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63-548: The shogunate recognized the need for some kind of internal intelligence-gathering apparatus and for some degree of covert espionage within its own ranks. It could be said that the metsuke functioned as the Shogun's intelligence agency or as internal spies, reporting to the officials in Edo on events and situations across the country. The metsuke were charged with focusing on those ranking below daimyō -status; and their counterparts,

126-726: A fortified residence, probably around the edge of the Musashino Terrace , that would become Edo castle. Shigetsugu's son, Edo Shigenaga ( 江戸重長 ) , took the Taira's side against Minamoto no Yoritomo in 1180 but eventually surrendered to Minamoto and became a gokenin for the Kamakura shogunate . At the fall of the shogunate in the 14th century, the Edo clan took the side of the Southern Court , and its influence declined during

189-508: A magistrate along the way, was the first of the ranks, and was in a position to represent the shogun, as was the case with the Kyoto shojidai and Osaka jodai. The bureaucracy of the Tokugawa shogunate expanded on an ad hoc basis, responding to perceived needs and changing circumstances. Sometimes one or more of the metsuke or ōmetsuke would have been selected to address a specific or even

252-451: A refuge. The estate of the upper residence was attributed by the shogunate according to the status of the clan and its relation with the Shogun. The middle residence ( 中屋敷 , naka-yashiki ) , a bit further from the castle, could house the heir of the lord, his servants from his fief when he was in Edo for the sankin-kotai alternate residency, or be a hiding residence if needed. The lower residence ( 下屋敷 , shimo-yashiki ) , if there

315-399: A series always wins, whether using a sword or a jitte (the device police used to trap, and sometimes to bend or break, an opponent's sword). Among the characters in jidaigeki are a parade of people with occupations unfamiliar to modern Japanese and especially to foreigners. Here are a few: The warrior class included samurai, hereditary members in the military service of a daimyō or

378-501: A unique problem. For example, Arao Norimasa in the period from 1852 through 1854 was charged with special duties as kaibo-gakari-metsuke . The prefix kaibō-gakari meaning "in charge of maritime defense" was used with the titles of some bakufu officials after 1845. This term was used to designate those who bore a special responsibility for overseeing coastal waters, and by implication, for dealing with matters involving foreigners. "Kaibō-gakari-metsuke" later came to be superseded by

441-519: Is a genre of film , television , video game , and theatre in Japan . Literally meaning " period dramas ", it refers to stories that take place before the Meiji Restoration of 1868. Jidaigeki show the lives of the samurai , farmers, craftsmen, and merchants of their time. Jidaigeki films are sometimes referred to as chambara movies, a word meaning "sword fight", though chambara

504-430: Is more accurately a subgenre of jidaigeki . Jidaigeki rely on an established set of dramatic conventions including the use of makeup, language, catchphrases, and plotlines. Many jidaigeki take place in Edo , the military capital. Others show the adventures of people wandering from place to place. The long-running television series Zenigata Heiji and Abarenbō Shōgun typify the Edo jidaigeki . Mito Kōmon ,

567-613: Is the former name of Tokyo . Edo, formerly a jōkamachi (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province , became the de facto capital of Japan from 1603 as the seat of the Tokugawa shogunate . Edo grew to become one of the largest cities in the world under the Tokugawa. After the Meiji Restoration in 1868 the Meiji government renamed Edo as Tokyo ( 東 京 , "Eastern Capital") and relocated

630-526: The Battle of Sekigahara in October 1600. He formally founded the Tokugawa shogunate in 1603 and established his headquarters at Edo Castle . Edo became the center of political power and the de facto capital of Japan, although the historic capital of Kyoto remained the de jure capital as the seat of the emperor. Edo grew from a fishing village in Musashi Province in 1457 into the largest metropolis in

693-653: The Emperor from the historic capital of Kyoto to the city. The era of Tokugawa rule in Japan from 1603 to 1868 is known as the Edo period . Before the 10th century, there is no mention of Edo in historical records, but for a few settlements in the area. That name for the area first appears in the Azuma Kagami chronicles, which have probably been used since the second half of the Heian period . Edo's development started in

