Chapter 66: The Kanei Reforms
In September 1639, Oda Nobutomo summoned the various daimyo lords and their representatives to Azuchi Castle in an unprecedented grand meeting. In this moment, the chancellor of the realm would lay down governmental edicts that would forever change the nature of the Japanese state. Although the Furuwatari War was partially triggered by the economic and political burdens of the Iberian-Japanese War many had endured as well as the last vestiges of a bygone political usurpation, its roots lay in the flawed structure of the Oda administration. While for the 4th generation, the Oda lords had imposed their will upon the rising sun through the authority of the highest imperial position, much of the political institutions and bureaucracy of the Azuchi daijo-fu lay outside the imperial sphere and instead were elaborations of samurai and feudal-based systems and hierarchies molded into one central government. Although perfectly held together at first glance, changing circumstances exposed its weaknesses and inflexibility, including the structural favoritism and overrepresentation of fudai, or hereditary vassals, in central politics. The Kamakura-fu led by the Kamakura Tandais was perhaps the biggest aberration, ultimately proving to be Oda Nobunaga’s band-aid of convenience rather than a long-term solution. Realizing all this, Nobutomo strived to change this.
In advance of his many edicts, the daijo-daijin would sort out the rule within his own house. Nobutomo established that only those from a male line traced back to his grandfather Oda Nobutada could succeed as head of the Oda clan and inherit the positions of daijo-daijin, additionally excluding those becoming part of lines of nobility. This established the order of succession as follows:
-Oda Nobutsugu (織田信嗣, b.1622), heir-apparent and lord of Gifu Castle
-Kanbe Tomoyoshi (神戸朝吉, b. 1605), governor of Luson province
-Kanbe Toomaru (神戸遠丸, b. 1635)
-Oda Tomoaki (織田朝昭, b. 1608)
-Oda Yukimatsu (織田幸松, b. 1640)
Additionally, Nobutomo would decree that only those in the line of succession could use the surname “Oda”, which led to the change of names by multiple cadet branches of the greater Oda clan. The changes were as follows:
-Line of Oda Nobukane - Kudō clan (工藤氏)
-Line of Oda Nagamasu - Urakusai clan (有楽斎氏) [1]
-Line of Oda Nagatoshi- Musashino clan (武蔵野氏)
-Line of Oda Nobuhide the Younger- Wakamatsu clan (若松氏)
-Line of Oda Nobutaka- Tarui clan (垂井氏) [2]
When the day of the great meeting finally came, Nobutomo decreed a series of reforms with the goal of strengthening the central government in Azuchi and rectifying the flaws of the status quo. He first formally abolished the distinction between fudai and tozama vassals, placing all daimyo and minor lords on the same level on paper and allowing tozama samurai to potentially be appointed to administrative positions in the Azuchi daijo-fu. In return, a system of long-term taxation would be imposed upon all daimyo, albeit at low rates. Granted, it came with the promise of direct investment of Azuchi revenue back into their lands but the daimyos’ autonomy would nevertheless be reduced in favor of greater centralization. Finally, to quell dissent among unhappy samurai, he would establish a grand council of all the daimyo and lords as well as the court nobility called the Shinka-in (臣下院), of which he was the head of as the daijo-daijin. Its role was to be summoned by the daijo-daijin, imperial regent, or the emperor whenever a great matter of state necessitated broad opinion to be resolved with the body making the decisions. The stated goal was to give all samurai and nobility a greater say in the biggest political matters, although in practice it would often be used as a rubber stamp or method of coercion for decades to come since its activation was completely up to the discretion of the Oda clan. Nevertheless, it represented Japan’s first broad legislative body even if it really lacked de facto power and its existence would prove significant down the line.
