Question

What economic changes occurred in Japan during the Tokugawa Shogunate?

Answer 1

Socially, those who were once in power of Japan lost much of their power as the daimyo and shoguns had to learn to become bureaucrats and scholars, to the dismay of their ancestors. Another problem was that rice, which was used by the daimyo as payment from those they protected and then turned into money, was losing it's value steadily. Merchants, who were once the lowest rung of Japan's social ladder, soon became, rich, prosperous, and most importantly, prominent enough to purchase their way into the upper eschalon of Japan's elite. Though Japan's social order was in line with Confucianism, brought to them by the Chinese, the wealth that was created during the Tokugawa Shogunate era was worthy of enough respect to break even Confucianism, allowing merchants and others with wealth to raise above their ordained social class. It also allowed for those at the top, the daimyo, to fall below their accustomed social place.