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756-501: The Imperial Palace . During the Edo period, there were about 100 major fires, mostly begun by accident and often quickly escalating and spreading through neighborhoods of wooden nagaya that were heated with charcoal fires. In 1868, the Tokugawa shogunate was overthrown in the Meiji Restoration by supporters of Emperor Meiji and his Imperial Court in Kyoto , ending Edo's status as the de facto capital of Japan. However,

819-507: The Muromachi period . In 1456, a vassal of the Ōgigayatsu branch of the Uesugi clan started to build a castle on the former fortified residence of the Edo clan and took the name Ōta Dōkan . Dōkan lived in the castle until his assassination in 1486. Under Dōkan, with good water connections to Kamakura, Odawara and other parts of Kanto and the country, Edo expanded as a jōkamachi , with

882-453: The court nobles , its Buddhist temples and its history; Osaka was the country's commercial center, dominated by the chōnin or the merchant class. On the contrary, the samurai and daimyō residences occupied up to 70% of the area of Edo. On the east and northeast sides of the castle lived the Shomin ( 庶民 , "regular people") including the chōnin in a much more densely populated area than

945-421: The karō were the kuni-garō and the jōdai-garō . Tensions between them have provided plots for many stories. There are several dramatic conventions of jidaigeki : Authors of jidaigeki work pithy sayings into the dialog. Here are a few: The authors of series invent their own catchphrases called kimarizerifu that the protagonist says at the same point in nearly every episode. In Mito Kōmon , in which

1008-491: The machi , where single floor nagayas , the uranagayas ( 裏長屋 , litt. "backstreet long houses") were located. Rentals and smaller rooms for lower ranked shonin were located in those back housings. Edo was nicknamed the City of 808 towns ( 江戸八百八町 , Edo happyaku yachō ) , depicting the large number and diversity of those communities, but the actual number was closer to 1,700 by the 18th century. Edo's municipal government

1071-639: The shōgun , who was a samurai himself. Rōnin , samurai without masters, were also warriors, and like samurai, wore two swords, but they were without inherited employment or status. Bugeisha were men, or in some stories women, who aimed to perfect their martial arts, often by traveling throughout the country. Ninja were the secret service, specializing in stealth, the use of disguises, explosives, and concealed weapons. Craftsmen in jidaigeki included metalworkers (often abducted to mint counterfeit coins), bucket-makers, carpenters and plasterers, and makers of woodblock prints for art or newspapers. In addition to

1134-410: The ōmetsuke , were responsible for supervising the activities of officials and members of the daimyō (feudal lords). Although similarly engaged, the reporting protocols of the metsuke and ōmetsuke differed. The metsuke reported to wakadoshiyori who ranked just below the rōjū . The ōmetsuke reported directly to the four or five rōjū at the top of the shogunate bureaucracy. By design,

1197-455: The Gofunai, creating some complexity on the handling on the matters of the city. The Machi-bugyō oversaw the numerous Machi where shonin lived through representatives called Machidoshiyori ( 町年寄 ) . Each Machi had a Machi leader called Nanushi ( 名主 ) , who reported to a Machidoshiyori ( 町年寄 ) who himself was in charge of several Machis. Jidaigeki Jidaigeki ( 時代劇 )

1260-743: The Uesugi clan, which fell to the Later Hōjō clan at the battle of Takanawahara in 1524, during the expansion of their rule over the Kantō area. When the Hōjō clan was finally defeated by Toyotomi Hideyoshi in 1590, the Kanto area was given to rule to Toyotomi's senior officer Tokugawa Ieyasu , who took his residence in Edo. Tokugawa Ieyasu emerged as the paramount warlord of the Sengoku period following his victory at

1323-474: The bottom of the professional food chain, was one of the few vocational positions available to the blind in that era. Gokenin Zankurō is a samurai but, due to his low rank and income, he has to work extra jobs that higher-ranking samurai were unaccustomed to doing. Whether the lead role is samurai or commoner, jidaigeki usually reach a climax in an immense sword fight just before the end. The title character of

