P6+Castle+Towns

C astle Towns By: Isiah H. & Ethan W.

INTRODUCTION Tokugawa Ieyasu ended the 100 years of civil war that had been going on in Japan, and established castle towns. He made it to where samurai no longer battled; so the palaces that were used as battle command centers, were turned into the home of the administrative samurai, of the town that was built around it. Thanks to Tokugawa Ieyasu, a new time period of peace, the Tokugawa Time Period.

COMMERCIAL TOWN CENTERS Castles became centers of government administration. When living in a castle town you followed laws made by your own magistrates living in the castle in your castle town, meaning not as many laws were national. You went to the administrative castle in your castle town, if you had political problems within your castle town such as political problems between families. The towns grew around the castle in the center. The town was inhabited by all of the social classes. Samurai mainly near the castles, and peasants, artisans, and merchants all lived scattered around the city. Also they lived out near the side of town near the Tokaido road. TOKAIDO ROAD All of the levels of people in the feudal society traveled down this road to get to Edo or to other castle towns along the road. Inns, stables, and stores were established on the road for any customers that needed supplies or food and drinks. In __The Ghost in the Tokaido Inn__ on page 1 and 2 Seikei is traveling on the Tokaido Road from his castle town to Edo. He sees the girl on the side which shows there are many houses and families living in and out of the castle town. HOUSES Inside the walls of castle towns there were, of course the castles, but also normal, average, houses. The houses of the wealthy were a bit larger than the houses of the poor. They had very little furniture, so you mostly sat on pillows. The walls were sliding wooden panels that were covered with heavy paper, to keep the panels from sliding. Doors and windows were basically translucent sliding panels with no panels to cover them. The wealthy usually owned good sized gardens and/or yards. The houses owned by the poor were smaller, and didn’t have gardens; but they were of the same design as the houses owned by the wealthy. The Houses all depended on how that family lived with money or without money.

HOW FAMILIES LIVED The family was the biggest part of the Japanese society. Your whole life would revolve around it. If you were born into a samurai family you would be a samurai for life. If you were born into a merchant’s family you would be a merchant for life. Unless like in __The Ghost in the Tokaido Inn__ on page 213 Seikei a merchant’s son gets adopted by Judge Ooka a magistrate which changes Seikei’s social status to samurai. MAGISTRATES During the Tokugawa Shogunate many of the samurai stopped being warriors they became magistrates. Magistrates-chief court officials. Daimyo could also obtain this role. Many of the magistrates collected rice taxes under the surveillance of the daimyo who was a higher level magistrate. They also enforced laws under the guidance of daimyo. These magistrates were still at the top of the same social classes. All of the castle towns were thanks to Tokugawa Ieyasu, who closed Japans doors. media type="custom" key="12658186" CITATIONS Hobbler, Dorothy & Thomas."The Ghost in the Tokaido Inn." New York City: Penguin Young Readers Group. 1999.  Odjik, Pamela."The Japanese." Englewood Cliffs: Silver Burdett Press. 1989.