Bakuhan system

Japanese: 幕藩体制 - ばくはんたいせい

This refers to the political system in the Edo period with the Shogun at the apex. Throughout the Edo period, the Shogun was a feudal monarch, and the state under him was called the Bakuhan system. The Bakuhan system has been characterized as a centralized state, a total feudal state, or a national serf state, but in any case it was a feudal state in which the state and society were not separated, so the Bakuhan system is often used as a term to describe the social system of the Edo period. Here, the Bakuhan system is defined as the ruling system of the Bakuhan system.

[Junnosuke Sasaki]

Definition

The shogunate was the administrative organization of the shogun, and the domains were the administrative organizations of the daimyo who served as subordinates to the shogun. The name "bakuhan system" comes from the fact that the ruling system of the bakufu-han state was made up of the shogunate and domains as its main administrative organizations. There were various differences in the structure of the administrative organizations and the ruling policies between the shogunate and domains, and even between domains. However, despite these differences, the bakufu-han state was built up by the power of law and various relationships backed by a unified military force, and its political system had the following basic characteristics:

(1) Separation of the military and agricultural classes was the basis of political rule. Separation of the military and agricultural classes was a system based on the principle that samurai, as rulers, would not directly intervene in the agricultural labor process carried out by peasants. This led to the creation of mechanisms and systems for the extraction of taxes, such as the murauke system, and the establishment of the samurai, farmers, artisans, and merchants class system, which tied all people to their place of residence and occupation, binding and fixing them. At the same time, in order to stabilize this class system, senmin (commoners) were placed below the samurai, farmers, artisans, and merchants, and the senmin system was established.

(2) The kokudaka system was established as a system of land ownership. The kokudaka system was a system in which all land subject to tax, including fields and residential areas, was converted into rice productivity and displayed according to the amount of rice produced. This was based on the fact that the shogunate and feudal domains were based on the rice tax system. This system led to the adoption of the kokudaka chigyo system, and peasants were positioned as high-yielding peasants. This kokudaka system further strengthened the weight of rice farming in the agricultural sector, but also gave major characteristics to cities and commerce due to the consumption of tax rice and the exchange of it for other products, and furthermore, it gave a distinctive character to the way feudal economies were run.

(3) The isolationist system was used to maintain and stabilize the system. The process of establishing isolationism was also the process of establishing the domestic economic system. The feudal economy, which was originally established while being involved in the commodity economy, was maintained by this isolationist system. At the same time, the isolationist system characterized the development of Japan's economy and society, but it also made culture unique, from literature and thought to the consciousness of the people, including their national consciousness. Thus, the bakufu system can be said to be a system of governance for the bakufu-han state, whose existence was guaranteed and maintained by the isolationist system, with the separation of soldiers and farmers as the basis for national rule and the kokudaka system as the principle of the land ownership system.

[Junnosuke Sasaki]

Establishment and Dissolution

Considering the main characteristics of the shogunate-han system as mentioned above, its establishment and dissolution went through several stages. The principles of separation of soldiers and farmers and the rice tax system were established around 1590 (Tensho 18), when the Toyotomi Hideyoshi government implemented various policies, including the Taiko land survey policy. Tokugawa Ieyasu became shogun and the shogunate was established in Edo in 1603 (Keicho 8). The shogun's power was established as absolute authority after the Purple Robe Incident in 1629 (Kan'ei 6) and the abdication of Emperor Gomizunoo. National isolation was completed in 1641, and the relationship between the shogun and daimyo was also largely established around this time, and it is said that the aforementioned system of outcasts was also established around this time. The end of the 17th century was when the feudal domain system under the Tokugawa Shogunate was established, nationwide distribution was completed, small farmers in rural areas had achieved independence and small farming production had developed, class consciousness had formed among the general public, and the class system had become unshakable. The establishment of the feudal domain system depends on how the above facts are evaluated. It is generally said that the feudal domain system was established by the Taiko survey of land, was established with the completion of national isolation, and was completed at the end of the 17th century. The dissolution of the shogunate and feudal domain system can be seen as a turning point for each of the following: the opening of the country in 1858 (Ansei 5) for the isolationist system, the policy of equality for all four classes leading to the "Emancipation" decree of 1872 (Meiji 5) for the separation of soldiers and farmers, the conscription law of the same year, the land tax reform ordinance of 1873 for the rice yield system, and the return of power to the Emperor in 1867 (Keio 3) and the abolition of the feudal domains and establishment of prefectures in 1871 (Meiji 4) for the dissolution of the shogunate and feudal domains. However, signs of its dissolution appeared earlier, and the development of small commodity production and the emergence of the Tanuma government in the mid-18th century, the new stage in the development of commodity production in the 1840s and the failure of the Tenpo Reforms are perhaps the most notable indicators. Therefore, it can be said that the shogunate-han system began to show signs of disintegration in the mid-18th century, its disintegration became definitive in the mid-19th century, and was completed in 1873 (Meiji 6).