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1386-539: The castle bordering a cove (now Hibiya Park ) opening into Edo Bay , and the town developing along the Hirakawa River running into the cove, and on Edomaeto ( 江戸前島 ) , the stretch of land on the eastern side of the cove (now roughly where Tokyo Station is). Some priests and scholars fleeing Kyoto after the Ōnin War came to Edo during that period. After the death of Dōkan, the castle became one of strongholds of

1449-413: The center of the city's commercial center and the starting point of the gokaidō (thus making it the de facto "center of the country"). Fishermen, craftsmen and other producers and retailers operated here. Shippers managed ships known as tarubune to and from Osaka and other cities, bringing goods into the city or transferring them from sea routes to river barges or land routes. The northeastern corner of

1512-543: The city and of the Sumida River , a massive network of canals was dug. Fresh water was a major issue, as direct wells would provide brackish water because of the location of the city over an estuary. The few fresh water ponds of the city were put to use, and a network of canals and underground wooden pipes bringing freshwater from the western side of the city and the Tama River was built. Some of this infrastructure

1575-544: The city was considered dangerous in the traditional onmyōdō cosmology and was protected from evil by a number of temples including Sensō-ji and Kan'ei-ji , one of the two tutelary Bodaiji temples of the Tokugawa. A path and a canal, a short distance north of Sensō-ji, extended west from the Sumida riverbank leading along the northern edge of the city to the Yoshiwara pleasure district. Previously located near Ningyōchō,

1638-403: The city's fresh water distribution system, garbage collection area and communal bathrooms. A typical machi was of rectangular shape and could have a population of several hundred. The machi had curfew for the night with closing and guarded gates called kidomon ( 木戸門 ) opening on the main street ( 表通り , omote-dori ) in the machi . Two floor buildings and larger shops, reserved to

1701-479: The city. In the highest ranks of the shogunate were the rojū . Below them were the wakadoshiyori , then the various bugyō or administrators, including the jisha bugyō (who administered temples and shrines), the kanjō bugyō (in charge of finances) and the two Edo machi bugyō . These last alternated by month as chief administrator of the city. Their role encompassed mayor, chief of police, and judge, and jury in criminal and civil matters. The machi bugyō oversaw

1764-417: The city. Besides the large concentration in the northeast side to protect the city, the second Bodaiji of the Tokugawa, Zōjō-ji occupied a large area south of the castle. The samurai and daimyōs residential estates varied dramatically in size depending on their status. Some daimyōs could have several of those residences in Edo. The upper residence ( 上屋敷 , kami-yashiki ) , was the main residence while

1827-417: The color of the conventional inspector, and it came to be regarded as an honorary or quiet position, and the hatamoto, who served as a town magistrate or account magistrate, became a position appointed in old age. In addition, he also served in five roles such as a magistrate on the road, a sōmon reform, and a gun reform]. The official height was 3000 koku, and in the shogunate, it was under the jurisdiction of

1890-732: The conduct of these officials could be affected by bribes. For example, the televised jidaigeki episodes of Abarenbō Shōgun are rife with petty corruption, including a broad range of officials across the span of television seasons. Metsuke also appear as persecutors of Japanese Christians in the film Silence (2016). In the video game Total War: Shogun 2 , metsuke are agents tasked with imprisoning or executing operatives of enemy clans, particularly ninja, as well as with overseeing settlements to increase internal security and improve tax collection. Edo Edo ( Japanese : 江戸 , lit.   '"bay-entrance" or " estuary "'), also romanized as Jedo , Yedo or Yeddo ,

1953-414: The control of another authority. The feudal nature of Japan made these matters delicate, and jurisdictional disputes are common in jidaigeki. Edo had three fire departments. The daimyō-bikeshi were in the service of designated daimyōs ; the jōbikeshi reported to the shogunate; while the machi-bikeshi , beginning under Yoshimune, were commoners under the administration of the machi-bugyō . Thus, even

