Genroku period

Japanese: 元禄時代 - げんろくじだい

This period is centered on the reign of Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, the fifth Shogun of the Edo Shogunate, especially during the Genroku period (1688-1704). The Shogunate established its foundations and organized the Bakuhan system during the three generations of Ieyasu, Hidetada, and Iemitsu, and reached its peak during the reign of Tsunayoshi, the fourth Shogun, after Ietsuna. The political tone also shifted from military rule to civil rule. Economically, agricultural productivity increased with the active development of new fields and improvements in agricultural techniques and equipment, and the monetary economy developed as the circulation of goods expanded, leading to the prosperity of commercial cities such as Osaka and Kyoto. As the power of merchants increased and the finances of the feudal lords gradually came to be controlled by townspeople, measures to restore finances such as coinage were implemented. In his later years, this led to bad governance, such as the overemphasis on chamberlains due to the appointment of Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu and the issuance of the "Edict to Show Compassion for Living Things." The rise of the townspeople class also led to the blossoming of townspeople culture, especially the culture of the Kamigata region. (→Genroku culture)

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

Japanese:

江戸幕府5代将軍徳川綱吉の治世，特に元禄年間 (1688～1704) を中心とする時代。幕府は家康，秀忠，家光の3代の間にその基礎を確立し幕藩体制を整え，4代家綱を経て綱吉の代には最盛期を現出するにいたった。政治の基調も武断政治から文治主義へと転換していった。経済的には，積極的な新田開発，農業技術，器具の改良などに伴って農業生産力が増大し，商品流通の拡大につれて貨幣経済が発展し，大坂，京都をはじめとする商業都市が繁栄した。商人の勢力が増大し，諸大名の財政が徐々に町人に左右されるにいたると，貨幣の改鋳といった財政建直し策が打出された。その晩年になると柳沢吉保の登用による側用人の偏重，『生類憐みの令』の発布などの悪政を招いた。また町人層の台頭によって町人文化，とりわけ上方文化の開花をみるにいたった。 (→元禄文化 ) 　

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