Civil government - Bunchiseiji

Japanese: 文治政治 - ぶんちせいじ

The political system of the shogunate in the mid-Edo period, from the fourth shogun Tokugawa Ietsuna to the fifth shogun Tsunayoshi, the sixth shogun Ienobu, and the seventh shogun Ietsugu, was based on Confucianism and virtue. This is a term used to refer to the military government that suppressed the daimyo with the military force of the early shogunate. Ietsuna took over in 1651, and 50 years had already passed since the Battle of Sekigahara. The vestiges of the Warring States period had faded with the change of generations, and the samurai were also at a turning point in the era, with civilian elements being valued. In this environment, Confucianism and virtue appeared as a new ethics for life, and the shogun's power, which had been strengthened by military government, was further elevated by the authority of civil government. As a measure after the Keian incident, the government provided for the reemployment of ronin and relaxed the prohibition on adopting children at the end of their reign. The number of daimyo who were demoted decreased dramatically, and the prohibition on junshi (committing death to a lord) was also a manifestation of this. Tsunayoshi also tried to give the shogunate authority by encouraging Confucianism, and during the Shotoku reign of Ienobu and Ietsugu, Arai Hakuseki became a councillor, which reached its peak. However, he fell into formalism and returned to a more militaristic tendency during the Kyoho Reforms of the eighth shogun, Yoshimune.

Source: Obunsha Japanese History Dictionary, Third Edition About Obunsha Japanese History Dictionary, Third Edition

Japanese:

江戸中期，４代将軍徳川家綱から５代綱吉・６代家宣 (いえのぶ) ・７代家継までの儒教的徳治主義に基づいた幕府の政治体制
幕府創設期の武力を背景に大名らを制圧する武断政治に対する語。家綱の襲職は1651年で，すでに関ケ原の戦いから50年が経過し，世代の交代で戦国の遺風も薄れ，武士も文官的要素が重んじられるなど時代の転換期を迎えていた。このような中で新生活倫理として儒教の徳治主義が登場，武断政治で強化された将軍権力を文治政治の権威づけでいっそう高揚することになった。慶安事件後の処置として牢人の再就職斡旋をとりあげ，末期 (まつご) 養子の禁を緩和している。大名の改易が激減し，殉死を禁じたのもその現れである。綱吉も儒学奨励策で将軍の権威づけにつとめ，家宣・家継の正徳の治では新井白石が参政，最高潮に達したが，形式主義に陥り８代吉宗の享保の改革で武断的傾向に復帰した。

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