Original subtitles

[Music]

in the early 17th century the ruler of

japan the shogun was told this story

[Music]

one day the king of the portuguese said

to his council

[Music]

far to the east lies a country called

japan

and it abounds in gold and silver

why should not that land be added to my

domains

the best way to make ourselves masters

of the land is by means of our religion

and then send in the army

the shogun tokugawa ieyasu and his

legions of samurai warriors were

undaunted by stories of foreign invaders

[Music]

he was a strong leader and had brought

peace to the war-torn nation

yet foreign dangers and internal unrest

remained a threat

as japan deferred to the will of the

shogun eyewitnesses wrote of these

remarkable times

these are their memoirs

of japan's secret empire

[Music]

[Applause]

[Music]

after we'd been in japan five or six

days came a portugal jesuit who reported

that we were pirates

we looked always that we should be set

upon crosses

which is the execution of this land

i looked every day to die

rescued from the sea and imprisoned

william adams the first englishman in

japan had good reason for concern

it was the year 1600 and portuguese

catholics had long held a monopoly on

trade in japan

at the time william adams arrived there

had been religious wars in europe

and the catholic missionaries were not

at all happy

when they heard that an englishman and

an english protestant had been washed up

in japan

the most powerful warlord in japan

tokugawa

commanded adams to his castle

[Music]

rather than ordering his execution he

wanted to know more about this

[Music]

stranger the summons was highly unusual

as only the highest ranking officials

were ever received by the great man

himself

[Music]

the ruler demanded of me of what land i

was and what moved us to come to his

land

being so far off

i showed him the name of our country

and that our land desired friendship

it appeared that iayasu was interested

in more than friendship

he asked whether our country has wars

i answered him yay with the spaniards

and portugals

he asked me diverse questions of my

religion and what way we came to the

country

from one thing to another i abode with

him till midnight

as the meeting came to an end adams

dared to make a parting request on

behalf of his dutch employers

i decided that we might have trade with

your country the same as the portugals

and spaniards

[Music]

this was welcome news

iayasu valued trade with the portuguese

and spanish merchants

but was wary of their catholic

missionaries who preached obedience to a

god more powerful than he

to avoid those he considered a threat to

his own authority

i also wanted his own fleet of trading

ships

adams had the skills he needed

[Music]

the english pilot had apprenticed as a

shipwright

[Music]

iayasu asked him to build two ships

capable of navigating the open seas

i answered that i was no carpenter and

had no knowledge thereof

well do your endeavor saith he

if it be not good it is no matter you

can't deny that william adams did have

certain amount of influence

when he was told to build these two

ships they were the first foreign ships

first european ships to be built in

japan

[Music]

they were built with japanese workers of

course under his supervision

[Music]

and then afterwards they sailed to

mexico and they sailed back quite safely

[Music]

ieyasu now had the leverage he desired

when the catholic missionaries continued

to gain converts and create problems

he expelled them

life was complicated enough without

these pesky foreigners uh interfering

and so that probably was the reason why

he did not want christians in japan

ieyasu replaced his catholic interpreter

with william adams who had been quick to

learn japanese

he was protestant of course

he assumed that he had no interest in

helping the missionaries and so he's

rather a valuable man to have around

[Music]

ieyosu still wanted to trade with the

west but on his own terms

adams convinced iayasu that the

protestants did not want to convert his

people

ieyasu soon made him his commercial

agent

and adams negotiated especially

favorable terms for the growing dutch

east india company

the hollanders be now settled

and i have got them trading privileges

as the spaniards in portugal's could

never get in their 50 years in japan

[Music]

adams married and settled down into

japanese life

he adopted japanese dress and was

awarded the right to wear the two swords

of the samurai

and he was given an estate with about 70

or 80 servants which is pretty good far

better than his standard of living in

england would have been of course

and i think towards the end he lost his

desire to go back to england because he

knew he would just be a working-class

man in england where

back in japan he has 80 servants to wait

on hand or foot on him

[Music]

it was possible that adams visited iasu

at his tea house for intimate

conversation away from the politics of

the court

the tea ceremony was much admired by a

western observer

the guests open the gate walk along the

path through the wood up to the tea

house quietly contemplating everything

they see

they remove their fans and daggers and

deposit them in the kind of cupboard

place there outside for that purpose

[Music]