[Junnosuke Sasaki]

Government

The Tokugawa clan, who served as Shogun, were originally feudal lords based on a vassal relationship, and their power was private. In order for that private power to be transformed into public power as a national monarch, it was essential that the rule of that power acquire legitimacy. And the source of that legitimacy was basically traditional authority, and politically the Emperor, unless the Tokugawa clan had their own religious beliefs that could be the basis for their claim of legitimacy. So, for the Tokugawa clan, the question was how to acquire the legitimacy of their rule by how to maintain their relationship with the Emperor politically, and furthermore, how to take the way the governments of Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi handled the situation as a historical lesson. As a result, the Tokugawa clan achieved this by incorporating the Emperor and traditional authority into their feudal relationship. This was completed in 1629 (Kan'ei 6) with the enactment of the Imperial Court and Nobles Laws, the entry of Wako into the Imperial Court, and the Purple Robe Incident. This clarified the Shogun's position as the highest nobleman, and established the argument that his rule was public rule. A Shogun in this position is called Kogi. With Kogi at the top, feudal relationships transformed into public relationships. However, since feudal relationships were private at their roots, the establishment of Kogi resulted in private relationships being linked to public relationships, so to speak. This gave various characteristics to the state and society of the Shogunate and feudal system. In particular, in the morality of the samurai, it led to the formation of the ethical consciousness of Bushido, which was different from the original ethics based on master-servant relationships.

[Junnosuke Sasaki]

Shogun and Daimyo

The Shogun, his vassals and subordinate vassals, who were the pillars of the Shogunate-han system of government, were governed by the rice-grossing chigyo system. This rice-grossing chigyo system was inseparably linked to military service based on rice-grossing standards. These subordinate vassals and subordinate vassals who were bound to these chigyo-military service were organized into a military organization that was unified and led by the Shogun. This was called bangata. At the same time, these subordinate vassals and subordinate vassals were also administrative officers in the Shogunate and the domains. They were "official" persons in their respective administrative organizations, and this organization of administrative officers was called yakugata. The Shogun's vassals were divided into daimyo, hatamoto and gokenin, but all of them were under the Shogun's strong control. In particular, the vassals' territories were, in principle, confiscated or changed at any time according to the Shogun's discretion and need, and their relationship with the Daimyo's territories was said to be like a "lodging house." This principle was implemented through methods such as transfer of domains (changing domains' domain titles), reduction of domain titles (removal of domain titles), and removal of domain titles (removal of domain titles). As a result, the domains' independence from the shogunate was weak, and it was extremely difficult for the domains to establish themselves as regional powers.

The difficulty in establishing itself as a regional power was also due to economic reasons. First, the sale of rice tributes had to be conducted in national markets and central cities under the direct control of the shogunate. Second, the finances of the daimyo were inevitably tied to the central cities and national markets through the alternate attendance system and taxation, which were a form of military service. The shogun's subordinate vassals were samurai if the vassal was a daimyo. The samurai were led by the daimyo, who was the shogun's subordinate, and organized into guards and officials under him. The relationship between daimyo and samurai had many similarities with the relationship between shogun and daimyo, but the fact that the daimyo was a vassal of the shogun, a feudal lord with absolute power, made the two relationships mentioned above different. This was shown in the daimyo's subordination to the shogun and in the daimyo's finances. The daimyo considered that chaos in the rule of their own territories was akin to disloyalty to the shogun, and in fact the shogun punished the daimyo for the chaos in the rule of their territories. Furthermore, many of the daimyo's finances, which were in the circumstances described above, had already fallen into a state of poverty by the first half of the 17th century.

