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Rōnin in the Tokugawa Period

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Rōnin in the Tokugawa Period Finding a Place: Rōnin in the Tokugawa Period The Harvard community has made this article openly available. Please share how this access benefits you. Your story matters Citation van Swet, Floris. 2019. Finding a Place: Rōnin in the Tokugawa Period. Doctoral dissertation, Harvard University, Graduate School of Arts & Sciences. Citable link http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:42029594 Terms of Use This article was downloaded from Harvard University’s DASH repository, and is made available under the terms and conditions applicable to Other Posted Material, as set forth at http:// nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:dash.current.terms-of- use#LAA Finding a Place: R!nin Identity in the Tokugawa Period A dissertation presented by Floris van Swet to The Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the subject of History and East Asian Languages Harvard University Cambridge, Massachusetts May 2019 ! ! © 2019 Floris van Swet All rights reserved. ! ! ! Dissertation Advisor: David Howell Floris van Swet Finding a Place: R!nin Identity in the Tokugawa Period Abstract Finding a Place: R!nin Identity in the Tokugawa Period focusses on the interaction between institutional and everyday understandings of status, and the subjective, mutable nature of social labels through the lens of r!nin (‘masterless samurai’). Through tracing the history of the term r!nin, the multiple ways in which it was used and interpreted over time, and its locally contingent nature, this research elucidates the inconsistencies between center/periphery, ideational/reality and explicit/implicit rules during the Tokugawa period (1603-1868). What the particular case of r!nin demonstrates is that such irregularities were an active part of Tokugawa rule within which status and identity were created, recreated and negotiated continuously at all levels of society. Though such institutional ‘messiness’ is generally viewed as inefficient, wasteful, confusing or even subversive in modern terms, as an accepted part of Tokugawa institutions it did not create instability or detract from the effective running and governability of society. Instead, it formed an integral part of the relative stability of the Tokugawa state for more than 250 years. Consequently, although clear differences existed between the institutional definition of r!nin and the social realities these people encountered, both held social meaning and were continuously negotiated. Though this process took different forms depending on place and time, it was universal throughout Japan and an accepted part of social life. R!nin, apart from the unacceptable minority, were an accepted and integral part of the Tokugawa social world. iii Acknowledgements I am indebted to professor David Howell for his constant support and insightful criticism throughout my time at Harvard University. I would also like to thank professor Andrew Gordon for his invaluable feedback and comments, and Professor Sun Joo Kim for her time and ideas. This dissertation would not have been possible without the generous Japanese Studies Fellowship from the Japan Foundation and I would especially like to thank Hino Aya for her support and care during my time in Tokyo. Financial support during the final writing phase of the project was provided through the Harvard University GSAS Dissertation Completion Fellowship. Further financial support was provided by the Reischauer institute throughout my years at Harvard in the form of both summer research grants and a Supplementary Research Grant. In particular, I would like to thank Stacie Matsumoto and Catherine Glover for their ceaseless support and advise. Additionally, I am indebted to the staff of the Harvard EALC department for their help and kindness. During my time in Japan I was fortunate enough to receive the hospitality and support from both Sophia University and Waseda University in Tokyo. The supportive guidance I received from both professor Bettina Gramlich-Oka and professor Shimoda Hiraku was invaluable during this time away from my home institution. Whilst at Sophia, through the guidance of professor Gramlich-Oka, I was lucky enough to meet with many scholars who helped me in my research through the Network Studies Research Unit at the Institute of Comparative Culture. I would especially like to thank Laura Nenzi, Gaye Rowley, Umezawa Fumiko, Kate Wildman-Nakai, Thomas Harper and Luke Roberts for their suggestions, encouragement and generosity. iv I also want to take this opportunity to extend my thanks to Christopher Gerteis for his guidance and advice during my MA and for inspiring me to pursue this path. Additionally, I would not have been able to finish this project if it weren’t for the fantastically supportive and inspiring community of peers both at Harvard and in Japan. In particular I would like to thank Hannah Shepherd, Joanna Linzer, Matt Hamm and Floris Asscher for their constant friendship, comradery and support on