if adams and iyasu had private political

discussions the tea house was also a

retreat where they could replenish their

souls

this gathering for tea and conversation

is not intended for lengthy talk

but rather to contemplate within their

souls with all peace and modesty the

things that they see there

and thus

through their own efforts to understand

the mysteries locked therein

[Music]

unsettling foreign influences could

jeopardize the peace he worked so hard

to forge

[Music]

but the biggest challenge would be to

maintain control of the 260 fiercely

independent warlords and their

formidable samurai armies

[Music]

tokugawa ieyasu became shogun in 1603

and united japan after generations of

civil war

all of the great lords had been fighting

for a century

they were tired of fighting they wanted

to secure their own positions

but as a court chronicler documented the

task ahead would not be easy

although he had conquered the country on

horseback being a man of wisdom he fully

appreciated the impossibility of

governing the country on horseback

he was interested only in discovering

the key to government how to govern

oneself the people and the country

yes

superior as a leader was that he

surrounded himself with capable people

who believed in him

there's a story about a low-ranking

samurai who has to meet with him

yeah who listened attentively after the

man left a higher ranking lord said to

ayasu

what a waste of your time

yeah replied

it took great courage for that man to

approach me if i didn't listen he would

never come again

peace would not be secured by leadership

alone

he also had to curb the power of the

daimyo the feudal lords

these lords are building enormous

territorial

centralized domains

what the feudal lords are trying to do

is essentially control everything and

everybody within

their territories

they control all the fighting men they

control all the peasants they control

all the resources

ieyasu allowed the daimyo to rule their

own domains

but he prohibited them from doing

anything that might enhance their power

or status relative to each other

[Music]

in tokugawa japan a daimyo was

restricted to only one castle

and to enlarge it he had to receive

permission

a new ship ask the shogun

arrange a new alliance through marriage

only if the shogun approved

[Music]

iyasu would maintain the peace through

this ordered control

and it extended through all levels of

society

[Music]

the japan that eeyasu fashioned was

built on the ancient teachings of

confucianism

obey the traditions of hierarchy and

respect authority

a japan in keeping with the samurai

traditions

it was a rigid society with lots of

rules and regulations

everybody must

know their place in society and stick to

it that was a theory didn't always work

out in practice of course but that at

least was the theory

all samurai were members of the elite

class whether he be a daimyo warlord or

a lowly foot soldier

next in line with the farmers

then the artisans

at the very bottom with the tradesmen

considered the parasites of society

the tokugawa shogunate would issue many

rules to control and maintain the rigid

class structure

from what you could eat

to what you must wear

lords and vassals superiors and

inferiors must observe what is proper

within their position in life

without authorization no retainer may

wear fine white damask white wanted silk

garments purple silk kimonos purple silk

linings and kimono sleeves which bear no

family crest

[Music]

the rules and regulations kept everyone

in their place

but for the daimyo at least there were

still ways to earn special privileges

hiey also decreed that the lords must

help build his castle and the

surrounding city of edo

the construction became a grand

competition as each daimyo vied for the

shogun's favor

[Music]

soon they transformed the small castle

and backwater village of edo into a

magnificent domain

[Music]

the city later known as tokyo

[Music]

the streets are far broader

longer and straighter than the streets

of spain

they are kept so clean that you may well

think that nobody ever walks along them

the emerging splendors of edo were

recorded by rodrigo de vivero ivalasco

the governor of the philippines who had

been shipwrecked off the coast of japan

he spent several months in the capital

as a guest of the shogun

what makes this man interesting is that

he wrote a report about japan after he

left japan

and he was a very discerning man he saw

various aspects of japanese life which

other people had not seen

the people live in particular streets

according to their trade and station

one street for example is reserved for

carpenters

in other streets there are cobblers

blacksmiths tailors and traders

the nobles and people of quality live in

the streets and districts quite

different from the rest of the town

and no commoner or person of the lower

classes mixes with them

[Music]

