【简译】江户时代（Edo Period）

2023-02-27 11:10 作者:神尾智代 0人读过 | 我要投稿

上一时代

The Edo period refers to the years from 1603 until 1868 when the Tokugawa family ruled Japan. The era is named after the city of Edo, modern-day Tokyo, where the Tokugawa shogunate had its government. It is also sometimes referred to as the early modern period because it was at this time that many of the characteristics of modern Japanese society were formed.

江户时代是指德川家族统治日本的 1603 年至 1868 年之间的时代。这个时代是以江户市（即今天的东京）命名的，德川幕府在这里建立了政府。它有时也被称为近代早期，因为现代日本社会的许多特征就是在这个时期形成的。

政治架构

In 1600, Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543-1616) led a coalition of daimyo from eastern Japan to victory against a similar coalition of daimyo from western Japan at the Battle of Sekigahara. This battle brought an end to the prolonged period of civil war Japan had experienced in the preceding 140 years. In 1603, following the precedent of Minamoto no Yoritomo (1147-1199), Ieyasu had the emperor appoint him as shogun. The imperial family had no real power at this time, but it did have the capacity to confer political legitimacy through such titles. Using this appointment, Ieyasu created his own military government, which in Japanese is called a bakufu. While the Tokugawa were the single most powerful warrior family, Ieyasu lacked either the strength or desire to destroy all the other warrior families and create a centralised state. Instead, he put in place a system in which local daimyo were largely left in control of their own territory in exchange for recognising Tokugawa rule at a national level.

1600年，德川家康（1543-1616）率领日本东部的大名联盟，在关原之战中战胜了日本西部类似的大名联盟。此战结束了日本近一个半世纪以来长期内战的状态。1603年，按照源赖朝（1147-1199）的先例，德川家康让天皇任命他为幕府将军。这时的皇室没有实权，但它确实有能力通过这种头衔赋予政治合法性。利用这一任命，德川家康创建了自己的军事政府，在日本被称为幕府。虽然德川家族是最强大的武士家族，但家康缺乏摧毁其他家族和建立中央集权国家的力量和野心。相反，他建立了一个制度，让地方大名在很大程度上控制自己的领土，以换取对德川幕府在全国范围内的统治的承认。

The Tokugawa controlled about 30 per cent of the land in Japan, and the rest was in the hands of about 270 daimyo families. Ieyasu divided these into three groups:

daimyo sankei – collateral branches of the Tokugawa family

daimyo fudai – who had sworn allegiance to Ieyasu before the Battle of Sekigahara

daimyo tozama – who had only sworn allegiance to Ieyasu after the Battle of Sekigahara

德川家族控制着日本大约30%的土地，其余的土地在大约270个大名家族手中。德川家康将这些家族分为三类。

亲藩大名——德川家族的旁系分支

谱代大名——在关原之战前宣誓效忠于家康的人

外样大名——关原之战后才向家康宣誓效忠的人

The land controlled by these daimyo was called a han. The size of a han was measured, not in land area, but in the amount of rice it could produce in a unit called a koku. The fudai daimyo were more trusted, and their han, which tended to be relatively small, were located in key strategic locations in central Japan. The han of the less-trusted tozama daimyo were much larger but located far from the centre of Japan.

这些大名所控制的土地被称为藩。藩的大小不是以土地面积来衡量的，而是以它能生产的大米数量为单位，称为“石”（一石=十斗）。亲藩大名更受信任，他们的藩国往往相对较小，位于日本中部的关键战略位置。不太受信任的外样大名的藩国则大得多，但却远离日本中心。

The Tokugawa put in place a whole series of measures to control the daimyo. For example, edicts were issued restricting the size of daimyo armies; they were only allowed to have one castle in their territory, and they were not allowed to repair fortifications without approval. The Tokugawa built a large Castle in Edo, and from the 1630s, daimyo were required to spend alternate years living in Edo and in their own territories. Their families had to stay in Edo permanently where they were, in effect, hostages.