[Junnosuke Sasaki]

Domain system

From the beginning of the 17th century, many feudal lords gave their vassals (=staff) fiefs as actual control over the land and peasants. This was called a local fief. The vassals of the daimyo each collected annual taxes from the peasants under their control, and used these taxes to live and perform their duties as servants. This situation in which the vassals' finances were independent of the daimyo's finances severely restricted the financial measures of the daimyo, while on the other hand, as the vassals' finances became impoverished, they intensified their demands for punishment of the peasants under their control, intensifying the confusion of territorial control. Many daimyo who felt the danger of this situation began to reform the system of fiefs for their vassals. They placed all land and peasants in the daimyo's territories under their control, and forbade the vassals from direct control. The feudal domain shifted to a stipend system (kuramai chigyo), in which the domain collected all annual taxes directly from the peasants and paid rice to each vassal according to the size of his or her stipend. As a result, the finances of the daimyo were incorporated into the finances of the household (i.e., tributes) and were finalized as the finances of the domain, making it possible to manipulate finances through methods such as borrowing, and enabling the development of uniform and fair agricultural policies throughout the domain. At the end of the 17th century, it was estimated that out of 243 daimyo families, 42 had the local chigyo system and 201 had the kuramai chigyo system. This shift in the chigyo system had ripple effects that extended from the establishment of the daimyo's financial system and the development of castle town commerce, which is inseparable from it, to the strengthening of the power and authority of the daimyo's domain administration, and the accompanying unique development of culture and thought within the domain's territory. There is a strong view that the establishment of the kuramai chigyo system, including all of these things, marked the establishment of the domain system. Thus, the feudal domain system, which was the target of denial during the Meiji Restoration, was completed around the end of the 17th century.

[Junnosuke Sasaki]

Economic System

The Bakuhan system constituted an economic system based on the unified and centralized control of feudal land ownership under the Shogun. The rice tax system necessarily required the sale of rice and the exchange of necessary goods, so the city and commodity economy, and the production of necessary goods such as handicraft products, were essential elements of the economic system. The system of nationwide commodity distribution was completed in the second half of the 17th century. The commerce of the three central cities, especially Osaka, was linked to the commerce of castle towns and other cities in various regions. The feudal lords of the Bakuhan system established the monetary system, the weights and measures system, the transportation system, and the commercial organization and the urban resident control organization, in order to develop the national commerce under national control. The various productive forces such as handicrafts were organized by the castle town commerce locally and by the central city commerce nationwide. And these national commerce as a whole was placed under the control and control of the Shogun due to the isolationist policy.

[Junnosuke Sasaki]

Social Systems

The feudal state controlled people through a class system. Class distinctions were made between samurai, farmers, and merchants and artisans, and movement between the classes of samurai and farmers, merchants, and artisans and merchants was strictly prohibited. Within each of the controlled classes, basic classes were established: hon-byakusho (hon'yakusho) for farmers who lived in rural areas and engaged in agriculture, landlords and householders (yanushi) for merchants and artisans who lived in cities, and merchants and artisans who engaged in handicrafts and commerce. People belonging to each class were controlled through the state's control over these basic classes. Village officials came from the hon-byakusho, town officials from the landlords and householders, and nakama-sodai (nakama-sodai) came from the merchants and artisans who bore the burden of duties, and each played the role of a terminal organization in the agricultural, commercial, and artisan control mechanism. The feudal state established the kenmin system to organize this class system. The class system in the feudal state was a system that placed people in a hierarchy of nobility and lowliness within patriarchal relationships, making this class system and the outcast system inseparable.

[Junnosuke Sasaki]

International Position

Under the isolationist system, international economic and cultural exchange was almost completely seized and controlled by the shogunate, the central government of the feudal state. This significantly distorted and belittled international exchange, but economically, systems were created for both the domestic distribution of imported goods and the production of export goods, and the influence of the continent continued in the areas of literature and thought. Under the isolationist system, Japan saw the development of its own unique economy and culture, but the Ryukyu Islands and the Ainu people were given a major role in maintaining this isolationist system. The Ryukyu Islands, which continued to maintain their relationship with the continent as a vassal state, were treated by the feudal state as a vassal state under the control of the Shimazu clan, and domestically, they were treated as a different ethnic group. The feudal state did not recognize the uniqueness or independence of the Ainu as a different ethnic tribal society, and tried to thoroughly exploit them. Thus, the feudal state limited its formal international relations to those with Korea via Tsushima, and with China and the Netherlands through Nagasaki.

