On the mechanism of two governments coexisting in parallel in the history of Vietnam and Japan

I. Not only Vietnam and Japan, in world history, the mechanism of two governments coexisting (also known asbiceps) also appeared and appeared very early.It is known that in ancient Greek history, the Spartan state (9th - 6th century BC) was governed by two kings. Nominally, the two kings had equal power, being the head of state, military leader, religious authority and also the ones who had the right to decide on the judiciary. The existence of the two kings as members of theCouncil of Elders, the highest authority, are vivid manifestations of the "democratic nature" of the aristocratic republic type of state.⁽¹⁾. This state still retains in its political institutions the ancient marks of the communal society - city-state. In the East, in certain historical periods, there have also appeared a number of state models in which two or more people hold power at the same time. For Vietnamese history, the uprising of the Trung Sisters in the early 40s can be considered a typical case. The uprising of the Trung Sisters was supported by mandarins, tutors and a large number of people (including many women and female generals). Ancient history records that the power of the Trung Sisters was very great. "Trung Trac and Trung Nhi were women, they shouted and the districts of Cuu Chan, Nhat Nam, Hop Pho and 56 cities in Linh Ngoai all responded, establishing the country and proclaiming themselves kings was as easy as turning one's hand."⁽²⁾Although the government of Trung Trac and Trung Nhi only existed for a short time, it laid the foundation for a tradition of indomitability and resilience, aabilityandpowerof Vietnamese women. We can choose to find some other examples in the long history of states both in the East and the West about the presence of the two-power mechanism. In fact, the variations of this political mechanism are very diverse and complex. Some authors also believe that the retired emperor regime that existed in the history of Vietnam and many other Asian nations is also a type of dualistic character of the two-headed institution.⁽³⁾. In my opinion, that is justa guardianship mechanismof the king (father) to the king (son), of an experienced person to a person with little or no experience in handling complex political issues in the court, in order to firmly ensure hereditary rights. It is worth noting that, while the state models of the "bipolar regime" seem to have manifestationsAlthough they are relatively similar in form, they are very different in time and conditions of appearance; in nature, function, operating mechanism and especially the historical and social consequences that each institution brings.. In the feudal period, in the history of Vietnam and Japan, such models of government also appeared. In Vietnam, in their articles, some authors have made connections with the political institutions of feudal Japan. However, the issues raised are often presented as historical postulates without specific explanations and analysis. From the collected opinions, we can divide them into three different groups of views: First, some authors believe thatbipolar political systemwhich people commonly call "biceps" of the Imperial Court and the Shogunate in Japan is similar to the Le-Trinh King-Lord regime in Vietnam. Second, the Le-Trinh regime and the Emperor-Shogun regime are completely different from each other. And, third: the simultaneous existence of two such governments in the same state is nothing more than a typical manifestation of the decentralized feudal regime... In my opinion, the political mechanism of the type "dual government" or "dual leadership"In Vietnam and Japan, political and economic power is always in the hands of the military, while the court, the large number of aristocratic mandarins and its bureaucratic administrative apparatus are formal, nominal and only play a certain role in some symbolic and ceremonial activities. 2. In the second model, although power is concentrated in the hands of military generals, in many aspects, the two feudal forces still have the same goals and class interests. Both have to rely on each other, share political and economic privileges and so on, in reality thatis a communist regime. From the attempt to outline the mechanism of those two state models, we must also note that, in the history of Vietnam and many Eastern nations, due to the need for irrigation and fighting against foreign invaders, states appeared early. That is the Asian type of state. In that type of state, especially for countries influenced by Chinese civilization,The centralized monarchical political tradition always plays a leading role.. The power of the head of state has a supreme position, governing all activities