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Kyoto, that was much more decadent than the previous one. As Muromachi shoguns patronized the arts and developed a vibrant court culture, landowners in the outer prov- inces began battling for power. Known as daimyo, these lords soon tore the nation apart in a series of civil wars that would last until the mid-sixteenth century. By 1600, a daimyo named Tokugawa Ieyasu had become the most powerful lord. He was made shogun in 1603 and The era of stability of the Edo period lasted until 1853, when an American naval officer named Matthew Perry sailed into a port near Edo and forced the sho- gunate into a trade agreement. This was interpreted as a sign of weakness by the Japanese citizenry, and it unleashed a series of changes that would shake the founda- tions of Japan. By 1868, the shogunate was deposed , and power returned to the emperor. The new leadership implemented a more democratic form of government, disassembled the warrior class, and rapidly industrialized the economy. A statue depicting Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first in the last line of shoguns, located in the Togichi Prefecture.

The Zen Buddhist temple Kinkaku-ji (literally Temple of the Golden Pavilion) in Kyoto, Japan.

moved the seat of his shogunate to Edo, which is now present-day Tokyo. He promptly created a series of laws designed to limit the power of rival daimyos. In 1639 the shogunate imposed a policy of isolation. While this effectively cut Japan off from the rest of the world, it allowed the country to strengthen its native industries and create a robust middle class.

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CHAPTER ONE: HISTORY, RELIGION, AND TRADITION