[Junnosuke Sasaki]

Cultural System

Under its policy of national isolation, the feudal society created its own unique cultural system. The unified and centralized nature of the politics and economy of the feudal state was also reflected in its culture, and in a wide range of areas, from ideology to productive culture such as production technology, the central culture had a high standard and strong leadership over local culture. The feudal state incorporated those who carried out central culture with this structure into its system of national rule, thereby constructing a logic of rule and exercising control over culture.

[Junnosuke Sasaki]

"The Bakufu-Han System" by Yamaguchi Keiji and Sasaki Junnosuke (included in Systematic Japanese History 4, 1970, Nippon Hyoronsha)" ▽ "The Bakufu-Han System State Theory, Volumes 1 and 2, by Sasaki Junnosuke (1984, University of Tokyo Press)" ▽ "The Establishment and Structure of Bakufu-Han System Society, revised 4th edition, by Arashiro Moriaki (1986, Yuhikaku)" ▽ "Collection of Essays on the History of the Bakufu-Han System, Vols. 1-11, edited by Fujino Tamotsu (1993-96, Yuzankaku Publishing)" ▽ "The Japanese History Series, Vols. 8-11, edited by Inoue Mitsusada, Nagahara Keiji, Kodama Kota, and Okubo Toshiaki, popular edition (1996, Yamakawa Publishing)" ▽ "Historical Study of the Disintegration of the Bakufu-Han System, by Nagakura Tamotsu (1997, Yoshikawa Kobunkan)" ▽ "The Bakufu-Han System Society as Seen from the Kinai Region, by Asao Naohiro (2004, Iwanami Shoten)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

Japanese:

江戸時代における将軍を頂点とした政治体制をいう。江戸時代を通じて、将軍は封建君主であり、そのもとでの国家を幕藩制国家という。幕藩制国家は、集権的国家、総体的封建制国家、国家的農奴制国家などと特徴づけられているが、いずれにしても封建国家であって、そこでの国家と社会とは未分離であったから、幕藩体制を江戸時代の社会体制を表す用語として使う場合も多い。ここでは、幕藩体制を幕藩制国家の支配体制としておく。

［佐々木潤之介］

定義

幕府は将軍の行政機構であり、藩は将軍の部将としての大名の行政機構である。幕藩体制は、幕藩制国家の支配体制が、この幕府と藩とを主要な行政機構として構成されていたことから、命名されたものである。幕府と藩、および藩の間でも、その行政機構の仕組みや支配の方針については、いろいろの偏差があった。しかしその相違にもかかわらず幕藩制国家は、統一的に編成された軍事力を背景にした法と諸関係の力によってつくりあげられており、その政治体制は、次のような基本的特徴をもっていた。

(1)兵農分離制を政治支配の基本とする。兵農分離制は、百姓が行う農業労働過程に、武士が支配者として直接に介入しないということを基礎に置いた制度であって、このことから、一方には村請(むらうけ)制をはじめとする年貢搾取のための機構や制度がつくられ、他方ではすべての人々をその居住の場と職業とを結び付けて緊縛し固定する、士農工商の身分制が定められた。同時に、その身分制を安定させるために、士農工商の下に賤民(せんみん)が位置づけられ、賤民制が敷かれた。

(2)石高(こくだか)制を土地所有の体系とする。石高制とは、すべての年貢賦課対象地を畑・屋敷地をも含めて、米の生産力に換算し、米の生産高によって表示する制度であって、それは、幕府や藩が米年貢制を基本としていることに基づいていた。この制度によって、石高知行(ちぎょう)制がとられ、農民も高所持(たかしょじ)百姓として位置づけられることとなった。この石高制は、農業の分野で米作農業の比重をいっそう強めることとなったが、また年貢米の消費と他種の生産物との交換のために、都市や商業に大きな特徴を与え、さらに領主経済のあり方をも特徴的にした。