德川家族制定了一系列的措施来控制大名。例如，颁布了限制大名军队规模的诏书；他们只允许在其领土上拥有一座城堡，而且未经批准，他们不得修理防御工事。德川在江户建造了一座大型城堡，从16世纪30年代开始，大名们被要求在江户和他们自己的领土上交替居住一年。他们的家人必须长期呆在江户，实际上是人质。

As part of its system of social control, the Tokugawa also created a four-tier hereditary class system. Warriors, who made up about 7% of the population, were at the top, followed by farmers, artisans, and merchants. One goal of this system was to reduce the level of violence in society by restricting the number of people who had access to weapons. The circumstances in which warriors could engage in violence were also restricted. One more measure the Tokugawa took was to restrict contact between Japan and foreign countries. Europeans had come to Japan in the 16th century in order to engage in trade and spread Christianity. The Tokugawa feared that they might provide support for rebellious daimyo, so they banned Christianity and expelled all Europeans except the Dutch who were allowed to trade in the port of Nagasaki.

作为其社会控制体系的一部分，德川幕府还建立了一个四级世袭阶级体系。占人口约7%的武士处于最高地位，其次是农民、工匠和商人。这一制度的目标之一是通过限制能够获得武器的人数来减少社会中的暴力程度。战士们可以从事暴力活动的情况也受到限制。德川幕府采取的另一项措施是限制日本与外国的接触。欧洲人在16世纪来到日本，从事贸易和传播基督教。德川担心他们可能为反叛的大名提供支持，因此幕府宣布基督教为非法，驱逐了除荷兰人以外的所有欧洲人，荷兰人获得了在长崎港进行贸易的特权。

Historians call the political structure created by the Tokugawa the baku-han system because it was made up of the bakufu and the han. It is sometimes described as a form of feudalism in medieval Japan, but this suggests that it was similar to the political system in Europe in the Middle Ages, which was not the case at all.

历史学家把德川幕府创造的政治结构称为幕藩制度，因为它是由幕府和藩国组成的。它有时被描述为中世纪日本的一种封建主义形式，尽管这绝不是正确的，因为中世纪的欧洲封建主义与日本的社会政治制度无关。

经济增长阶段

In the period from 1600 to 1720, the population of Japan roughly doubled from 15 million to 30 million. This rapid increase was possible because, whatever shortcomings the Tokugawa political system may have had, it brought peace after many years of civil war. Freed from the depravations of rampaging armies, farmers were able to put more effort into feeding themselves and their families.

在1600年至1720年期间，日本的人口大约翻了一番，从1500万增至3000万。这种快速增长是可能的，因为不管德川政治制度有什么缺点，但在经历了多年内战之后，给日本带来了和平。摆脱了横行霸道的军队的蹂躏，农民能够把更多的精力放在养活自己和家人上。

Daimyo also had considerable incentive to increase the productivity of their land. While the Tokugawa did not directly tax daimyo income, they did impose various kinds of financial burdens on them. The most onerous of these were the costs involved in the alternate attendance system that could consume up to 40% of their income. As a consequence, daimyo were frequently short of money. There were two ways this problem could be alleviated. One was to try and extract more tax from the farming population. This was often attempted, but farmers had a variety of ways of resisting this. A more successful method was to try and increase the overall productivity of their territory. To this end, some daimyo encouraged the opening up of new agricultural land, the development of irrigation, the use of improved farming methods and the production of cash crops such as cotton and silk, wax, paper, and salt, which could be sold outside their territory. This led to the growth of trade at local, regional and national levels and the emergence of a commercial economy.