in the political and social life of each country. Obviously, it is time to focus on studying more deeply the specific history of each nation so that on that basis, with a comparative view through a system of standard criteria, we can draw accurate and convincing conclusions about the process and nature of development as well as the similarities and differences in the history - politics of the countries and the entire region. With that perspective, this article will try to present some initial thoughts on the causes, operations and main social consequences of the two-government mechanism that existed in the history of Vietnam and Japan. As a product of history, after its birth, that mechanism has had an impact on the development process of each nation. From a perspective of Vietnamese history and also because of the corresponding existence of the two institutions, the article will only focus on the 16th - 18th century period in the history of the two countries. II. In terms of time, in the feudal period, the political mechanism consisting of two governments in Japanese history appeared earlier than the Le - Trinh regime in Vietnam by about 4 centuries. And that mechanism also existed longer, from 1185 (or 1192) until the last shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate, Keiki (1866-1868), had to declare the return of all political power and land to Emperor Meiji. That is, in Japan, the shogunate existed with the imperial court almost continuously for 683 years, while the Le - Trinh regime in Vietnam "only" maintained its power for 241 years. This period is calculated from when Trinh Kiem (1545 - 1569) replaced Nguyen Kim (1533 - 1545) in taking military power in 1545 until the Trinh dynasty was destroyed by Tay Son in 1786. Thus, compared to the time of the Le - Trinh regime, the existence of the systemTenno-Shogunin Japan lasted nearly three times longer. Internationally, the 16th - 17th centuries were the period of formation and development of capitalism. The emergence of Western capitalist countries with their expansionist policies was a serious challenge to the survival of many Eastern feudal countries. In the conditions that Vietnam and Japan always had to face complicated domestic and foreign issues,presence of mechanism“dual leadership”At the same time, it is a process of testing the strength, effectiveness and adaptability to the specific conditions of each country's politics.. The existence of that unique political mechanism, both in Vietnam and Japan, has historical roots, a development logic and obviously cannot avoid its fundamental limitations. Since the 10th century, due to the weakening of the central government, the management of localities has increasingly been concentrated in the hands of powerful military leaders and aristocrats. From establishing separate armed groups, to protect themselves and encroach on land, many leaders have tried to build their own military forces. By the 11th century, the samurai groups (bushi dan) appeared one after another and the warriors soonbecome the center of society. The military not only holds military power but also has a strong influence on local political and economic issues. Along with social changes,samuraiincreasingly regarded as a class with a strong will, a standard of morality, discipline and utmost loyalty. From the localities, the power of the samurai groups gradually gained prestige over the central government. The presence of the samurai class in Japanese politics was the result of a long development process over many centuries. Under the name of protecting the interests of the court nobles, some samurai groups directly threatened the existence of the royal family. In order to prevent the risk of usurpation of power by powerful samurai groups, the court had to rely on the support of trusted samurai groups. As a result, the dependence of the central government on the samurai force became increasingly deep. Actual power in Japan gradually fell into the hands of the samurai generals (Bushi no Toryo). By the end of the 12th century, after destroying the Taira warlords, Minamoto Yoritomo (1147 - 1199) moved his troops to Kamakura, a small coastal city in the eastern Kanto plain, to establish an independent government. Minamoto's victory over the Taira in the Gempei War (1180 - 1185) "created broad possibilities for establishing a new position in the country's leadership belonging to the samurai class, thereby leading to Yoritomo's first national military rule."