Changes

===Edo in the Tokugawa era (1603-1867) ===

===Edo in the Tokugawa era (1603-1867) ===

The [[Tokugawa]] political system rested on both feudal and bureaucratic controls, so that Tokyo lacked a unitary administration. The typical urban social order was composed of warriors, peasants, artisans, and businessmen, the latter two classes organized in officially sanctioned guilds whose number increased with trade and population growth. Because businessmen were excluded from government office, they nurtured a culture of entertainment, making Edo a cultural as well as a political and economic center.  Edo was the world's largest city in the 18th century,{{fact}} with a population estimated between 1 and 1.25 million in 1800<ref>[http://www.energybulletin.net/node/5140 Japan's sustainable society in the Edo period (1603-1867)] Japan For Sustainability Newsletter, March 30, 2003</ref>. Edo was a significant force in generating social change and economic growth in Japan during the final two centuries of Tokugawa rule. The city's demand for human and material resources resulted in an appreciable migration of people within Japan, the creation of new markets and marketing patterns, and generated improved standards of performance and new tastes for living better.<ref> Gilbert Rozman, "Edo's Importance in the Changing Tokugawa Society." ''Journal of Japanese Studies'' 1974 1(1): 91-112. </ref>

The [[Tokugawa]] political system rested on both feudal and bureaucratic controls, so that Tokyo lacked a unitary administration. The typical urban social order was composed of warriors, peasants, artisans, and businessmen, the latter two classes organized in officially sanctioned guilds whose number increased with trade and population growth. Because businessmen were excluded from government office, they nurtured a culture of entertainment, making Edo a cultural as well as a political and economic center.  Edo was one of the world's 10 largest cities in 1800, with a population estimated between 685,000<ref> [http://geography.about.com/library/weekly/aa011201e.htm Top 10 Cities of the Year 1800]</ref> and 1.25 million in 1800<ref>[http://www.energybulletin.net/node/5140 Japan's sustainable society in the Edo period (1603-1867)] Japan For Sustainability Newsletter, March 30, 2003</ref>. Edo was a significant force in generating social change and economic growth in Japan during the final two centuries of Tokugawa rule. The city's demand for human and material resources resulted in an appreciable migration of people within Japan, the creation of new markets and marketing patterns, and generated improved standards of performance and new tastes for living better.<ref> Gilbert Rozman, "Edo's Importance in the Changing Tokugawa Society." ''Journal of Japanese Studies'' 1974 1(1): 91-112. </ref>

The city had two type of land ownership bukechi and chochi. Bukechi was used exclusively by members of the samurai class for residential purposes. There was no system of private landownership, no sales or purchases, and therefore no recognized land value. Chochi, on the other hand, was used by ordinary townspeople, both merchants and craftsmen, for both residential and commercial purposes. Private landownership was recognized and chochi land had agreed values. In the 1870s the Meiji reformers put bukechi land under the same rules as chochi land, thereby sweeping all remnants of feudal class divisions.

The city had two type of land ownership bukechi and chochi. Bukechi was used exclusively by members of the samurai class for residential purposes. There was no system of private landownership, no sales or purchases, and therefore no recognized land value. Chochi, on the other hand, was used by ordinary townspeople, both merchants and craftsmen, for both residential and commercial purposes. Private landownership was recognized and chochi land had agreed values. In the 1870s the Meiji reformers put bukechi land under the same rules as chochi land, thereby sweeping all remnants of feudal class divisions.