大名也有相当大的动力来提高其土地的生产力。虽然德川没有对大名的收入直接征税，但他们确实对他们施加了各种财政负担。其中最繁重的是轮流出勤制度所涉及的费用，可能会消耗他们收入的40%。因此，大名经常缺钱。有两种方法可以缓解这个问题。一个是尝试从农业人口中征收更多的税。这经常被尝试，但农民有各种方法来抵制。一个更成功的方法是试图提高其领土的整体生产力。为此，一些大名鼓励开辟新的农田，发展灌溉，使用改进的耕作方法和生产经济作物，如棉花和丝绸、蜡、纸和盐，这些都可以在其领土之外出售。这导致了地方、区域和国家层面贸易的增长，以及商业经济的出现。

葛饰北斋（Katsushika Hokusai，1760-1849 年）创作的浪人攻击吉良宅邸的正门

一种新的城市文化

The expansion of population and trade led to greater urbanisation. At a regional level, towns developed around local castles. The size of the castle depended on the wealth of the local daimyo. Some were small but others, like Himeji Castle, were huge. The warrior population was encouraged to live in these towns where they worked on the various administrative tasks necessary to run the local government. Gradually these warriors changed from a class of fighters to civil administrators.

人口和贸易的扩张导致进一步的城市化。在区域层面，城市围绕当地城堡发展。城堡的大小取决于当地大名的财富。有些相当小，有些则很大，比如姬路城。战士们被鼓励居住在这些城镇中，他们在那里从事各种必要的行政工作，以管理当地事物。渐渐地，这些武士从一个战士变成了民事行政人员。

The warrior class required various kinds of products and services so artisans and merchants were also drawn to the towns that were divided up into different sections according to the class system. In towns like Hagi and Kanazawa, parts of these Edo period districts have survived to the present day where they are popular tourist attractions. At a national level, Edo, Osaka and Kyoto developed as very large cities. By the end of the 17th century CE, Edo had a population of more than one million people and was the largest city in the world. Warriors made up a high proportion of the population in Edo because it was the political centre of Japan. In contrast, Osaka developed as the major commercial centre in western Japan, and it came to be dominated by merchants. With the imperial family living there, Kyoto remained the capital of Japan, and it was known for its aristocratic high culture.

武士阶级需要各种类型的产品和服务，因此工匠和商人也被吸引到根据阶级制度划分为不同区域的城镇。在萩市和金泽等城镇，这些地区的一部分从江户时代幸存至今，成为受欢迎的旅游景点。在国家层面上，江户、大阪和京都发展成为大城市。到公元17世纪末，江户的人口超过了100万，是世界上最大的城市。由于江户是日本的政治中心，武士在江户的人口中占了很大比例。相比之下，大阪作为日本西部的主要商业中心而发展，它开始被商人所支配。由于皇室居住在那里，京都仍然是日本的首都，并以其贵族的高级文化而闻名。

In the second half of the 17th century, new forms of culture developed in these cities that reflected the lives of ordinary people. In the Edo period, prostitution was legal, but it was restricted to so-called 'pleasure quarters'. While the working conditions of women employed in these areas were terrible, they became the centre of a prosperous entertainment business. In Japanese, this was referred to as the ukiyo, which means 'floating world'. This was originally a Buddhist term meaning the 'fleeting world,' but it came to be used to refer to the prostitutes and their clients who frequented the pleasure quarters.

在17世纪下半叶，新的文化形式在这些城市发展起来，反映了普通人的生活。在江户时代，卖淫是合法的，但它被限制在所谓的“游乐区”（红灯区）。虽然在这些地方工作的妇女的工作条件很差，但她们却成为了繁荣的娱乐业的中心。在日本，这被称为 “浮世”，意思是“漂浮的世界”。这原本是一个佛教术语，意思是“转瞬即逝的世界”，但后来被用来指代经常光顾游乐区的妓女和她们的客户。

Closely associated with this was the rise of two new forms of theatre: bunraku, which was a form of puppet theatre, and kabuki, which used actors. At this time the most famous playwright was a man called Chikamatsu Monzaemon (1653-1724), and through his plays we can gain an insight into what Japanese society was like at the time. Ihara Saikaku (1642-1693) wrote novels about the lives of the new urban class, and Matsuo Basho (1644-1694) developed haiku poetry into a refined art form. Hishikawa Moronobu (1618-94) vividly portrayed scenes from the 'floating world' in a new art form called ukiyo-e (pictures of the floating world).