⁽⁴⁾. And seven years later, realizing that he could no longer maintain his previous political position, the Japanese Emperor appointed the head of the Kamakura government to the position ofSei-i tai shogun(The Conquest of the Great General), officially recognized Yoritomo's legitimate political status as the highest military commander. The fact that the Kamakura government held real power in Japan was a demonstration of the strength of the local warrior class, the weakening of the central government, and also reflected the laws of historical development. By the end of the 12th century, Japan needed a strong military government to both maintain the position of the imperial court, ensure the power of the warrior class, and re-establish national unity. Thus, after many centuries of movement, a centralized model of the Tang Dynasty (618 - 907) aristocratic-civilian government could not develop in Japan. Although the aristocratic court maintained its position through the Nara (710 - 794) and Heian (794 - 1185) periods, it eventually lost real power to the military. It should also be added that,The military government in Japan was established in a condition where the country's political institutions had never undergone a process of centralized development and had never adapted to large-scale management.. Since the Taika Reforms in the mid-seventh century, the central government's power had generally been only strong in the Kansai Plain in western Japan. In other areas, it was in fact only a formality. Therefore, the establishment of the Kamakura governmentis an affirmation of the strength and rising status of the samurai class in Japanese society.The aristocracy could no longer maintain its inherent privileges. For the first time in Japanese history, with a strong feudal military apparatus, the central government was able to reach out to manage the localities.⁽⁵⁾. The Kamakura shogunate opened a period of leadership of the samurai power in Japanese history with three stages: Kamakura (1185 - 1333), Muromachi (1336 - 1590) and Tokugawa (1600 - 1868). Meanwhile, the process of the Trinh dynasty's rise to power had many differences. By the 16th century, Vietnamese history had experienced three dynasties with three centralized governments, including: the Ly dynasty (1010 - 1225), the Tran dynasty (1226 - 1400) and the early Le dynasty (1428 - 1527).with increasing levels of centralization. During the early Le Dynasty, especially during the Le Thanh Tong period (1460 - 1497), Dai Viet became a powerful country in Southeast Asia. The power of the central government was in the hands of the emperor. With such a centralized mechanism, any change in the throne could potentially lead to changes in a series of policies that previous monarchs had implemented, and could even shake up an entire regime.⁽⁶⁾. After the death of Le Thanh Tong, the Le dynasty's political institutions soon revealed their contradictions and limitations. Meanwhile, the succeeding emperors such as Le Hien Tong (1497 - 1504), Le Uy Muc (1505 - 1509), Le Tuong Duc (1509 - 1516)... could not come up with effective solutions to continue the country's development. The centralized mechanism that the early Le dynasty emperors worked hard to build was at risk of disintegration. The country's fortunes gradually weakened and finally in 1527, the Le dynasty lost the royal power to the military general Mac Dang Dung (1527 - 1529), representing a family originating from the coastal plains. During its 65 years in power, the Mac dynasty tried to implement a number of progressive socio-economic policies, butMac Dang Dung's usurpation of power as well as the Mac dynasty's weak foreign policy, which went against the national interests, caused this dynasty to soon fall into isolation.. Therefore, under the banner of "Support Le, destroy Mac", the forces of Nguyen Kim (1533 - 1545), Trinh Kiem (1545 - 1569) and Trinh Tung (1570 - 1623) gradually gained the support of many social forces, including former Le dynasty mandarins and Confucian intellectuals, who were considered prestigious and based on the ideology of loyalty to the king. Taking advantage of the social psychology that needed a political transformation to soon bring the country into a stable development, the Trinh generals constantly praised the achievements and noble position of the Le dynasty. In addition, thanks to their military strategy, the power of the Trinh dynasty grew stronger and stronger, and by 1592, the Southern Dynasty army had won a decisive victory, pushing the Mac army out of the capital Thang Long, the political center of the country. Thus,The Trinh dynasty's rise to power was essentially a power struggle between feudal groups.. Unable to overcome historical limitations and the crisis of the post-Le Thanh Tong period, the Mac dynasty usurped the Le king's power and then the Trinh dynasty overthrew the Mac dynasty. The presence of the Trinh government next to the Le king's courtis an unusual phenomenon in Vietnamese history.. For the first time, after more than 5 centuries of centralization, under specific