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2016-481: The criminals, he proclaims, Kore nite ikken rakuchaku : "Case closed." The following are Japanese video games in the jidaigeki genre. Although jidaigeki is essentially a Japanese genre, there are also Western games that use the setting to match the same standards. Examples are Ghost of Tsushima , Shogun: Total War series or Japanese campaigns of Age of Empires III . Names are in Western order, with

2079-430: The disguise of a low-ranking hatamoto , a samurai in the service of the shogun. Similarly, Mito Kōmon is the retired vice-shogun, masquerading as a merchant. In contrast, the coin-throwing Heiji of Zenigata Heiji is a commoner , working for the police, while Ichi (the title character of Zatoichi ), a blind masseur, is an outcast, as were many disabled people in that era. In fact, masseurs, who typically were at

2142-428: The district was rebuilt in this more remote location after the great fire of Meireki. Danzaemon, the hereditary position head of eta , or outcasts, who performed "unclean" works in the city resided nearby. Temples and shrines occupied roughly 15% of the surface of the city, equivalent to the living areas of the townspeople, with however an average of one-tenth of its population. Temples and shrines were spread out over

2205-596: The eponymous character disguises himself as a commoner, in the final sword fight, a sidekick invariably holds up an accessory bearing the shogunal crest and shouts, Hikae! Kono mondokoro ga me ni hairanu ka? : "Back! Can you not see this emblem?", revealing the identity of the hitherto unsuspected old man with a goatee beard. The villains then instantly surrender and beg forgiveness. Likewise, Tōyama no Kin-san bares his tattooed shoulder and snarls, Kono sakurafubuki o miwasureta to iwasane zo! : "I won't let you say you forgot this cherry-blossom blizzard!" After sentencing

2268-474: The fictitious story of the travels of the historical daimyō Tokugawa Mitsukuni , and the Zatoichi movies and television series, exemplify the traveling style. Another way to categorize jidaigeki is according to the social status of the principal characters. The title character of Abarenbō Shōgun is Tokugawa Yoshimune , the eighth Tokugawa shōgun . The head of the samurai class, Yoshimune assumes

2331-460: The fire companies have turf wars in the jidaigeki . Each daimyō maintained a residence in Edo, where he lived during sankin-kōtai . His wife and children remained there even while he was away from Edo, and the ladies-in-waiting often feature prominently in jidaigeki . A high-ranking samurai, the Edo-garō , oversaw the affairs in the daimyō ' s absence. In addition to a staff of samurai,

2394-433: The higher-ranking members of the society, were facing the main street. A machi would typically follow a grid pattern and smaller streets, Shinmichi ( 新道 ) , were opening on the main street, also with (sometimes) two-floor buildings, shop on the first floor, living quarter on the second floor, for the more well-off residents. Very narrow streets accessible through small gates called roji ( 路地 ) , would enter deeper inside

2457-420: The household included ashigaru (lightly armed warrior-servants) and chūgen and yakko (servants often portrayed as flamboyant and crooked). Many daimyōs employed doctors, goten'i ; their counterpart in the shogun's household was the okuishi . Count on them to provide the poisons that kill and the potions that heal. The cast of a wandering jidaigeki encountered a similar setting in each han . There,

2520-460: The intelligence-gathering activities of the metsuke was intended to complement those of the ōmetsuke even though there was no official reporting relationship between the two somewhat independent groups. There were at any given time as many as twenty-four metsuke . The Oometsuke had the role of an inspector who monitored the daimyo, the high family, and the imperial court, and protected the shogunate from these rebellions. On December 17, 1632, in

2583-572: The late 11th century with a branch of the Kanmu- Taira clan ( 桓武平氏 ) called the Chichibu clan ( 秩父氏 ) coming from the banks of the then- Iruma River , present-day upstream of the Arakawa river. A descendant of the head of the Chichibu clan settled in the area and took the name Edo Shigetsugu ( 江戸重継 ) , likely based on the name used for the place, and founded the Edo clan . Shigetsugu built

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2646-430: The lord was in Edo and was used for official duties. It was not necessarily the largest of his residences, but the most convenient to commute to the castle. The upper residence also acted as the representative embassy of the domain in Edo, connecting the shogunate and the clan. The shogunate did not exercise its investigative powers inside the precincts of the residential estate of the upper residence, which could also act as

