Topic > Shimabara Rebellion during the Tokugawa Shogunate period

Over the years in Japan, there have been many changes revolving around the development of their society and culture. Rather than a rebellion or a sudden spark of new popular interest, each event that took place in 17th-century Japan led to its modern form. While any event may be important, what stands out most is the amount of documentation of historical facts involving religion. Religion is an important factor in the culture of anyone, if not even most countries. For decades, religion has been considered a power that has had a great influence on a person's life. This is a major figure in increasing the hope and faith of humanity, perhaps greater than that of any man on earth who has ever had the opportunity to govern. Such influences can be seen in sacred literature such as the Bible or even in the "rules" that individuals abide by in their daily lives. Despite this decrease in modern times where many more people have shifted their views towards a more scientific view or are atheists, the impact that religion has had in terms of fighting for the right to practice one's beliefs has remained for many generations to come. An example of such an extraordinary struggle for faith is the brief but infamous Shimabara Rebellion from 1637 to 1638 which “remains one of the most historically controversial events in modern Japanese history” (Farias 2016). This rebellion unleashed a huge impact in Tokugawa Japan based on the oppression of Christians, unfair taxes, and debts imposed on local farmers and ronin. Furthermore, this research paper focuses on the Shimabara Rebellion, starting from how it began, the events and the end of that rebellion, including the consequences related to what makes Japan as modern as it is today. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay To begin, before explaining the course of the rebellion, it is important to touch on life in the Tokugawa period, as it is crucial to understanding why this infamous historical event occurred and implies a better understanding. In this period, from 1603 to 1869, Japan was ruled by a series of shoguns known as the Tokugawa shogunate, descendants of Tokugawa Ieyasu. These shogunates were supreme military leaders appointed by the emperor and played an important role in generalizing the rules of the country. That said, there came a time when the Tokugawa shogunate also got rid of the incompetent Daimyos by entrusting them with the task of killing themselves. These incompetent Daimyo were killed because of their leniency and flexibility with collecting farmers' taxes, unlike the government, which infuriated the shogunate. As this continued, times seemed to change, and after the death of the former Daimyo, his son became regent for exploiting the peasant class for his own personal benefit. Due to this sudden change, difficulties began to form and not soon after this triggered the talks of the Sakoku Act of 1635, where all relations and trade between Japan and other countries were limited, little to no immigration and the Japanese were given banned from leaving Japan. Village. With this act, there was a sudden restriction on religion, especially Christianity, as it became a threat to members of the Tokugawa shogunate. Under those circumstances, this would begin one of Japan's most extraordinary rights battles, also known as the Shimabara. Rebellion (島原の乱 Shimabara no ran). The Shimabara Rebellion remains a popular historiographical debate to this dayour. Some believe that the Japanese Christian population of these distant provinces rose up to overthrow a government whose policy included the persecution, torture, and execution of Christians. Others argue that “economic oppression forced peasants to revolt against irresponsible daimyo, or local lords, and the Christian element was overstated in historical records.” However, this rebellion, which began in the autumn of 1637, had no singular cause. That said, it is important to note that both causes mentioned only captured half of the nature of the rebellion. In truth, rebellion was a last resort for the desperate driven by economic suffering and held together by their common culture, Christianity. The hardships that occurred in the time period that followed with the persecution pushed the peasants into rebellion and Christianity which helped unite the classes (farmers, ronin, etc.). As mentioned, in the early 1600s the Christian faith was considered a crime. In 1619, there were hundreds of executions in Kyoto following those in Nagasaki in 1622. Those who practiced the faith were imprisoned, burned alive, beheaded, and many other horrific methods were used to instill fear in others and expose attitudes towards of Christians. This became a scare tactic for the Japanese who adapted the principles of Christianity. Indeed, in this rebellion arose a figure of extreme importance who could be considered a tragic hero for his ability to instill hope and the will to defend the right to practice this faith. This infamous figure was called Amakusa Shirō, and at the young age of sixteen, he was able to lead the Shimabara Rebellion in hopes of bringing down the Shogunate's few. Along with Shimabara's 30,000 rebellious peasants, the rebels advanced and settled in the abandoned Hara Castle at the tip of the peninsula in 1638, about two months after the entire revolt began. When they settled, they "resisted overwhelming Tokugawa forces until they were pushed to the brink by starvation and final massacre." This was done after the rebels tried to ensure the wrong attempts and commands of the Bakufu (military government) which reduced them to their lowest status. After numerous attempts and the desire to maintain the fortress, it ended because the rebel forces, despite maintaining a good coordinated defense against the attackers, had no logistical support, which led to the presumption of the fall of Hara Castle. An important aspect to consider in terms of the castle's defeat is that there were other factors besides the lack of support for the rebels. One factor that could be considered one of the important causes is that one of the rebel soldiers, Yamada Umenosaku, betrayed Shiro and withheld information about the troubled supplies. Because of this, there was a much faster fall of the rebels who fell ill and suffered from malnutrition. Another factor that ended Hara Castle was “the use of ninjas for espionage and subversion.” These ninja tactics were extremely fatal to the rebels as they contained a number of skills that provided them with uses. On January 4, 1638, a small group of Koga ninja arrived at the castle and began their espionage and subversion activities that lasted for more than two weeks. In this way they were able to gather information on the defenses and dispositions. In fact, they largely began to deprive the castle of resources to survive, and with the help of the traitor Yamada, this was an easy tactic and a downfall. Furthermore, with the help of these ninja tactics and an insider who was able to provide information and become a primary source, Tokugawa Iemitsu, Shogun of Edo, “had responded by putting together.