historical conditions, the central feudal government created a new variation with a power-sharing mechanism. These two governments, at least in form, were representatives of two families, two feudal groups, not related by blood and operating together a common apparatus as in the case of the Trung Sisters in the years 40-43, or the brothers Ngo Xuong Van - Ngo Xuong Ngap, sons of the famous general Ngo Quyen, who proclaimed themselves kings in the 10th century (950-954). In that extremely complex political context, for 241 years the lord's palace maintained its position under the name of being a subject of King Le. In a country with a tradition of centralization like Vietnam and a political institution that began to be influenced by Confucianism, the existence of the lord's palace not only did not go against the "natural order" but also ensured the principles of the relationship between king and subject, in accordance with the ethics and social concepts of the time. The great military victories as well as the achievements in re-establishing the Le dynasty, in themselves, also created a protective barrier for the legitimate existence of the Trinh government. In many aspects, the lord's palace was established.is a complementary mechanismfor the throne of the Le dynasty.The Lord's Palace both restrained the influence of the Le Dynasty court and replaced the actual position of the Le King, a weakened dynasty that was no longer capable of holding the political center of the country.. The presence of the Royal Palace was consistent with the conditions and political development trends as well as the position of the Dai Viet state in the context of international relations at that time. III. From 1599, after basically defeating the remnants of the Mac Dynasty, Trinh Tung (1570 - 1623) forced King Le to appoint him as the Generalissimo of the State, the Supreme Patriarch of Binh An Vuong, and set up the Lord's Palace to easily seize power. Regarding administration, besides the royal court with six ministries modeled after the political institution of the Hong Duc period, Lord Trinh also established a separate government apparatus headed by the Tham Tung and Boi Tung positions to help the Lord discuss military affairs. When it was first established, the government apparatus of the Royal Palace consisted of only three divisions: Binh, Ho and Thuy Su, which were in charge of military and economic issues. By 1718, during the Trinh Cuong period, Lord Trinh had established six branches: Personnel, Finance, Rites, Military, Justice, and Public Works, and five prefectures: Central Army, Eastern Army, Western Army, Southern Army, and Northern Army.to overwhelm and replace all activities and management functions of the court. In the localities, power was under the unified management of the team of mandarins appointed by the lord. “From then on, everything was under the control of the six ministers. The six ministries no longer had any power.”⁽⁷⁾It can be said that since the time of Trinh Tung, Lord Trinh had established the basic principles for a new political system: "The royal family maintains prestige and happiness, the royal palace holds power". That system ensured the almost absolute power of the Trinh lords while fundamentally separating King Le and the royal court's mandarins from the work of managing the country.Overviewwrote: “Tung was allowed to open the lord's palace and appoint mandarins. From then on, the king's political and power were all decided by Tung himself, all the wealth, taxes, soldiers and people were all under the lord's palace. As for King Le, the salary system only allowed one thousand communes to be the upper salary (salary offered to the king); the guards and bodyguards in the inner palace had 5,000 soldiers, 7 elephants and 20 dragon boats. The king only dressed neatly in a royal robe, held a jade scoop to receive the imperial court ceremony.”⁽⁸⁾In relation to the Le Dynasty, the Lord's Palace was truly the place that decided many important issues.⁽⁹⁾Even for the throne, depending on the situation and political goals, Lord Trinh could establish or abolish it.⁽¹⁰⁾. However, after those political upheavals, for their own safety, the Trinh lords always tried to maintain their status as loyal subjects. For important events such as choosing a crown prince, the lords had to submit a petition to the king asking for his coronation. The crown prince had to kneel to receive the golden documents, official uniforms, and jade belts bestowed by the king. When officially ascending the throne, the crown prince also had to wait for the king's orders and had to hold an coronation ceremony at the Royal Palace and also had to kneel to receive the king's decree brought by the envoy.