all levels throughout this period. Though I might have taken the advice that education is important a bit too far in their eyes, the continuous support, encouragement and help from my parents kept me going throughout my PhD. Finally, I want to thank Emily for her constant support, unending patience and sage advice. Having her in my life makes all the difference. v Names, Dates and Measurements Throughout this work all Japanese names are given with family-name first. In addition to this, names have been standardized and individuals will be referred to by the same name throughout, despite naming conventions at the time which saw an individual referred to by a variety of different names (such as, childhood names, granted names, Buddhist names and posthumous names etc.) Though this can undermine certain social processes of the time, it is necessary for the sake of readability and understandability. Where relevant, alternate names will be indicated and discussed. Macrons indicate long vowels in Japanese words except when the word is regularly used in English such as with Tokyo, Osaka, daimyo or shogun, when they are omitted. Measurements in the work will be rendered mostly in their original Japanese form. This is because of a lack of standardization and conformity, which poses issues in conversion. However, where relevant, general conversions are provided in order to offer a sense of scale. A more detailed generalized conversion chart can be found in the appendix. In general, the years indicated in this work are rendered in their equivalent in the Gregorian calendar for ease of reading. However, the months and days are indicated according to the lunisolar calendar and therefore do not correspond to the same in the Gregorian rendering (for example, the 26th day of the 4th month is not the 26th of April). This is done to remain closer to the Japanese rendering as well as to avoid the problem of rendering dates into the Gregorian calendar before its introduction and adoption. Monthly and daily dates are used to indicate the passing of time and are therefore only relevant in relation to one another rather than indicating certain times of the year. Where relevant the Japanese year name will be added in addition to the Gregorian year. vi Table of Contents Abstract iii Acknowledgments iv Dates, Measurements and Names vi Table of Contents vii Introduction 1 Chapter 1. Becoming R!nin 26 !! Early R!nin: Land and Livelihood !! Becoming Warriors: Transience and Martial Employment !! Ordering the Realm: Creating ‘Tokugawa R!nin’ !! Osaka and the Creation of the ‘Anti-Tokugawa’ R!nin !! Conclusion Chapter 2. Coming to Peace 68 !! From Problems with the System to Problems within the System !! R!nin Beyond Osaka !! Reemployment in the Shadow of Conflict !! The Potentials and Problems of Peace in the 1640s !! Problematic R!nin and the ‘R!nin Problem’ !! Conclusion Chapter 3. Living with Attainder 113 !! Shuffling the Pieces: Attainder and the Early Tokugawa State !! The Mori Family and the Attainder of Tsuyama Domain !! Nasu Sukenori and the Attainder of Karasuyama Domain vii !! Conclusion Chapter 4. Returning to the Land 153 !! Making Room to Grow: R!nin and Rural Development !! Learning to Be: R!nin, Skill-based Labor and Rural Education !! To Be or Not to Be (R!nin): Social Label Change !! Conclusion Chapter 5. Regulating R!nin 200 !! Approaching the R!nin Label !! Law and Jurisdiction: Domains and R!nin !! Looking the Part: R!nin, Clothing and Tait! !! Women, Children and the Hereditarization of the R!nin Label !! Employing R!nin: Changing Ways of Hiring !! Conclusion Chapter 6. Being ‘Bad’ 242 !! Waves of Opportunity: Beyond the Tokugawa State !! Hiding in Plain Sight: R!nin, Komus! and the Fuke Sect !! Overstepping Boundaries: Begging and Criminality !! Martial Matters: R!nin and the Knowledge of Violence !! Conclusion Conclusion 283 Appendix: Measurement Conversions 291 Reference Abbreviations 292 Bibliography 293 viii ! Introduction During the last years of the Tokugawa period (1603-1868), Iwakura Tomomi, a high court official, wrote a letter to a friend telling him that, “the Tokugawa government insists that they know how many r!nin there are in Kyoto and Osaka, and believes that it has them under control, but this is not so, so don’t put any faith in these claims.”1 In this letter, r!nin, often translated into English as ‘masterless samurai,’ are painted as a disruptive group in need of active suppression and with an inherent potential to undermine the Tokugawa. Tomomi was not alone in perceiving r!nin this way and his statement echoes numerous others stretching back centuries.2 Whether they were edicts aimed at preserving the peace,3 reports on street-brawls in Edo4 or letters of complaint,5 the mention of r!nin occurred frequently in relation to disruptions and ruffianism. Violent, poor, socially displaced and unhappy with the Tokugawa status quo, the r!nin was “a sinister figure of dread in the land; a spectre that ever haunts the dreams of the !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 1 Nihon shiseki ky!kai (eds.).
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