsei period, also known as the Kasei period, refers to the reign of the 11th shogun, Tokugawa Ienari, from the Kansei Reforms to the Tenpo Reforms in the late Edo period. Even after Ienari handed over his position to his son Ienari in 1837 (Tenpo 8), he continued to influence the shogunate as taigosho (Grand Master), and so his reign is later referred to as the taigosho period. In terms of shogunate politics, the period is divided into the tenure of senior councilor Matsudaira Nobuaki and the tenure of senior councilor Mizuno Tadanari, with the border being Bunka 14 (1817). The former period corresponds roughly to the Bunka era (1804-18) and is a period of lull in the shogunate government, driven by a council of smaller fudai daimyo, while the latter period corresponds roughly to the Bunsei era (1818-30) and is even seen as a return to the Tanuma era, with the kinju shudo nin (attendants) driving the shogunate government. During the Bunka period, conflicts between local merchants in the suburbs of large cities and wholesale merchants in the cities intensified, and the latter in particular became monopolized, while during the Bunsei period, the shogunate government focused on the recoinage of currency to supplement finances, the revival of rural areas, local administrative reform to restore public order, and the increase in tax revenues. This period also saw external pressure from both the north and the south, and the so-called Edict to Drive Away Foreign Ships and the Siebold Incident. In addition, the townspeople of Edo gave birth to a unique Kasei culture after the purges of the Kansei Reforms. Kasei culture, along with the Genroku culture that flourished in the Kamigata region in the previous era, shows a trend toward extravagance and luxury among the townspeople, but it lost the fresh and lively spirit of Genroku culture, and showed a strong tendency toward ephemerality, servility, and irrationality, as seen in the popularity of gambling and lotteries, and a tendency toward decadence and hedonism in general.

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia About Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia Information

Japanese:

文化文政時代，化政期ともいわれ，江戸時代後期，寛政の改革から天保の改革までの 11代将軍徳川家斉の治世をさす。家斉は天保8（1837）年，子家慶に職を譲ってのちも，なお大御所として幕閣に影響を与えたため，のちにその治世をも含めて大御所時代という。幕政面では文化14（1817）年を境として，老中松平信明の在職期間と，老中水野忠成（ただあきら）の在職期間に分けられる。前者はほぼ文化年間（1804～18）にあたり，譜代小大名の合議制による幕政の小康状態がみられるが，後者はほぼ文政年間（1818～30）にあたり，近習出頭人が幕政を推進し，田沼時代の再来とさえ目される。文化期には大都市周辺の在方商業と都市の問屋商業との対立が進み，特に後者の独占化がみられるのに対し，文政期には，財政を補うための貨幣改鋳，農村復興，治安回復のための地方行政改革，貢租増徴などが幕政の中心におかれた。この時代にはまた，北から南から外圧が迫り，いわゆる異国船打払令やシーボルト事件もみられた。また，江戸の町人社会では，寛政の改革の粛正のあとに，独自の化政文化を生んだ。化政文化は，前代に上方を中心として栄えた元禄文化とともに，町人層の華美，豪奢な風潮を示しているが，元禄文化のもつ清新活発な気風が失われ，賭博，富くじの盛況にみるように刹那的で，人目につかないところに趣味を凝らす卑屈，不合理な面が強く，一般に退廃的，享楽的傾向を示している。

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