The Tokugawa Stagnation Myth: An Economic and Cultural Analysis of Edo Period Japan Andrew Dunlop ダンロップ庵堵龍 Popular books that provide broad overviews of Japanese history tend to oversimplify events and as a result twist historical facts, memorialising them as myths. The most common of these myths is the notion that the Tokugawa period was a period of stagnation. Lonely Planet’s guide to Japan describes the Tokugawa period as a period of strict isolation devoid of outside contact. 1 Similarly, Japanologist Alex Kerr writes that Tokugawa Japan was a “… poor and weak nation in a world where many ancient kingdoms were rapidly being swallowed up by European colonial powers.” 2 Both depictions paint a bleak picture of Tokugawa Japan. Because bleak depictions are the easiest to access for non-academics, it skews the public perception of reality. It has been skewed so far that Tokugawa Tsunenari, one of the direct decedents of the Tokugawa shōguns, commented that someone once asked him if he decided to work on a boat to atone for the sins of his ancestors whom ‘closed the country’ forcing it into a state of technological backwardness. 3 Although this is the common view, this perception is far from reality. Conversely, Tokugawa Japan was an era of immense economic and cultural development. There was an agricultural boom that stimulated the economy and rich international trade that facilitated a development of scientific and artistic practices. This essay will elaborate on these points and debunk the myth of Tokugawa stagnation. The most important development in the Tokugawa period was that of new agricultural technologies and skills which facilitated greater crop yields in turn stimulating the economy. 1 Chris Rowthorn et al., Lonely Planet: Japan (Fort Mill: Lonely Planet Publications, 2007), 42. 2 Alex Kerr, Dogs and Demons: The Fall of Modern Japan (London: Penguin Books, 2001): 51-2 3 Tsunenari Tokugawa, The Edo Inheritance, trans. Iehiro Tokugawa (Tokyo: International House of Japan, 2009), 11-12. 1