与此密切相关的是两种新的戏剧形式的兴起：文乐和歌舞伎，前者是木偶戏的一种形式，后者则使用演员。这时，最著名的剧作家是一个叫近松门左卫门（1653-1724）的人，通过他的剧本，我们可以深入了解当时的日本社会。井原西鹤（1642-1693）写了关于新的城市阶级生活的小说，而松尾芭蕉（1644-1694）将俳句诗发展成一种高雅的艺术形式。菱川师信（1618-94）以一种被称为浮世绘的新艺术形式生动地描绘了“浮世”的场景。

新儒家思想（理学）的传播

The 17th century was also a period of innovation in the intellectual world. Before 1600, Shinto and Buddhism were the dominant religions in Japan, but in the 17th century, Confucianism also became influential. Confucianism developed in China in the 5th century BCE, but at that time it was little more than a system of ethics related to how individuals and rulers should behave. After the spread of Buddhism to China from India in the 2nd century CE, however, Confucian intellectuals began to develop a much more sophisticated set of ideas. In the Song period (960-1279) thinkers like Zhu Xi (1130-1200) developed Neo-Confucianism, a comprehensive theory of the individual, society, and the universe.

17世纪也是知识界的一个创新时期。1600年以前，神道教和佛教是日本的主流宗教，但在17世纪，儒家思想也开始产生影响。儒家思想于公元前5世纪在中国发展起来，但在当时，它只不过是一个与个人和统治者应如何行事有关的道德体系。然而，在公元2世纪佛教从印度传播到中国后，儒家知识分子开始发展出一套更为复杂的思想。在宋代（960-1279年），像朱熹（1130-1200年）这样的思想家发展了新儒家思想，这是一种关于个人、社会和宇宙的综合理论。

One of the central ideas in Neo-Confucianism is that human nature is essentially good, but that goodness can be clouded by engagement with the world. To restore the original goodness, it is necessary for individuals to engage in self-cultivation. Some of the Neo-Confucian ideas were introduced to Japan in the Kamakura period (1185-1333) and then in the Muromachi period (1333-1573) along with new types of Buddhist thought. It was only in the early Edo period, however, that Neo-Confucianism developed as a separate school of thought distinct from Buddhism. Early Confucianists were treated with suspicion by the Japanese government because they were thought to be advocating some form of Christianity, which the Tokugawa had banned in the 1620s. Gradually, however, a class of independent scholars appeared that made a living by teaching Confucianism.

新儒家的核心思想之一是人性本善，但这种善会因与世界的互动而蒙上阴影。为了重建最初的善良，个人有必要致力于自我发展。一些新儒家思想在镰仓时期（1185-1333）和室町时期（1333-1573）与新型佛教思想一起被引入日本。但是，理学真正成为独立于佛教之外的学派，是在江户初期。早期的儒家学者受到日本政府的怀疑，因为他们被认为主张某种形式的基督教，而德川幕府在16世纪20年代禁止了基督教。然而，渐渐地，出现了一批独立的学者，他们通过教授儒家思想来谋生。

It was once thought that Confucianism was simply a conservative ideology that supported the hierarchical social order imposed on Japan by the Tokugawa. More recent research, however, has pointed out that this was not the case. In China, Confucianism was part of the state apparatus. In order to become a government official, it was necessary for people to pass the civil service examinations of imperial China based on an understanding of the Confucian classics taught in government-sponsored schools. Although, in reality, only those from the wealthy elite could achieve this, in theory, government appointments were based on merit.