2709-461: The new Meiji government soon renamed Edo to Tōkyō (東京, "Eastern Capital") and the city became the formal capital of Japan when the emperor moved his residence to the city. Very quickly after its inception, the shogunate undertook major works in Edo that drastically changed the topography of the area, notably under the Tenka-Bushin ( 天下普請 ) nationwide program of major civil works involving

2772-605: The ninth year of Kanei, four people were appointed: Akiyama Masashige, Mizuno Morinobu, Yagyu Munenori, and Inoue Masashige. Also, at the beginning of installation, it was called Sometsuki He was elected from among the banners, and was considered to be the highest rank in the positions of the bannermen, equivalent to the members of the Imperial Concubine, the Imperial Guard, and the head of the Daiban. And since he

2835-571: The now pacified daimyō workforce. The Hibiya cove facing the castle was soon filled after the arrival of Ieyasu, the Hirakawa river was diverted, and several protective moats and logistical canals were dug (including the Kanda river), to limit the risks of flooding. Landfill works on the bay began, with several areas reclaimed during the duration of the shogunate (notably the Tsukiji area). East of

2898-615: The official height of the daimetsuke was set at 3,000 koku, and 700 bales were paid only to those who had a job height of 3,000 koku or less. The capacity is indefinite, 3 to 2 people in the Iemitsu-Ietsuna period, 4 to 3 people in the Tsunayoshi-Ieshige period, and 5 to 4 people in the Ieji-Iekei period, and the number of people installed also changed due to the new construction of kake]. Ōmetsuke, who also served as

2961-474: The old man In the year following the inauguration of the service fee system in the 5th year of Kanbun (1665), the official salary was set at 1,000 bales. When the service fee system was abolished in the second year of Tenwa (1682), the official fee was added to the Chigyo High School as it was. In the 5th year of Genroku (1692), the service fee system was reinstated, and under the system at that time,

3024-465: The owners of businesses large and small, the jidaigeki often portray the employees. The bantō was a high-ranking employee of a merchant, the tedai , a lower helper. Many merchants employed children, or kozō . Itinerant merchants included the organized medicine-sellers, vegetable-growers from outside the city, and peddlers at fairs outside temples and shrines. In contrast, the great brokers in rice, lumber and other commodities operated sprawling shops in

3087-464: The police and fire departments. The police, or machikata , included the high-ranking yoriki and the dōshin below them; both were samurai. In jidaigeki, they often have full-time patrolmen, okappiki and shitappiki , who were commoners. (Historically, such people were irregulars and were called to service only when necessary.) Zenigata Heiji is an okappiki . The police lived in barracks at Hatchōbori in Edo. They manned ban'ya ,

3150-635: The residence of their lord. The hatamoto samurais, in direct service of the Shogun, would have their own residences, usually located behind the castle on the Western side in the Banchō area. In a strict sense of the word, chōnin were only the townspeople who owned their residence, which was actually a minority. The shonin population mainly lived in semi-collective housings called nagaya ( 長屋 , litt. "Long house") , multi-rooms wooden dwellings, organized in enclosed machi ( 町 , "town" or "village") , with communal facilities, such as wells connected to

3213-484: The same geographical jurisdiction in spite of their name but rotated roles on a monthly basis. Despite their extensive responsibilities, the teams of the Machi-Bugyō were rather small, with 2 offices of 125 people each. The Machi-Bugyō did not have jurisdiction over the samurai residential areas, which remained under the shogunate direct rule. The geographical jurisdiction of the Machi-Bugyō did not exactly coincide with

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3276-608: The samurai class area, organized in a series of gated communities called machi (町, "town" or "village"). This area, Shitamachi (下町, "lower town" or "lower towns"), was the center of urban and merchant culture. Shomin also lived along the main roads leading in and out of the city. The Sumida River, then called the Great River (大川, Ōkawa ), ran on the eastern side of the city. The shogunate's official rice-storage warehouses and other official buildings were located here. The Nihonbashi bridge ( 日本橋 , lit. "bridge of Japan") marked

