Tadakuni Mizuno at the end of the three major reforms in Edo [ Tenpo Reforms ] I would like to write about reforms.
A foreign ship that appeared in the waters near Japan, as if the famine of Tenpo, the turbulence of Oshio Heihachiro, and even more chasing. Shogun Iesai in the midst of growing anxiety about the social situation. Died, Tadakuni Mizuno Becomes old.
The politics of the Shogunate is shaken by such a social situation. In addition, the situation was even more unstable due to chronic financial deterioration. So, Rōjū Tadakuni Mizuno Will carry out political reforms with reference to the reforms of Kyoho and Kansei.
The method of returning people
A policy to return migrant workers in Edo to rural areas.
By increasing the population of Edo and increasing the population in rural areas, the aim was to increase the yield of rice and, as a result, raise the annual tribute income of the Shogunate. However, the reason I came to work in Edo was because I didn't have a job in the rural area, and when I forcibly returned home, I couldn't raise the income of rice and it ended in failure.
Dissolution of Kabunakama
Kabunakama Is a group of merchants who have obtained the exclusive right to operate the business with the approval of the Shogunate.
At that time, prices were soaring and the common people were suffering.
Therefore, Tadakuni Mizuno orders the dissolution of Kabunakama, thinking that the monopoly of Kabunakama is the cause of the soaring prices.
I thought that prices would fall by abolishing this system and letting citizens do business freely. However, this policy caused confusion among the citizens of Edo, and prices rose further, contrary to Tadakuni's wishes.
A few years later, Kabunakama was formed again, so this policy can be said to be a failure.
Jochirei
1843 In addition, we will issue a decree called the Upper Knowledge Ordinance.
This causes daimyo and hatamoto around Edo and Osaka to present the land to the shogunate . It is that.
Land richer than the territory of the Shogunate is under the jurisdiction of the Shogunate The aim was to increase tax revenue. However, at first glance, this decree seems to be a one-sided decree of the Shogunate, but the territory held by the daimyo at that time is a situation where there are many excursions and sufficient management and control are not done. The idea was to redistribute as much land as possible in place of the returned land.
At first, some daimyo obeyed the law, hoping that the land would be distributed under conditions that were easy for them to manage. On the other hand, everyone hates to let go of the abundant land, and some daimyo and Hatamoto borrowed money from farmers, so if there was a land relocation, it might not be possible to recover the debt. From the creditor's point of view, I will try to collect it before it is trampled.
However, some daimyo and Hatamoto oppose the decree, saying that such an abomination cannot be exposed in public. The momentum will soon be the end of the opposition even during the old age, and Tadakuni will be repelled from inside and outside.
As mentioned above, although we try various reforms, we end up in failure.
This reform of Tadakuni Mizuno's Tenpo will end in just two years.
The failure of this reform revealed the weakness of the shogunate, which led to the turmoil at the end of the Tokugawa shogunate.