those daimyo who had gained most favor

lived closest to the castle and were

granted more audiences with the great

ruler himself

while vivero ivelasco was in the castle

being received in audience by

iasu

he saw a powerful daimyo come into the

castle to pay homage to iayasu

there entered one of the greatest nobles

of japan

whose rank was evident from the gifts he

brought bars of silver and gold

silk robes

all this was first placed on some tables

but i do not believe the ruler even

looked at it

a hundred paces from the throne the

daimyo prostrated himself bowing his

head so low that it looked as if he

wanted to kiss the ground

nobody said the word to him nor did he

raise his eyes towards the ruler

and then finally somebody

clapped into end of audience not a word

had been said

end of audience and he goes out

backwards on his knees

and rodrigo vivero velasco was very much

impressed by what he had seen

because he realized the power yayasu had

here was a powerful daimyo who had power

of life and death in his own region

but when he comes to pay tribute to the

shogun

what a lonely position he adopts

[Applause]

the great ruler had realized his vision

all of japan was under his control

at 72 he was still remarkably vigorous

then on one of his regular hawking

expeditions he fell seriously ill

[Music]

as he lay dying he planned the details

of his funeral

it would be a simple ceremony his ashes

taken to the top of a mountain

overlooking the land where he so often

went with his hawks

here he felt his spirit could soar over

his beloved land holding the realm

together

had carefully forged his well-ordered

society he would not leave the future of

japan to whim

he called his family to his side

[Music]

he told his children and grandchildren

who were gathered around

because you are my descendants

you will become shogun

as shogun it is important that you rule

the country for the benefit of the

people or you will be punished by heaven

[Music]

you must govern for the good of the

country

this world does not belong to the

and cannot be ruled just to satisfy your

whims

[Music]

among the family members was a young

grandson destined to become shogun

[Music]

the child irmitsu would grow up

determined to carry on in the footsteps

of his famous grandfather

[Music]

iamitsu the third shogun would keep

japan under tokugawa rule

using any means necessary

[Music]

[Music]

the third tokugawa shogun iamitsu

worshiped his late grandfather

[Music]

he had numerous mystical experiences

that whenever he got sick ieyasu would

appear in his dream and he would wake up

feeling better the next morning

so his respect for iayasu transformed

into worship

[Music]

always carried a charm containing a

piece of paper saying

to live according to the way his

grandfather would have lived

but though

tried to emulate his grandfather his

tactics were much more severe

it was reported after he became shogun

yemitsu summoned the daimyo to his

palace

[Music]

the lords waited all day in the cold

without food or shelter

[Music]

they began to fear for their lives

[Music]

until at last they were called into

iumitsu's inner sanctum where he

delivered his ultimatum

i have been in the position of a

superior and the master from my birth

i shall henceforth treat all diamonds as

my subjects

those of you who may disobey me may

quickly return to your provinces repair

your castles and prepare for arms i

shall act accordingly

mitsu is a fascinating shogun he's the

first shogun who doesn't lead troops in

battle

he had not proved himself on the

battlefield he did not have his own men

who came with him into office

when he became shogun

inherited a nation at peace

yet he would rule with an iron hand

he listened to few and spared no one

he would not tolerate competition not

even sibling rivalry

he ordered his younger brother to commit

suicide

[Music]

the tokugawa shogunate under his rule

acts much more capriciously towards

lords that disobey their orders or flout

any of the rules and regulations which

bound them

a european merchant who once tutored

irmitsu observed the shogun's court

no one dares to attempt any opposition

to the will of the shogun

whatever injustice the shogun may commit

or into whatever extravagance of

excesses he may plunge

they praise or approve of all

[Music]

but ruling by fear alone could also

breed revolt

umitsu had to keep the daimyo lord's

allegiance all 260 of them

[Music]

in peacetime there was no common enemy

no spoils of war to reward the daimyo

for their loyalty

iumitsu had to find some other way to

control the daimyo lords

they were commanded to appear at

iamitsu's court in edo

[Music]

and they did not journey alone

as witnessed by a german traveler

[Music]

the bodyguards and bearers put on a

swaggering gate when they pass

[Music]