3339-484: The surname after the given name. Star Wars creator George Lucas has admitted to being inspired significantly by the period works of Akira Kurosawa , and many thematic elements found in Star Wars bear the influence of Chanbara filmmaking. In an interview, Lucas has specifically cited the fact that he became acquainted with the term jidaigeki while in Japan, and it is widely assumed that he took inspiration for

3402-652: The term gaikoku-gakari. These developments preceded the Gaikoku bugyō system which began just prior to the negotiations which resulted in the Harris Treaty . First appointed in August 1858, the gaikoku-bugyō were bakufu officials who were charged with advising the government on foreign affairs and who were tasked with conducting negotiations with foreign diplomats both in Japan and abroad. The post of metsuke was, of course, not immune to corruption, and sometimes

3465-529: The urban planning afterwards to make the city more resilient, with many empty areas to break spreading fires, and wider streets. Reconstruction efforts expanded the city east of the Sumida River, and some daimyō residences were relocated to give more space to the city, especially in the immediate vicinity of the shogun's residence, creating a large green space beside the castle, now the Fukiage gardens of

3528-536: The very beginning of the shogunate daimyōs , later hatamoto ) officials appointed to keep the order in the city, with the word designating both the heading magistrate, the magistrature and its organization. They were in charge of Edo's day-to-day administration, combining the role of police, judge and fire brigade. There were two offices, the South Machi-Bugyō and the North Machi-Bugyō, which had

3591-442: The watch-houses, throughout the metropolis. The jitte was the symbol of the police, from yoriki to shitappiki . A separate police force handled matters involving samurai. The ōmetsuke were high-ranking officials in the shogunate; the metsuke and kachi-metsuke , lower-ranking police who could detain samurai. Yet another police force investigated arson-robberies, while Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples fell under

3654-489: The world, with an estimated population of 1 million by 1721. Edo was repeatedly devastated by fires, the Great Fire of Meireki in 1657 being the most disastrous, with an estimated 100,000 victims and a vast portion of the city completely burnt. The population of Edo was around 300,000, and the impact of the fire was tremendous. The fire destroyed the central keep of Edo Castle, which was never rebuilt, and it influenced

3717-480: Was a bannerman and monitored the Manseki class (daimyo), during his tenure, he was given the rank of manseki-class rokutaka on a par with the daimyo, and was ordained to the official rank of "○○ guard". In the middle of the Edo period, the color of the messenger (the role of conveying the orders of the shogunate to the daimyo of the whole country) and the ceremonial officer in the palace (Edo Castle) became darker than

3780-421: Was any, was on the outskirts of town, more of a pleasure retreat with gardens. The lower residence could also be used as a retreat for the lord if a fire had devastated the city. Some of the powerful daimyōs residences occupied vast grounds of several dozens of hectares. Maintenance and operations of those residential estates could be extremely expensive. Samurai in service of a specific clan would normally live in

3843-469: Was carefully attributed depending on their position as tozama , shinpan or fudai . It was this extensive organization of the city for the samurai class which defined the character of Edo, particularly in contrast to the two major cities of Kyoto and Osaka , neither of which were ruled by a daimyō or had a significant samurai population. Kyoto's character was defined by the Imperial Court,

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3906-536: Was under the responsibility of the rōjū , the senior officials who oversaw the entire bakufu – the government of the Tokugawa shogunate. The administrative definition of Edo was called Gofunai ( 御府内 , litt. "where the government is") . The Kanjō-bugyō (finance commissioners) were responsible for the financial matters of the shogunate, whereas the Jisha-Bugyō handled matters related to shrines and temples. The Machi-bugyō ( 町奉行 ) were samurai (at

3969-504: Was used until the 20th century. The city was laid out as a castle town around Edo Castle, which was positioned at the tip of the Musashino terrace . The area in the immediate proximity of the castle consisted of samurai and daimyō residences, whose families lived in Edo as part of the sankin-kōtai system; the daimyō made journeys in alternating years to Edo and used the residences for their entourages. The location of each residence

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