context: painting > prints > origins

Demographic Shifts

Japan's population doubled from 1580 to 1700, and it became one of the most urbanized countries in the world. Focussing in, Edo (which is now known as Tokyo) was a mere swampy fishing village in 1603, when it was made the capital. Despite a fire killing a hundred thousand people in 1657, it reached half a million people by 1700, and was the biggest city in the world - and it doubled in size over the next century. Its castle was designed to house 50,000 soldiers.

This growth meant huge changes, new interests. It also meant a change in the balance of power, especially financially. The Japanese caste system (perhaps not as rigid as that term makes it sound, but very important) had the imperial family at the top, followed by the aristocracy, then the samurai. This is predictable enough, but the next three surprise many people: farmers and peasants ranked above craftsmen and skilled workers, and bottom of the heap were the merchants, who produced nothing. They were a comparatively small and insignificant group in medieval times, but by the 17th Century their numbers and wealth were growing. One more big factor in Edo's social world was the shogun's unique way of keeping order: alternate attendance. Daimyos were required to spend alternate years in attendance at the capital, and to leave their families there. This made their families into virtual hostages, and the cost of moving thousands of people backwards and forwards and of maintaining an ostentatiously lavish second household crippled their ability to raise armies. It also meant that most of the wealthiest families were at least partly based in Edo - and needed to look good. Add in the diminished military role of the samurai class, and you have a perfect recipe for hedonism.

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