(3)鎖国制によって、その体制の維持と安定とを図る。鎖国の確立過程は、国内の経済体制の確立過程でもあった。本来的に商品経済に巻き込まれつつ成立した領主経済は、この鎖国制によって維持されることとなった。同時に鎖国制は、日本の経済・社会の発展を特徴的にしたが、文芸・思想から民衆の民族意識をも含めた意識に至るまでの文化を固有なものにすることとなった。こうして、幕藩体制とは、兵農分離制を国家支配の基礎とし、石高制を土地所有体系の原則とし、鎖国制によって存立を保障・維持された、幕藩制国家の支配体制であるとすることができる。

［佐々木潤之介］

成立と解体

幕藩体制の主要な特徴を前述のようにとらえると、その成立と解体は、いくつかの段階をたどった。兵農分離制と石高制との原則が確定したのは、豊臣(とよとみ)秀吉政権の太閤(たいこう)検地政策をはじめとする諸政策が実施された1590年（天正18）前後のことであった。徳川家康が将軍となり、江戸に幕府が開かれたのは、1603年（慶長8）であった。その将軍権力が絶対的権威として確立したのは、1629年（寛永6）の紫衣(しえ)事件、後水尾(ごみずのお)天皇の譲位事件後であった。鎖国が完成したのが1641年、この前後には、将軍と大名との関係もほぼ確定したし、前述の賤民制の確定もこのころのことといわれる。幕藩体制下の藩体制が確立し、全国的流通編成も完成し、農村では小農民の自立と小農生産の展開がほぼ完了し、民衆のなかに身分意識が形成されて身分制が揺るぎないものになったのが、17世紀末のことであった。幕藩体制の成立は、前述の事実をどのように評価するかにかかわっている。一般には、幕藩体制は、太閤検地によって成立し、鎖国の完成によって確立し、17世紀末に完成したといわれる。幕藩体制の解体は、その指標を鎖国制にとれば1858年（安政5）の開国に、兵農分離制にとれば1872年（明治5）の「解放」令に至る四民平等政策や、同じ1872年の徴兵令に、石高制にとれば1873年の地租改正条例に、幕府や藩の解体にとれば1867年（慶応3）の大政奉還や1871年（明治4）の廃藩置県に、それぞれ画期を置くことができる。しかし、その解体の兆しは早くから現れているのであって、18世紀なかばの小商品生産の展開と田沼政権の出現、1840年代の商品生産発展の新段階と天保(てんぽう)の改革の失敗などが、そのもっとも顕著な指標としてあげられよう。したがって、幕藩体制は、18世紀なかばに解体の兆しをみせ始め、19世紀なかばに解体が決定的となり、1873年（明治6）に解体し終わったといってよいであろう。

［佐々木潤之介］

公儀

将軍である徳川氏は、本来は主従関係に基礎を置いた封建領主であり、その権力は私権力であった。その私権力が国家君主として公権力に転化するためには、その権力支配が支配の正統性を獲得することが不可欠であった。そしてその正統性の根源は、徳川氏が正統性主張の根拠になるべき独自の宗教性をもたない限り、基本的には伝統的権威に、政治的には天皇にあった。そこで、徳川氏にとっても、政治的に天皇との関係をどのように保つかによって、その支配の正統性を獲得するかということが問題であり、さらにその際、織田信長・豊臣秀吉政権の対処の仕方をどのように歴史的教訓として受け止めるかが問題であった。結果は、徳川氏がその領主制関係のなかに天皇・伝統的権威を組み込むという方法で実現した。それは、禁中並公家諸法度(きんちゅうならびにくげしょはっと)（禁中并公家中諸法度）の制定、和子入内(じゅだい)、紫衣事件によって、1629年（寛永6）に完成した。ここに将軍が最高の貴種であるという位置が明確にされ、その支配が公的支配であることの論拠が確定された。このように位置づいた将軍を公儀(こうぎ)とよぶ。ここで、公儀を頂点に、封建的諸関係は、公的な関係に転化していった。しかし、これに対して、封建的関係はその根源において私的関係であったから、この公儀の成立は、いわば私的関係が公的関係に連動せしめられるという結果となった。このことは、幕藩体制の国家や社会にさまざまの特徴を与えることとなった。とくに、武士の道徳においては、本来の主従関係にたった倫理とは異なった、武士道の倫理意識を形成させることとなった。