人们一度认为，儒家思想只是一种保守的意识形态，支持德川幕府强加给日本的等级社会秩序。然而，最近的研究指出，情况并非如此。在中国，儒家思想是国家机器的一部分。为了成为一名政府官员，人们必须通过帝国中国的公务员考试，考试的基础是对政府资助的学校所教授的儒家经典的理解。虽然在现实中，只有那些富裕的精英阶层才能做到这一点，但在理论上，政府的任命是基于功绩的。

In Japan, however, the government was in the hands of a hereditary military aristocracy, and any suggestion that things should be otherwise was frowned upon. In this regard, one example of a scholar who got in trouble was Yamaga Soko (1622-1685). Yamaga was concerned by the fact that, since the coming of peace to Japan, warriors had lost their traditional role as fighters. He argued that, as the ruling class, warriors now had the obligation not only to govern but also to act as role models for other members of society. To do this, they should engage in self-cultivation in the fields of both military training and the literary arts. While Soko himself was banished from Edo for a time because some of his other ideas offended people in high places, other Confucian scholars like Ogyu Sorai (1666-1728) and Arai Hakuseki (1657-1725) were highly respected and become advisors to shoguns.

另一方面，在日本，政府掌握在一个世袭的军事贵族手中，任何批评的暗示都会遭到反对。在这方面，山鹿素行（1622-1685）就是一个陷入困境的学者的例子。山鹿素行对以下事实表示关切，即自从和平来到日本后，战士们失去了他们作为战士的传统角色。他认为，作为统治阶级，武士现在不仅有义务进行管理，而且还要为社会其他成员树立榜样。要做到这一点，他们应该在军事训练和文学艺术领域进行自我修养。虽然山鹿素行本人因为他的一些其他思想冒犯了高层人士而一度被放逐出江户，但其他儒家学者，如荻生徂徕（1666-1728）和新井白石（1657-1725）都受到高度尊重，并成为幕府的顾问。

For Japanese scholars, there was one aspect of Confucianism that was especially problematic. That is, in Confucian thought, China was regarded as the 'middle kingdom' and surrounding countries were thought of as being 'barbarian'. Some Japanese scholars accepted the idea that Japan was inferior to China, while others criticized it. Applying the techniques of textural analysis they had learnt from Confucianism itself to the study of ancient Japanese literature, the critics argued that Japan was actually superior to China. Some drew on Shinto ideas about the divinity of the imperial family while others argued that the true spirit of Confucianism had been lost in China but maintained in Japan. In Japanese, this kind of thought is called kokugaku (national learning) and it represented a form of early nationalism.

对于日本学者来说，儒学只有一个方面特别成问题。那就是，在儒家思想中，中国被认为是“中原”，而周边国家被认为是“蛮夷”。一些日本学者接受了日本不如中国的观点，而另一些学者则批评了这种观点。批评者将他们从儒家思想中学到的文本分析技术应用于日本古代文学的研究，认为日本实际上比中国优越。一些人借鉴了神道教关于皇室的神性的思想，而另一些人则认为，儒家的真正精神在中国已经丧失，但在日本却得到了保存。在日语中，这种思想被称为国学，它代表了早期民族主义的一种形式。

元禄赤穗事件

At the beginning of the 18th century, the Ako Incident took place in Edo, which symbolized how much Japanese society had changed during the 17th century. In 1701, the Lord of Ako (a domain in western Japan), Asano Naganori, attacked an official called Kira Yoshinaka within Edo Castle while preparing for a court ceremony. Kira was only slightly injured but disturbing the peace in this fashion was a capital offence. Asano was ordered to commit seppuku, which was the way warriors were executed at the time. His domain was also confiscated, and this meant his retainers became ronin or masterless warriors.

