Tenpo reforms
Encyclopedia
The were an array of economic policies introduced in 1842 by the Tokugawa Shogunate in Japan.
These reforms were efforts to resolve perceived problems in military, economic, agricultural, financial and religious systems.
The changes were intended to address problems in local politics, but they were also addressed more broadly to "domestic uneasiness." The perceived need for change led to the arrest of many prominent political figures and writers. The reforms became a precursor of reforms initiated after the Meiji Restoration
two decades later.
The Tenpō Reforms were mostly instituted by Mizuno Tadakuni
. New coinage was issued; and commodity price controls were lifted.
Immigration to Edo
was prohibited and the formation of societies was also banned.
Rangaku
(Dutch Learning) was banned.
An annual calendar (nenchuu gyouji) was set up during this period to bring order to Japanese society. Families were required to register themselves at the nearest Shinto
shrine annually on the 16th of the first and seventh months.
A Shinto festival (muramura jingi), meeting (jingi kasihuu) or pilgrimage (muramura kamimoude) was scheduled once a month.
The popular Obon
festival was rewritten as Sensosai, the Ancestor Festival, and held twice a year. Buddhism
was written out of this religious calendar; the government revoked its support for existing Buddhist institutions.
This reform movement was accompanied by three others during the Edo period, the Kyōhō reforms
(1716-1736), the Kansei reforms
of the 1790s and the Keiō Reforms, 1866-1867.
These reforms were efforts to resolve perceived problems in military, economic, agricultural, financial and religious systems.
The changes were intended to address problems in local politics, but they were also addressed more broadly to "domestic uneasiness." The perceived need for change led to the arrest of many prominent political figures and writers. The reforms became a precursor of reforms initiated after the Meiji Restoration
Meiji Restoration
The , also known as the Meiji Ishin, Revolution, Reform or Renewal, was a chain of events that restored imperial rule to Japan in 1868...
two decades later.
The Tenpō Reforms were mostly instituted by Mizuno Tadakuni
Mizuno Tadakuni
was a daimyō during late-Edo period Japan, who later served as chief senior councilor in service to the Tokugawa Shogunate. He is remembered for having instituted the Tenpo Reform.-Biography:...
. New coinage was issued; and commodity price controls were lifted.
Immigration to Edo
Edo
, also romanized as Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of the Japanese capital Tokyo, and was the seat of power for the Tokugawa shogunate which ruled Japan from 1603 to 1868...
was prohibited and the formation of societies was also banned.
Rangaku
Rangaku
Rangaku is a body of knowledge developed by Japan through its contacts with the Dutch enclave of Dejima, which allowed Japan to keep abreast of Western technology and medicine in the period when the country was closed to foreigners, 1641–1853, because of the Tokugawa shogunate’s policy of national...
(Dutch Learning) was banned.
An annual calendar (nenchuu gyouji) was set up during this period to bring order to Japanese society. Families were required to register themselves at the nearest Shinto
Shinto
or Shintoism, also kami-no-michi, is the indigenous spirituality of Japan and the Japanese people. It is a set of practices, to be carried out diligently, to establish a connection between present day Japan and its ancient past. Shinto practices were first recorded and codified in the written...
shrine annually on the 16th of the first and seventh months.
A Shinto festival (muramura jingi), meeting (jingi kasihuu) or pilgrimage (muramura kamimoude) was scheduled once a month.
The popular Obon
Obón
Obón is a municipality located in the province of Teruel, Aragon, Spain. According to the 2004 census , the municipality has a population of 75 inhabitants....
festival was rewritten as Sensosai, the Ancestor Festival, and held twice a year. Buddhism
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
was written out of this religious calendar; the government revoked its support for existing Buddhist institutions.
This reform movement was accompanied by three others during the Edo period, the Kyōhō reforms
Kyoho Reforms
The were an array of economic policies introduced by the Tokugawa Shogunate in 1736 Japan. These reforms were instigated by the eighth Tokugawa shogun of Japan, Tokugawa Yoshimune, encompassing the first twenty years of his shogunate....
(1716-1736), the Kansei reforms
Kansei Reforms
The were a series of reactionary policy changes and edicts which were intended to cure a range of perceived problems which had developed in mid-18th century Tokugawa Japan....
of the 1790s and the Keiō Reforms, 1866-1867.
Chronology
The shogunate's interventions were only partly successful. Intervening factors like earthquakes, famine and other disasters exacerbated some of the conditions which the shogun intended to ameliorate.- July 20, 1835 (Tenpō 6, 14th day of the 6th month): Earthquake in Sanriku (Latitude: 37.900/Longitude: 141.900), 7.6 magnitude on the Richter Scale....Click link to NOAA/Japan: Significant Earthquake Database
- April 25, 1843 (Tenpō 14, 26th day of the 3rd month): Earthquake in Yezo, Kushiro, Nemuro (Latitude: 41.800/Longitude: 144.800), 8.4 magnitude on the Richter Scale.
See also
- Kyōhō ReformsKyoho ReformsThe were an array of economic policies introduced by the Tokugawa Shogunate in 1736 Japan. These reforms were instigated by the eighth Tokugawa shogun of Japan, Tokugawa Yoshimune, encompassing the first twenty years of his shogunate....
, 1716-1736 - Kansei ReformsKansei ReformsThe were a series of reactionary policy changes and edicts which were intended to cure a range of perceived problems which had developed in mid-18th century Tokugawa Japan....
, 1790s - Keiō Reforms, 1864-1867