Kyōhō Reforms

The Kyoho reforms (Japanese享保の改革, Kyoho no kaikaku ) were adopted during the Kyoho era ( 1716-1736 ) by the Tokugawa shogunate under Tokugawa Yoshimune. Reforms should the public finances of the shogunate stabilize and consolidate the caste system of the Edo period.

The shogunate, had lived in the previous Genroku era (1688-1704), also known as the "Golden Era" beyond its means and tries to debauchery by a debasement, ie to finance inflation. Through a tax reform a safer base should be created. Main source of income was still taxing the rice fields, but not the income was now taken as the basis, but the field size.

The samurai were in the Edo period, the prevailing level, including were farmers, artisans and merchants, in that order ( Shi- Noh Kō - Shō ). The merchants had come in about a hundred years of peace that had prevailed the Tokugawa rule to considerable wealth and dressed in fine silk. The samurai, however, who were socially higher, were of the rice payments of their lords, the daimyo, dependent, and could be a dissolute lifestyle only afford if they indebted themselves high. These debts have now been annulled, a tactic that should use the shogunate in the course of history more often. As a result, merchants increased their interest rates to hedge, making the situation worse. To combat the alleged usury, the merchants were also forced unmount their prices publicly.

In order to strengthen the caste system further, so-called thrift edicts were issued, which required for each stand, which was allowed by his status. The caste system was previously heavily regulated, so had Samurai, craftsmen, merchants and entertainers (theater, gambling houses and brothels ) in the cities each have their own district. Only samurai were allowed to carry weapons. This has been exacerbated, especially in clothing and home construction. Farmhouses were about to be covered with thatch. Especially hard hit, the dealer stand, which had aroused the envy of the Samurai by its wealth. The dealers were forced to wear sackcloth. The dealer could then sew clothes that were outside were made of coarse linen and lined inside in fine silk.

The head behind the edicts was Ogyū Sorai (1666-1728), a follower of the so-called old school (古 学, Kogaku ), which was heavily influenced by Neo-Confucianism. His school saw agriculture as the basis of production, and thus the nobleman who owns the land, and the peasants who worked the land. Artisan process this value produced only and distributors distribute it. There are parallels here to the European physiocratism. Subsequent reforms continued to try to enforce the old caste system against the growing influence of traders layer and the Vorindustrialisierung were then also called reforms in Ogyū style.

Although Ogyū became the most influential economists of the Edo period, his Kyoho reforms were doomed to failure. Already in 1732 there was a great famine in Japan, which was triggered by a plague of locusts. The shogunate had to empty in order not to lose his subjects, and allow individual provinces, even to act economically, which was frowned upon by the pure Confucian doctrine to ensure their survival his rice store. Only with the Kansei reforms (1788-1793) won the conservative forces again for a while the upper hand.

• Reform
• Japanese Economic History
• Historic legal source ( Japan)
• Edo period
• 18th century