What was life like in Edo Period Japan?

In Edo Japan, the Tokugawa shogunate held supreme authority, with the shogun as the military ruler who controlled foreign policy, the armed forces, and most domestic affairs.

From Kyoto, the emperor maintained ceremonial and religious importance, and was the legal source of the shogun’s authority, yet his role carried no direct political power.

At the same time, around 250 regional lords known as daimyo oversaw domains of different sizes and resources.

Under direct orders from the Tokugawa family, these lords followed specific rules intended to prevent rebellion.

Lords whose land produced more than 10,000 koku of rice, a measure of yield enough to feed 10,000 people for a year, qualified as daimyo.

In addition, the sankin-kotai system required daimyo to spend alternate years in Edo, while their families stayed there as political hostages.

This kept loyalty to the central government, encouraged travel and trade, and boosted Edo’s economy, though it also created heavy financial strain on the domains. 

Among the ruling elite, samurai were both the military and the administrative class.

Over time, many moved from battlefield service to office work, but they kept privileges such as carrying swords and receiving wages from their lords. 

Under the shi-no-ko-sho system, society was divided into four official classes.

Samurai held the highest rank, followed by peasants, artisans, and merchants.

Movement between these groups was rare without government approval.

In rural communities, peasants, who made up about 80 to 85 percent of the population, produced rice, which, as mentioned above, was the main form of tax payment to their lords.

In towns, artisans made goods such as pottery, lacquerware, and textiles, with skills often passed from parent to child.

In the busy marketplaces, merchants managed the sale and transport of goods, and they sometimes gained considerable wealth, even though their official standing stayed low.

Notable merchant houses such as Mitsui began as drapery shops before they became large business groups. 

Other groups existed outside the formal hierarchy. Among them, eta and hinin did any work viewed as 'unclean', which included handling animal remains or entertaining the public.

In most regions, they lived under strict social limits and faced discrimination, and toward the end of the Edo Period, they were increasingly called burakumin, a term that continued into the Meiji era. 

In the education of the Edo Period, the values of the ruling class placed emphasis on literacy and moral discipline.

In domain schools, or hanko, samurai children studied Confucian texts, practised calligraphy, and trained in combat skills so that they could prepare for administrative work in service to their daimyo.

Confucian scholars such as Hayashi Razan had a significant influence the curriculum in order to support the shogunate’s educational aims.

For commoners, temple schools known as terakoya taught reading, writing, and arithmetic.

In many cases, teachers used practical materials such as farming guides and merchant account books so that lessons had direct relevance to daily life.

By the late Edo Period, it is estimated that about 40 to 50 percent of men and 15 to 20 percent of women could read and write, though these figures mostly referred to basic literacy and varied between towns and rural areas.

The growing publishing industry sold woodblock-printed books, which included popular fiction such as ukiyo-zōshi and instructional guides. 

During the 18th century, Edo became one of the largest cities in the world, with a population estimated between 800,000 and 1.1 million at its peak.

Around the shogun’s imposing castle, daimyo kept large residences, and samurai lived in assigned living quarters.

In the financial districts, merchants ran their shops, artisans worked in their workshops, and entertainment areas such as the licensed Yoshiwara pleasure district attracted visitors from far and near.

After the Great Fire of Meireki in 1657, the district was moved to Asakusa and rebuilt.

Along a network of waterways and streets, goods moved quickly between neighbourhoods, and fire brigades trained regularly so that they could deal with the frequent fires, known as the “flowers of Edo,” that threatened wooden buildings. 

For many residents, the city offered an active cultural life. In kabuki theatres, audiences watched performances, and in teahouses, guests enjoyed food, conversation, and music.

Ukiyo-e woodblock prints showed kabuki actors, courtesans, and famous views of Edo, and these were widely sold.

During seasonal festivals, the streets filled with decorated floats, market stalls, and lively processions. 

In samurai households, the day often began with formal duties in offices, and it was followed by training or ceremonial tasks.

For many lower-ranking samurai, modest wages required extra work such as teaching or writing.

Meanwhile, in farming villages, peasants organised their work according to the agricultural calendar.

During planting and harvest, the whole community worked together on tasks such as irrigating fields or threshing rice.

At annual festivals, villagers enjoyed music, dancing, and religious events, and seasonal foods such as mochi at New Year and cherry blossom picnics in spring offered a break from the hard work of the farming year. 

Most townspeople lived in nagaya, or row houses, and they shared wells and toilets with their neighbours. 

By the mid-19th century, growing internal and external pressures weakened the authority of the Tokugawa shogunate.

During years of famine, hardship spread among peasants, and domain finances suffered under the cost of policies such as sankin-kotai.

At the same time, merchant wealth weakened the prestige of the old hierarchy.

In July 1853, Commodore Matthew Perry arrived in Edo Bay with American warships and demanded the opening of Japanese ports to foreign trade.

He left, but returned in February 1854 so that he could repeat his demands. The Convention of Kanagawa in March 1854 opened two ports to American ships, and in the years that followed, foreign powers secured unequal treaties, starting with the Harris Treaty of 1858, which granted low import duties and special legal rights for foreigners.

As a result, public trust in Tokugawa rule collapsed. 

In 1868, supporters of the emperor, which included powerful domains such as Satsuma and Chōshū, overthrew the shogunate in the Meiji Restoration.

The resulting Boshin War ended in imperial victory. In the new political order, Tokyo replaced Edo as the imperial capital, and Japan began rapid reforms to modernise its government and the country.