Under the Tokugawa shogunate, Japan experienced rapid economic growth and urbanization, which led to the rise of the merchant class and Ukiyo culture.

The Tokugawa shogunate declined during the Bakumatsu period from 1853 and was overthrown by supporters of the Imperial Court in the Meiji Restoration in 1868.

The Empire of Japan was established under the Meiji government, and Tokugawa loyalists continued to fight in the Boshin War until the defeat of the Republic of Ezo at the Battle of Hakodate in June 1869.

Trade under the reign of Ieyasu saw much new wealth created by mining and goods manufacturing, which resulted in a rural population flow to urban areas.

The reign of Tokugawa Yoshimune (1716–1745) saw poor harvests and a fall in tax revenue in the early 1720s, as a result he pushed for the Kyoho reforms to repair the finances of the bakufu as he believed the military aristocracy was losing its power against the rich merchants and landowners.

[27] Society in the Tokugawa period, unlike in previous shogunates, was supposedly based on the strict class hierarchy originally established by Toyotomi Hideyoshi.

[citation needed] The largely inflexible nature of this social stratification system unleashed disruptive forces over time.

A 2017 study found that peasant rebellions and desertion lowered tax rates and inhibited state growth in the Tokugawa shogunate.

He cut down urban spending, allocated reserves for potential famines, and urged city-dwelling peasants to return to rural areas.

The 1850s saw growing resentment by the tozama daimyōs and anti-Western sentiment following the arrival of a U.S. Navy fleet under the command of Matthew C. Perry (which led to the forced opening of Japan).

Some loyal retainers of the shogun continued to fight during the Boshin War that followed but were eventually defeated in the notable Battle of Toba–Fushimi.

[36] Provinces had a degree of sovereignty and were allowed an independent administration of the han in exchange for loyalty to the shōgun, who was responsible for foreign relations, national security,[36] coinage, weights, measures, and transportation.

[23] The shōgun also administered the most powerful han, the hereditary fief of the House of Tokugawa, which also included many gold and silver mines.

[36] The shōgun did not interfere in a han's governance unless major incompetence (such as large rebellions) was shown, nor were central taxes issued.

In the end, however, it was still the great tozama of Satsuma, Chōshū and Tosa, and to a lesser extent Saga, that brought down the shogunate.

[38] The shogunate secured a nominal grant of administration (体制, taisei) by the Imperial Court in Kyoto to the Tokugawa family.

In 1615, an embassy and trade mission under Hasekura Tsunenaga was sent across the Pacific to Nueva España (New Spain) on the Japanese-built galleon San Juan Bautista.

Until 1635, the Shogun issued numerous permits for the so-called "red seal ships" destined for the Asian trade.

The primary source of the shogunate's income was the tax (around 40%) levied on harvests in the Tokugawa clan's personal domains (tenryō).

including William Adams (samurai) and Jan Joosten van Lodensteijn, which Ieyasu entrusted with foreign affairs and diplomacy.

[29] They supervised the ōmetsuke (who checked on the daimyos), machi-bugyō (commissioners of administrative and judicial functions in major cities, especially Edo), ongoku bugyō [ja] (遠国奉行, the commissioners of other major cities and shogunate domains) and other officials, oversaw relations with the Imperial Court in Kyoto, kuge (members of the nobility), daimyō, Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines, and attended to matters like divisions of fiefs.

Many appointees came from the offices close to the shōgun, such as soba yōnin [ja] (側用人), Kyoto Shoshidai, and Osaka-jō dai.

[29] The office was limited to members of the Ii, Sakai, Doi, and Hotta clans, but Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu was given the status of tairō as well.

The soba yōnin increased in importance during the time of the fifth shōgun Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, when a wakadoshiyori, Inaba Masayasu, assassinated Hotta Masatoshi, the tairō.

As time progressed, the function of the ōmetsuke evolved into one of passing orders from the shogunate to the daimyōs, and of administering to ceremonies within Edo Castle.

The san-bugyō (三奉行 "three administrators") were the jisha, kanjō, and machi-bugyō, which respectively oversaw temples and shrines, accounting, and the cities.

Their roles included mayor, chief of the police (and, later, also of the fire department), and judge in criminal and civil matters not involving samurai.

[46] Three Edo machi bugyō have become famous through jidaigeki (period films): Ōoka Tadasuke and Tōyama Kagemoto (Kinshirō) as heroes, and Torii Yōzō (ja:鳥居耀蔵) as a villain.

In this capacity, they were responsible for administering the tenryō (the shogun's estates), supervising the gundai (郡代), the daikan (代官) and the kura bugyō (蔵奉行), as well as hearing cases involving samurai.

They were charged with overseeing trade and diplomatic relations with foreign countries, and were based in the treaty ports of Nagasaki and Kanagawa (Yokohama).