Ukiyo-e’s Darkest Era
Kitagawa Utamaro’s Rise Amid Oppression
Today, ukiyo-e (浮世絵) and kabuki (歌舞伎) are celebrated as traditional Japanese art forms, but did you know there was a time when these cultural expressions faced severe suppression?
Let’s rewind to the late 18th century. Until then, governance under the Tokugawa shogunate had been remarkably stable. However, this prolonged stability led government officials toward indulgent lifestyles, drastically deteriorating the shogunate’s finances. When Tokugawa Ieharu (徳川家治, 1737–1786), the 10th shogun, assumed power (reigning from 1760 to 1786), he sought financial reform, strongly influenced by lessons learned from his extravagant father. An avid shogi (Japanese chess) player, Ieharu applied the game’s strategic principles to vigorously promote commercial policies. Consequently, the merchant (chōnin, 町人) class surged in prominence. Previously, the shogunate had largely prioritized agricultural policy, but Ieharu initiated a significant shift in direction.
To manage these financial reforms, Ieharu appointed Tanuma Okitsugu (田沼意次, 1719–1788), who quickly leveraged the shogun’s patronage to intensify economic policies. Tanuma championed monetary economics, prioritized commerce, encouraged the development of new rice fields and mines, and expanded international trade to import technologies and information, thereby exerting considerable cultural influence. This economic vitality ushered in a golden age for urban merchant culture. Commoners in cities, especially Edo (modern-day Tokyo), enjoyed unprecedented economic prosperity and cultural freedom, giving rise to popular entertainments such as ukiyo-e prints and kabuki theater. Yet, Tanuma had a powerful adversary within the shogunate—Matsudaira Sadanobu (松平定信, 1759–1829), grandson of the eighth shogun Tokugawa Yoshimune and a significant figure in the government.
The rivalry between these two figures intensified. Matsudaira opposed Tanuma’s governance and plotted for years to orchestrate his downfall. Economic liberalization inevitably widened social disparities, and Matsudaira capitalized on public anxieties exacerbated by a series of natural disasters, including famines and the eruption of Mount Asama. He launched a propaganda campaign portraying Tanuma as a corrupt bureaucrat who exacerbated governmental decay through bribery. In 1784, circumstances rapidly deteriorated after Tanuma’s son and closest aide, Tanuma Okitomo (田沼意知), was assassinated inside Edo Castle.