"Oda Nobunga (1534-1582) and Toyomoto Hideyoshi (1537- 1598) brought their opponents to knees. The process reached its climax in 1590, when Hideyoshi carried his banners into eastern Japan. Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543-1616) rose to power in this vortex of civil war, and succeed Hideyoshi as leader of the country's military estate. " With Ieyasu in control of the country he wanted to establish a controlling government body that would keep his family in power for many centuries to

come. "With the implementation of Tokugawa political rule, this sleepy, historic area was destined to become the capital of all of Japan. By the start of the century, roughly one century after the establishment of Tokugawa bakufu, the city of Edo already boasted a population of around one million in habitants." With the government in the hands of Ieyasu it was clear that he wanted to create a new system of government that would separate the imperial nobles from the military nobles. "decreed in Article 7 of the "Rules for the Palace and Court" that "court ranks and offices of members o0f the military are to be treated separately from those held by court nobility." The imperial court that Ieyasu created which featured the emperor had no real power over the country while the members of the military court, led by Ieyasu controlled the country. The two main members of the military court were made up of the shogun, and the daimyo. The shoguns basic responsibilities to the military court was to supervise the court, while daimyo discussed issues, ensure domestic peace among the clans, and protect Japan from hostile outside threats. The daimyo were nobles/lords that that represented various clans and controlled parts of Japan through their regiment of samurai. Each daimyo could control there own section as they saw fit as long as it was is accordance to the regulations handed down by the shogun.

Even though this was a major break through in terms of equality among people the same customs and community hierarchy as in the imperial era stayed mostly the same. "Each rank of the feudal hierarchy was allotted clearly defined limits above or below which it was impermissible to pass. The principle of "knowing one's place" was of paramount importance: it was the iron law of feudal ethics. Today, "knowing one's place " generally implies not rising above what is deemed appropriate. But during the Edo period, falling below one's station was also prohibited. This ethic and the social order that supported it were firmly established during the century that followed the founding of Edo."8 The definite social structure of the Edo period was similar to what was found in the imperial periods. The whole concept of "knowing one's place" in society was followed closely and strictly by the governing bodies. A perfect example of is the instance of the ranking of the daimyo. "Principles of warrior rule governed the rank or status of individuals and families in the feudal hierarchy. Rules were drawn up stipulating the forms a daimyo was required to follow. Social rank determined the shape and size of the daimyo's Edo residence, the scale of his processions, and the kind of vehicles, furnishings, and clothing he was allowed to use. Distinctions of feudal rank were displayed to be immediately visible. These included the colours and designs of cl

Some common words found in the essay are:
Edo Commoners, Palace Court, Emperor Court, Pax Tokugawa, France Japan, Tokugawa Ieyasu, Seii-Taishogun1 Due, , Toyomoto Hideyoshi, shogun era, Chinese Dutch, imperial court, knowing one's, peace japan, shogun government, military court, decades seventeenth century, court daimyo, edo period, pax tokugawa, real power country, distinct social, edo day tokyo, increased wealth influence, wealth influence warrior,
Approximate Word count = 1912
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)