Nobutomo also issued reforms to the military organization of the realm. Nobutomo would revive the various shogunal positions and establish the positions of Kyushu Tandai (九州探題) and Shikoku Tandai (四国探題) in order to centralize the mobilization and organization of the realm’s military. Above the new Tandai positions was the Seisei-shogun (征西将軍), or the western Shogun. The Seitou-shogun (征東将軍), or eastern shogun, was in charge of the Kanto and Chubu regions while the Chinjufu-shogun (鎮守府将軍) was in charge of the Oshu region and Ezo. Finally, at the very top was the position of Seii-tai-shogun (征夷大将軍), a position Oda Nobutomo himself would assume as the commander-in-chief of all of Japan. The new military hierarchy enabled Japan to mobilize for wars and respond to rebellions more quickly rather than always waiting for the daijo-daijin to appoint someone to gather the armies of various lords. Over time, this hierarchy would be utilized to facilitate the development of Japan’s first professional standing armies. From the outset of the reforms, Nobutomo would even establish a 1,000 strong elite cavalry unit called the Konoe cavalry (近衛騎馬隊), named after his late brother and composed of young nobles and retainers. The first appointees to the new military positions were the following:
Chinjufu shogun: Date Norimune (伊達則宗)
Eastern shogun: Tokugawa Tadayoshi (徳川忠康)
Western shogun: Kitabatake Takanaga (北畠高長)
Shikoku Tandai: Miyoshi Yasukata (三好康賢)
Kyushu Tandai: Shimazu Norihisa (島津則久)
He would also formally elevate the admiralty of the Azuchi Navy to a courtly title to be known as “Seisui-shogun” (征水将軍) rather than a magistracy, with naval magistrate Wakizaka Yasumoto becoming its first titleholder. This merely strengthened the status of an already well-organized central Japanese navy and gave it greater authority and precedence over other daimyo navies.
Portrait of Wakizaka Yasumoto
With regards to Japanese territories outside of the home islands, Nobutomo would incorporate Bireitō’s samurai into his reforms, with Zheng Zhilong becoming a member of the Shinka-in himself. However, the province of Luson would be excluded and be designated as a militarized frontier region too important to loosen central authority over in any shape or form. Additionally, the aboriginal tribes in Bireitō were largely left out of these reforms as well, even as much of their elite increasingly intermarried with the Japanese and became more culturally Japanese. This would plant the seeds of tension and feelings of sentiment from the aboriginal elite towards the non-native Japanese on the island.
The announcements of these political edicts came with some protest from among the minor fudai retainers of the Oda clan who made up the majority of the Azuchi bureaucracy and quiet whispers of concern from among some of the tozama daimyo clans over the autonomy from the central government they so cherished. Nevertheless, Nobutomo’s mandate of authority from the recent victory in the Furuwatari War, sheer will, and the delicate balance of interests established by the reforms ensured that these reforms would not be seriously challenged. To some extent, this was because formerly fudai-designated retainers continued to wield disproportionate influence through the bureaucracy and some favoritism towards them would linger on. Nobutomo, however, would begin to incorporate the court nobility to a greater degree in his government, increasing their numbers in the Sangi-shu. Over the next few years, he would also recognize various urban councils of merchants and craftsmen in the cities and towns Azuchi governed in an effort to incorporate them in the governance of the realm and secure their goodwill as supporters of the government. His efforts to solidify his authority would even extend to the imperial court itself, when in 1641 he forced Emperor Go-Mizunoo to retire and arranged the accession of his tenth son, Prince Teruhito (照仁親王), Nobutomo’s nephew via his sister Takahime , as Emperor Tensho (天正天皇). Through the new 16 year old emperor, the daijo-daijin would control all court affairs.
Portrait of Emperor Tensho
These edicts and reforms would come to be collectively known as the Kanei Reforms (寛永の改革) and would progress the Azuchi daijo-fu to an unprecedented stage of political centralization and integration of samurai affairs with the imperial court. They would prove to be so influential and significant that the modern political structure of Japan can be traced back to the norms and institutions set by Nobutomo in the early 1640s. The Kanei Reforms would also prove to be essential for Japan to recover from the financial and human costs of war that had been increasing over the past decade, a recovery that the daijo-daijin would focus on for the rest of the decade.
[1]: Named after Oda Nagamasu's Buddhist/tea master name.
[2]: Named after Tarui district in Gifu province that Oda Nobutaka was formerly granted.