18世纪初，江户发生了赤穗事件，这象征着日本社会在17世纪发生了很大的变化。1701年，赤穗（日本西部的一个领地）的领主浅野长矩，在江户城内袭击了一位名叫吉良义央的官员，当时他正在准备一场宫廷仪式。吉良只受了轻伤，但以这种方式扰乱和平的行为是一种死刑。浅野被命令切腹，这是当时处决武士的方式。他的领地也被没收，这意味着他的家臣成为浪人或无主武士。

47 of these ronin organized a secret plot against Kira because they believed he was responsible for the death of Asano. About two years later, they carried out a surprise attack on Kira's mansion and killed him. His severed head was taken to a nearby temple where Asano was buried. There the plotters waited until the authorities arrived. They were arrested, and after an investigation by government officials, they were also ordered to commit seppuku. This verdict was important because it shows that, despite the retainers demonstrating warrior-like loyalty towards their former lord, the government was not willing to tolerate random acts of violence.

这些浪人中的47人组织了一个针对吉良的秘密阴谋，因为他们认为他应对浅野的死亡负责。大约两年后，他们对吉良的宅邸进行了一次突然袭击，并杀死了吉良。他被砍下的头颅被带到附近的一座寺庙，浅野被埋在那里。阴谋家们在那里等待着，直到当局到来。他们被逮捕，经过政府官员的调查，他们也被命令切腹。这一判决很重要，因为它表明，尽管家臣们对他们的前领主表现出武士般的忠诚，但政府并不愿意容忍随意的暴力行为。

德川时代的结束

From about 1720, the increase in population came to an end, and it stayed stable at around 30 million up until the end of the Edo period. Partly this was because people chose to have fewer children in order to maintain their standard of living. It also reflected the fact that, given the level of available technology, the human population had reached its ecological limits. Japan experienced numerous famines and other natural disasters that killed many people. This deteriorating economic situation began to put pressure on the Tokugawa political system at a time when a threat from overseas was on the horizon.

从1720年左右开始，人口增长告一段落，直到江户时代结束，人口稳定在3000万左右。部分原因是人们选择减少生育，以维持他们的生活水平。这也反映了一个事实，即鉴于现有的技术水平，人口已经达到了生态极限。日本经历了许多饥荒和其他自然灾害，导致许多人死亡。在海外的威胁即将来临之际，这种不断恶化的经济状况开始对德川政治体系造成压力。

In the early part of the Edo period, the bakufu had been able to expel most Europeans because the level of technology in Japan and Europe was similar. Throughout the Edo period, the government had required Dutch traders in Nagasaki to provide it with reports about conditions in the outside world. Also, in the 1720s, the eighth shogun Tokugawa Yoshimune relaxed rules about the importation of foreign books. The translation of these books led to the growth of Rangaku or 'Dutch Learning', which involved the study of European scientific ideas. For these reasons, despite the restrictions on contact with foreign countries, the government was not completely unaware of events taking place outside Japan. From the late 1700s, however, foreign ships began visiting Japan requesting that the country open up for trade. These overtures were all rebuffed.

江户时代初期，幕府能够驱逐大多数欧洲人，因为日本和欧洲的技术水平相似。在整个江户时代，政府要求长崎的荷兰商人向它提供有关外部世界状况的报告。除此之外，在17世纪20年代，第八代幕府将军德川吉宗放宽了对进口外国书籍的规定。这些书籍的翻译导致了“兰学”或“荷兰学”的发展，它涉及到对欧洲科学思想的研究。由于这些原因，尽管对与外国的接触有限制，但政府并不是完全不知道日本以外发生的事件。然而，从18世纪末开始，外国船只陆续抵达，要求开放日本通商，但均被拒绝。

From the late 18th century, England and other European countries began to experience the Industrial Revolution. The invention of the steam engine greatly enhanced production and also led to the development of railways and steam-powered ships. It also led to the production of improved weapons that gave Europeans a decisive advantage in warfare. In the 1840s, the British victory in the Opium War against China made Japan's leaders realise that the 'foreign barbarians' posed a real threat to Japan. In 1853, the American Mathew Perry (1794-1858) led a squadron of steam-powered ships armed with Industrial Age weapons to Japan and demanded that the country open up for trade. In the following year, the bakufu reluctantly signed an agreement with the US that partially lifted the restrictions on foreign visits. Another agreement was signed in 1858 that opened up more of the country, and this was followed by similar agreements with the United Kingdom, Russia, and France. The perceived weakness of the bakufu's response to the foreign threat made it vulnerable to a challenge from domestic opponents. This challenge was led by two of the largest tozama daimyo, Satsuma in Kyushu and Choshu in western Honshu.