with every step they kick up their heels

nearly to their backsides and at the

same time thrust the opposite arm

forward

it looks as if they're swimming in the

air

these elaborate processions often

numbered in the thousands

they were part of a system known as

alternate attendance

the alternate attendance system had been

evolving over the decades of tokugawa

rule

and primarily what it meant is that

great lords had to spend part of the

year in edo and part of the year back in

their domains

they had to travel back and forth

according to strictly set schedules

while their wives and children had to

spend all their time in edo

this was the single greatest

administrative control

on the outer lords during the tokugawa

show

[Music]

alternate attendance had another

advantage for the shogun it kept the

daimyo lords financially powerless

it was reported that a daimyo could

spend more than three quarters of his

income maintaining the processions and

supporting his army of samurai once they

reached edo

what this also does by the way is cause

edo to explode in size

and in fact there grows up in edo a

class of samurai who only know edo even

though their domain may be in the

farthest reach of japan they're born in

edo they work in edo and they only know

edo

for the samurai warrior life in

peacetime edo was the catalyst that

changed the very nature of their

existence

prohibited from bringing their wives and

families the samurai lived a bachelor's

life

they were paid a small stipend to

perform their official duties such as

they were

they would get up in the morning and

have their hair dressed by a fellow

samurai

then they would go to work on the

grounds of the lord's estate

this they would do once every four or

five days

these samurai would work only in the

morning and then go home for lunch

at around two o'clock in the afternoon

they would go out on the town

[Music]

it was a life that the once proud

warrior could never have imagined

edo was becoming a city of samurai whose

job description was rapidly changing

from soldier to bureaucrat

the life of a samurai

they aren't allowed to work

they're given enough money to live on

and mostly what they do is they spend

every day at the house of a friend

drinking and talking and studying and

doing tea

and reading books of old war tales and

imagining what it would have been like

to live in the 1500s

life in 17th century japan did not

include the hazards of war

yet peace brought its own perils

rules and regulations were strict

and the penalties could be severe for

any who dared disobey

[Music]

fluttering out papers the spring winds

blow

when through the open barriers

how gratefully we go

[Music]

five government highways led to the

shogun's capital of edo

all with inspection barriers to enforce

irmitsu's laws

the shogun had improved the road so his

messengers could quickly reach any part

of japan

these roads also made it easier for the

daimyo and their samurai warriors to

travel to edo

[Music]

but for most japanese travel was an

arduous process

[Music]

a multitude of rules and regulations

monitored who came in and who went out

of the city of edo

[Music]

almost everyone needed a passport

the few exceptions included itinerant

performers who proved their identity by

showing off their talent

or sumo wrestlers whose girth was ample

proof of their profession

[Music]

farmers were routinely denied permission

to travel from village to village

the government preferred to keep them

working in the fields

[Music]

those without the proper papers often

tried to avoid the inspection posts by

slipping by on side roads

[Music]

if caught there were severe penalties

a traditional japanese style punishment

meant crucifixion for a man

for a woman enslavement or enforced

servitude

[Music]

with so many laws and restrictions one

never knew when the shogun's edicts

might actually be enforced

sort of like a theater of punishment to

try to scare people into behaving

some

ruler might decide that morals are going

to hell in a hand basket and suddenly

grab one person and punish them severely

[Music]

despite the uncertainty against all odds

travel grew in popularity

now that the roads were safer more and

more japanese began to journey from

village to village

[Music]

the most traveled road was the takaido

which ran for 300 miles from kyoto to

edo

53 rest stops dotted the highway

and so these post towns along the five

great roads of japan grew up to be very

substantial towns themselves

they had inns they had brothels they had

restaurants they had places that sold

medicine

there essentially grew up a post-town

culture

people in the tokugawa period they were

driven by a curiosity

people were beginning to think about

japan

as a nation

[Music]

diaries became best sellers

[Music]

was a young samurai woman writer who

kept a diary as she traveled the tokaido

road

a mountain range rises above the clouds

and splashing water gases over the rocks

making an ear splitting noise

[Music]

on the way up we feel that we are being

knocked down backwards

and on the way down we feel that we are

slipping all the way

thus we are often fearful

[Music]

inns along the way offered welcome

respite to travelers like tsujo

she was on her way to edo to serve in

the residence of a high-ranking samurai

[Music]

although tsujo traveled on official

business accompanied by her brother she

still encountered disturbing

difficulties

[Music]