［佐々木潤之介］

将軍と大名

幕藩制国家の支柱である将軍とその家臣および陪臣(ばいしん)は、石高知行制によって貫かれていた。そしてその石高知行制は、石高基準の軍役(ぐんやく)と不可分に結び付いていた。これらの知行―軍役に結ばれている家臣や陪臣たちは、将軍に統一的に統率される軍事組織に編成されていた。これを番方(ばんがた)という。同時にこれらの家臣や陪臣たちは、幕府や藩での行政分担者でもあった。彼らはそれぞれの行政機構での「役」人だったのであり、このような行政分担者としての編成を役方(やくがた)という。将軍の家臣は、大名・旗本・御家人(ごけにん)に区分されていたが、それらはすべて、将軍の強い統制下に置かれた。ことにそれら家臣の所領は、将軍の恣意(しい)と必要とに応じて、随時没収・変更されることを原則としており、大名の所領との関係は「旅宿」の姿であるともいわれた。その原則は、転封(てんぽう)（国替(くにがえ)）・減封(げんぽう)・除封(じょふう)（改易）などの方法で実行された。したがって藩の幕府に対する自立性は弱く、藩が地域権力として自らを確立することは、きわめて困難であった。

　その地域権力としての確立の困難さは、経済的な理由にもよっていた。一つには米年貢の販売が幕府の直接の支配統制下にある全国市場や中央都市において行われなくてはならなかったこと、二つには軍役の一つの形である参勤交代制や課役などによって、大名の財政がいやおうなしに中央都市・全国市場に結び付けられていることが、その大きな理由であった。将軍の陪臣は、その家臣が大名である場合は藩士にあたる。藩士は将軍の部将である大名に統率され、そのもとで番方・役方に編成されていた。大名と藩士との関係は、将軍と大名との関係と共通する部分が少なくなかったが、大名が絶対的権力をもつ封建君主である将軍の家臣であることは、前述の二つの関係を自ら異なったものにした。それは、大名の将軍に対する従属性と、大名財政に示された。大名は自らの領地での支配の混乱は将軍への不忠に通ずる、と考えたし、実際に将軍は大名の所領支配の混乱を理由に、その大名を処罰した。また、前述の状況に置かれた大名財政の多くは、すでに17世紀前半から窮乏状態に陥っていた。

［佐々木潤之介］

藩制

多くの大名領では、17世紀初めから、その家臣（＝給人(きゅうにん)）に知行地を現実の土地と農民とに対する支配として与えた。これを地方知行(じかたちぎょう)という。大名の家臣たちはそれぞれに自分の支配農民から年貢をとり、その年貢によって、それぞれに生活を行い奉公を勤めていた。この家臣の財政が大名の財政から自立している状況は、一方で大名財政の財政措置を大きく制約するとともに、他方で家臣財政の窮乏に伴って支配農民への誅求(ちゅうきゅう)を強め、領地支配の混乱を激しくした。この状況に危険を感じた大名の多くは、その家臣の知行制の改革を始めた。大名所領の全域の土地・農民をすべて大名の支配下に置き、家臣の直接支配を禁ずる。年貢はすべて藩が農民から直接にとり、各家臣へは藩からその知行高に応じて現米で支給するという、俸禄(ほうろく)制（蔵米(くらまい)知行）への知行制の転換を進めた。この結果、財政面では、大名財政が家中（＝給人）財政をも組み込んで、藩財政として確定することとなり、借り上げなどの方法で財政操作することが可能になるとともに、藩域で一様の公平な農政を展開できることとなった。17世紀末には、大名243家のうち、地方知行制をとるもの42、蔵米知行制をとるもの201と計算されている。このような知行制の転換は、同時に大名財政機構の確立やそれと不可分の城下町商業の発展という問題から、大名の藩政への権力・権威の強化、それに伴う藩領域を舞台とした文化・思想の独自的発展にまでその結果が波及するのであって、それらのことをも含めて、蔵米知行制の成立をもって、藩体制の確立とする見解も強い。こうして、明治維新期において否定の対象となる幕藩体制は、ほぼ17世紀の末に完成した。