从18世纪末开始，英国和其他欧洲国家开始经历工业革命。蒸汽机的发明极大地提高了生产，也导致了铁路和蒸汽动力船舶的发展。它还促使武器的改进和生产，使欧洲人在战争中获得了决定性的优势。19世纪40年代，英国在对华鸦片战争中的胜利使日本领导人意识到，“洋夷”对日本构成了真正的威胁。1853年，美国人马修·佩里（Mathew Perry）（1794-1858）率领一支装备有工业时代武器的蒸汽动力船队来到日本，要求日本开放贸易。第二年，幕府不情愿地与美国签署了一项协议，部分解除了对外国访问的限制。1858年签署了另一项协议，开放了更多的地区，随后又与英国、俄国和法国签署了类似的协议。幕府对外国威胁的反应被认为是软弱的，这使它容易受到国内反对者的挑战。这一挑战是由两个最强大的外样大名领导的，即九州的萨摩和本州西部的长州。

In theory, the bakufu governed Japan on behalf of the imperial family. This was a convenient political fiction for the Tokugawa in the early Edo period because it legitimised their rule. Basing their opinion on the study of Japanese history, however, critics began to argue that the Tokugawa had illegitimately usurped the authority of the imperial family and demanded that this be returned. They linked this demand to the threat from foreign countries through the slogan sonno joi, which means "revere the emperor, expel the barbarians." There were attacks on foreigners in both Choshu and Satsuma, but in response, European ships bombarded facilities in those two areas. This show of force demonstrated that trying to expel the barbarians was not practical, and so renewed efforts were put into overthrowing the bakufu. After a brief civil war, the last shogun Tokugawa Yoshinobu (1837-1913) decided to return his authority to the imperial court in an event known as the Meiji Restoration. In this way, the Tokugawa rule came to an end.

理论上，幕府代表皇室统治日本。在江户时代早期，这对德川家来说是一种方便的政治虚构，因为它使其统治合法化。然而，根据他们对日本历史的研究，批评者开始争辩说，德川家族非法篡夺了皇室的权力，并要求将其归还。他们通过“尊王攘夷”（sonno joi）的口号将这一要求与来自外国的威胁联系起来，sonno joi的意思是“尊从天皇，驱逐蛮人”。长州和萨摩都发生了对外国人的攻击，但作为回应，欧洲船只轰炸了这两个地区的设施。这种武力的展示表明，试图驱逐野蛮人是不切实际的，因此，人们重新努力推翻幕府。在短暂的内战之后，最后一位幕府将军德川庆喜（1837-1913）决定将其权力交还给朝廷，这一事件被称为明治维新。这样一来，德川的统治就结束了。

In the decades after the end of the Second World War in 1945, historians in the English-speaking world tended to have a very negative attitude towards the Edo period. This was because they believed it was the source of the militarism that characterised Japanese society in the 1930s and 1940s. Following the success of Japan's post-war democracy and the rapid growth of its economy from the 1960s, however, this view has largely been revised. Today, while not denying its dark side, the Edo period is generally regarded positively as a time when Japanese society developed some of its most distinctive features.

在1945年第二次世界大战结束后的几十年里，英语世界的历史学家往往对江户时代持非常消极的态度。这是因为他们认为这是19世纪30年代和19世纪40年代日本社会军国主义的根源。然而，随着日本战后民主制度的成功和19世纪60年代以来经济的快速增长，这种观点在很大程度上得到了修正。今天，虽然江户时代的阴暗面毋庸置疑，但人们普遍认为江户时代是日本社会发展出一些最显着特征的积极时期。