all travelers faced strict regulations

but women had an especially hard time

it was very difficult for women to

travel in the 17th century

firstly because they had to get the

permission of the household who usually

thought they would be better cleaning

and cooking

and women's travel permits were much

more elaborate

[Music]

many checkpoints wouldn't permit women

to pass because women had to have a

thorough inspection their body searched

and many checkpoints didn't have female

officers to conduct red body search

officials were always on the lookout for

women who disguise themselves as boys

[Music]

when suzhou arrived at the barrier

station she was ordered to appear before

an older woman guard

[Music]

a rough looking woman examined me

ran her hand through my hair and said

something with a heavy accent

it was very unpleasant but i had no

choice

i was afraid of what she might do

at another post she experienced

difficulties due to the wording of her

permit

when i presented my official document at

the barrier

they refused my passage

because in the permit i was only

identified as a woman

rather than a young woman with long open

sleeves

[Music]

i had to go back to the

[Music]

inn i was heartbroken

tsujo worried if she would be allowed to

continue her journey

[Music]

it was a sleepless night as she wrote in

her diary

my tears darken the light of a candle

how restless i feel

everything is depressing beyond

description

in the dawn around four o'clock

i heard travelers gathering around and

calling each other

a horse naying and the sounds of

stirrups

i feel envious

i have spent days and nights rooting

over the obstacles facing women

[Music]

tujo's plight was not uncommon

under iumitsu's reign anybody who did

not follow his rules could be punished

but there was one group persecuted

simply because of their beliefs

the christians

[Music]

[Music]

the shogun irmitsu offered rewards for

the arrest of any japanese who preached

or practiced the christian faith

[Music]

any informer revealing the whereabouts

of the followers of priests must be

rewarded accordingly

if anyone reveals the whereabouts of a

high-ranking priest he must be given 100

pieces of silver

[Music]

one has to bear in mind in this period

of japanese history that there was

repression

and that the tokugawa authorities

the shogun wanted to keep japanese

society as it was

and that did lead some people to believe

that christianity was subversive and was

upsetting the social framework the

social pattern of japan

by iamitsu's time all foreign

missionaries had been deported

but the converts they left behind the

japanese christians remained devout

[Music]

for many of the japanese christians the

faith ran very very deep indeed

especially in those areas where

christianity had really set down roots

for three or four generations

the shogun is a great enemy to the name

of christians

[Music]

a european merchant observed the growing

persecutions

[Music]

i saw 55 martyred

because they would not forsake their

christian faith

and amongst them they were little

children of five or six years old

burned in their mother's arms

crying out

jesus received their souls

[Music]

i would say the third shogun

i think became

morbidly pathological

pathologically

fearful of christianity

they thought that this was a threat to

our power

they put out all the plugs so to speak

to eradicate christianity christianity

was said to be evil a wicked religion

subversive religion

and so that is why they took such

extreme steps to eliminate the religion

despite the persecutions christianity

had struck a chord amongst many

disaffected japanese

they grew defiant even willing to be

martyred for their beliefs

i am a japanese and jesuit brother

i have not committed any crime

but die only for having preached the

religion of our lord jesus christ

i greatly rejoice to die for this cause

for me this is a great blessing

i guarantee and affirm that there is no

other way to salvation except by the

christian past

[Music]

[Music]

foreign

[Music]

was increasingly disturbed by the

christian situation

especially in the south where a large

number lived

[Music]

even worse many of the christians were

former samurai now forced to work as

laborers or farmers

but they were samurai in their hearts

and well-versed in the use of weapons

[Music]

this was unacceptable

[Music]

the shogun's iron hand extended to every

detail of a peasant's life

[Music]

farmers must work in the fields from

dawn to dusk

wives and daughters must make meals

three times a day put on red headbands

and take the meals to the fields

once men are home after dusk

sisters in law and female cousins must

put the chap feet of the man on the

stomach of his wife and massage them

[Music]

if the shogun's intolerable edicts

weren't bad enough the farmers were also

heavily taxed

there were taxes on windows and shelves

a head tax on each newborn child and a

whole tax to bury the dead

[Music]

the farmers were taxed in rice the

currency of the day

[Music]