［佐々木潤之介］

経済制度

幕藩体制は、封建的土地所有が将軍のもとに統一的・集中的に掌握されているということを基本にした経済制度を構成していた。米年貢制は必然的に米の販売と必要諸物資との交換を必要としていたから、都市と商品経済、および手工業生産物などの必要諸物資の生産は、その経済制度の不可欠の要素となっていた。全国的商品流通の体制は17世紀後半に完成した。中央都市である三都、とくに大坂の商業と、各地の城下町などの諸都市の商業とが結び付けられた。幕藩領主は、貨幣制度・度量衡制度・交通制度などの制度的な整備や、商業機構・都市民支配機構などの機構的な整備を行って、その全国商業の、国家統制のもとでの発展を図った。手工業などの諸生産力も地域的には城下町商業によって、全国的には中央都市商業によって、それぞれ編成された。そして、これらの全国商業は全体としては鎖国制によって、将軍の支配・統制下に置かれていた。

［佐々木潤之介］

社会制度

幕藩制国家は人々を身分制によって支配した。士・農・工商の身分区別が設けられ、士と農・工商、農と工商の間の相互の身分移動は厳重に禁止された。それぞれの被支配身分のなかには、農村に住み農業に従事するものとしての農民身分では本百姓、都市に住む町人としての工商身分では地主・家主(やぬし)、手工業や商業を営むものとしての工商身分では「役(やく)」負担商・職人、という、身分制的基本階層が設定されていた。それぞれの身分に属する人たちは、この基本階層に対する国家支配を通じて、身分制的に支配されていた。本百姓のなかから村役人、地主・家主のなかから町役人、「役」負担商・職人のなかから仲間惣代(そうだい)が出て、それぞれに農・工商支配機構の末端機構としての役割を担わされていた。幕藩制国家がこの身分制を編成するために設けたのが賤民制であった。幕藩制国家における身分制は、家父長制的関係のなかで、人々を貴賤の序列のなかに位置づける制度であったことが、この身分制と賤民制とを不可分のものとした。

［佐々木潤之介］

国際的位置

鎖国制下にあって、経済・文化の国際的交流は、幕藩制国家の中央政府である幕府によってほぼ完全に掌握・統制された。このことは、国際的交流を著しく歪曲(わいきょく)し矮小(わいしょう)化したが、それでも、経済的には、輸入物資の国内流通、輸出物資の生産の両面での体制がつくられたし、文芸・思想面でも、大陸の影響を受け続けた。鎖国制のもとで、わが国独自の経済や文化の発展がみられたが、その鎖国制を維持するために大きな役割を担わされたのが、琉球(りゅうきゅう)とアイヌであった。付庸(ふよう)国として大陸との関係を保ち続けた琉球を、幕藩制国家は島津支配下の属国として扱い、国内的には異民族扱いをした。少数異民族としてわが国にもっとも近接していたアイヌに対しては、幕藩制国家は、異民族部族社会としての独自性や自立性を認めず、徹底的に収奪し尽くそうとした。こうして、幕藩制国家はその正式の国際関係を、対馬(つしま)を介しての朝鮮との関係、長崎を窓口とする中国・オランダとの関係にのみ限定することとなった。

［佐々木潤之介］

文化体系

鎖国制のもとで、幕藩制社会は、固有の文化体系をつくりだしていった。幕藩制国家の政治・経済の統一的・集中的性格は、その文化のあり方にも反映しており、思想から生産技術などの生産文化に至る広い範囲で、中央文化は地方文化に対して、高い水準と強い指導性とをもっていた。幕藩制国家は、このような構造をもつ中央文化の担い手をその国家支配の体系のなかに組み込み、それによって、支配の論理を構築するとともに、文化に対する統制を行った。

［佐々木潤之介］

『山口啓二・佐々木潤之介著『幕藩体制』（『体系日本歴史4』所収・1970・日本評論社）』▽『佐々木潤之介著『幕藩制国家論』上下（1984・東京大学出版会）』▽『安良城盛昭著『幕藩体制社会の成立と構造』増訂第4版（1986・有斐閣）』▽『藤野保編『論集幕藩体制史』1～11（1993～96・雄山閣出版）』▽『井上光貞・永原慶二・児玉幸多・大久保利謙編『日本歴史大系』8～11・普及版（1996・山川出版社）』▽『長倉保著『幕藩体制解体の史的研究』（1997・吉川弘文館）』▽『朝尾直弘著『畿内からみた幕藩制社会』（2004・岩波書店）』

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