A Study of Proceders for Processing Public Opinion in the Edo Bakufu

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This research examined various types of petitions presented by commoners to the Edo Bakuhu and to Han govermments. The petitions were analyzed for information regarding union and disunion between different regions or social groups, and for information concerming how govermments in this period dealt with petitions. The results were as follows.1.Earlier research has emphasised the despotic and secretive nature of govermment in this period, and that commoners were excluded from the political process. Hawever, petitions surviving from throughout japan include criticisms of current policies in their relevant localities and also include calls for changes of these local policies. This reserch established that, by the eary 18th century, govemments had institutionalised procedures for deciding whether to accept these proposals from commoners.2.This reserch aiso established that the seigneurial class began to actively seek proposals for new policese from commoners from around the middle of the 1 … More 8th century. By around this period, the need to expand the reginal economy and to develop its economic independence had become matters of prime importance to seigneurial class, along with the need to develop new sources of seigneurial income. However, this class was limited in its capability to formulate new policies, and therefore it become not at all unusual for the relere to solicit and acutually adopt policies on civil administration in general, and on the exploitation of the economic potential of specific products.3.At the other end of the scale, this research established that commoners aiso actively sought to present policy altemative to thier rulers. The kind of policy presented ranged from proporsals to regenerate either village or regionl society, through to marketing policies presented by merchants seeking to be granted marketing and other commercial privileges. The motives of people presenting these policies were rooted in a background of the disruption of rural society by a cycle of crop failures and famines on the one hand, and radical changes in the market structure in line with the rapid development of the commercial economy.4.This research also established that independently of the activies of certain individuals in presenting policy proposals, the influence exerted by jinshin (public opinion) on politics in this period also incresed markedly in importance. Less