ironically farmers were not allowed to

eat the rice they grew

[Music]

these taxes were collected by the daimyo

to finance their elaborate processions

to edo

[Music]

and to pay the stipends which supported

the samurai class

[Music]

the farmers were in dire straits

as a japanese writer lamented

[Music]

year by year the farmers grew more

exhausted

how could they sustain life itself under

those circumstances

[Music]

in the shimabara peninsula in the far

south of japan

drought and famine further depleted the

meager harvest

[Music]

those who could not pay the taxes were

punished severely

in mid december 1637 a single event

ignited the long smoldering fuse

[Music]

the young daughter of a farmer who owed

taxes was seized and tortured

[Music]

furious with grief the father and his

friends killed the local governor and

the whole village samurai peasants and

christians rose in revolt

soon the whole area was in the hands of

the rebels nearly 40 000

so what began as a social upheaval a

social revolt against the tremendously

harsh

taxation against the peasants leaving

the peasants almost starving what began

as that

somehow developed into a christian

rebellion

a european merchant reported on the

rebellion

a few days after the outbreak the

christians joined the farmers they cry

out throughout the whole country that

the time had now come to revenge the

innocent blood of so many christians and

priests and that they are prepared to

die for their faith

the rebels swarmed into an abandoned

castle surrounded on three sides by the

sea

feeling protected they brought in their

wives and children and barricaded

themselves inside

[Music]

this was very upsetting the peasants

were the lowest of the low the poor

people they had no right to rebel they

had and not only have they rebelled and

revolted but they were doing darned well

militarily

and so no wonder the shogun was worried

about this because this might set an

example to other parts of the country

that had become unsatisfied with the

crushing taxes which the peasants were

paying

the shogun didn't tolerate dissidents

especially any who looked to jesus for

help

he sent his troops to shimabara to quell

the rebellion

but for four bloody months even as food

ran out the rebels managed to hold off

the government attacks

[Music]

the shogun was so incensed at the

continuing rebellion that he asked the

dutch to send a ship with cannons

against the besieged castle

[Music]

the dutch were reluctant to take part in

this campaign but nevertheless they

desperately wanted to hold on to this

toe hole which they had

in trade with japan

and so if they didn't obey the order of

the shogun

he might well say well okay you can pack

up and go home

the shogun ordered the castle set ablaze

still the rebels fought back

but in the end their fate was sealed

[Applause]

and the castle fell finally through

starvation

and then followed a dreadful slaughter

[Music]

and that was the last

battle really in japanese history

the shimabara rebellion was the excuse

the shogun needed to finally eradicate

christianity from japan

the shogun decided draconian measures

we will cut off japan from all christian

influence now how can you do that

we will isolate japan

these foreigners of course so much

trouble i suppose he was thinking they

are on

unnecessary complication to our life

so why not try to preserve japanese

society

as is now we don't want changes

the third shogun issued laws restricting

travel outside of the country

on penalty of death no japanese could

leave japan

and those who were already abroad could

not return

to ensure his edicts were obeyed he

destroyed all ships of sea-going

capacity

then he forbade the entry of any ship of

european origin

only the dutch were allowed to stay and

trade but with severe restrictions

the maritime restrictions are designed

to prevent any unauthorized contact with

the outside world they're designed to

control trade and they're designed to

prevent um

christian missionaries from reaching

japan and being able to proselytize and

and they form the bedrock of tokugawa

foreign policy for the life of the

shogunate

which is sometimes called the beginning

of the isolation of japan

[Music]

two years later in defiance of the

shogun's ban an official portuguese

trade delegation arrived in japan

[Music]

the shogun showed no mercy and ordered

the execution of 57 of those aboard

ambassadors and their crew

he ordered the ship burned

the few survivors were sent back with

this warning

a similar penalty will be suffered by

all who come to these shores from

portugal whether they be ambassadors or

sailors whether they come by error or

driven by storm

even more if the king of portugal or

even the god of the christians were to

come

they would all pay the very same penalty

[Music]

the doors of japan clanged shut

and were not opened again to the west

for 200 years

the will of the shogun had prevailed

but many wondered how this isolated

empire would survive

in a rapidly changing world

[Music]

you