⁽¹¹⁾. In April 1599, on the occasion of Trinh Tung's coronation, after praising: "His prestige is as high as a mountain, his shadow is as great as a man of martial arts and literature of the royal court. His plans for peace in the country are as high and clear as the sky; his trust in making peace with neighboring countries is as high as his books, his steadfastness keeps the peace in thousands of lands. His achievements are as high as the universe, his position must be the top of all the mandarins" Le The Tong (1578 - 1599) still did not forget to advise: "Please be careful with your position, always uphold the court's rules; cultivate your virtues, and forever enjoy the king's grace."⁽¹²⁾. October 1629, in the book of literary style Trinh Trang (1623 - 1657), the Marshal and Governor of Thanh Vuong, Le Than Tong (1619 - 1643) also emphasized: "The King should be close to the cause, be a righteous person, the blessings of God will be bestowed upon him, cultivate virtue, protect the people, the king's career will last forever"⁽¹³⁾. Then in August 1657, when he promoted Trinh Tac (1657 - 1682) to the position of Generalissimo and Chief of State of Tay Dinh Vuong, Than Tong Uyen Duy Ky also advised the lord: "Hopefully: Receive great favors, respect and keep a good reputation. Be loyal and filial to the tenth part, try to keep a good way. Longevity and health include five blessings; the throne lasts for hundreds of millions of years. Help the royal family to be stable and long-lasting, and keep the clan extremely good."⁽¹⁴⁾. In September 1659, when enthroning Trinh Tac as Grand Marshal and Chief of State, Supreme Master of the Western Kingdom, King Le did not forget to remind: "Hopefully: Receive the grace, respect and maintain the good reputation, help the king forever. The long-lasting career of the lord, forever and ever."⁽¹⁵⁾. It is worth noting that, despite the political turmoil, throughout the ages, the Chinese feudal government always had a very clear grasp of the political situation in our country. In the 17th century, the Ming Dynasty, despite losing its royal power in 1644 and having to flee to the South, still sent an envoy in 1651 to confer a royal decree on Trinh Trang (1623 - 1657) as Vice King. After praising Trinh Trang: "presenting a memorial to pay tribute, from spring to autumn, following hard, not daring to miss", the decree finally wrote: "You have received a noble mandate, you must strive to be loyal and help the Le family, maintain your tribute position, and be a barrier to the South for me, to keep it forever."⁽¹⁶⁾. When studying official history, we see that the documents of King Le conferring the title of king to Lord Trinh generally have three basic parts: Part 1: Praising the virtues of ancestors and especially the contributions of the first lords such as Trinh Kiem and Trinh Tung who helped the Le dynasty restore royal power. Part 2: Emphasizing the achievements and natural talents of the new lord. And, part 3: Instructing and persuading the new lord to keep the rightking-subjecttotogether each otherenjoy lasting happiness. We do not rule out the possibility that these documents may have been consulted with the lord or even drafted by the lord's family members themselves, but it can also be seen that,The advice to the lords to always maintain the right relationship between the king and his subjects is one of the three main contents in these especially important texts.. The language in the text is that of a superior towards an inferior, both to remind the lord to keep his status as a subject and to warn the Royal Palace about political plots that have happened and may happen!. What needs to be noted is: towards the end of the Le Trung Hung period, the Le Dynasty became weaker, the dependence of the court on the Royal Palace became heavier, the content of the second part of the literary books became richer in expressive language when praising "merit as vast as the sky, loyalty reaching to the sun"⁽¹⁷⁾of the Trinh dynasty. However, in literary books,The content of the third part is still maintained as an immutable principle.. For its part, the lord's palace was the force that manipulated the power of the Le dynasty's court, but in its relationship with the king, Lord Trinh always tried to maintain the position of a loyal subject. Historical records also show that there were lords who were promoted to high positions but still "modestly" refused, and only after several years "reluctantly" accepted the order.⁽¹⁸⁾. Although since the Trinh Tac period (1657 - 1687), with the king's permission, Lord Trinh entered the court without having to write his name on the memorial; without having to bow when performing the ceremony of paying respect; and placed his seat on the left side of the Thi Trieu Palace to show his respect.⁽¹⁹⁾. But, apart from that court ceremony, Lord Trinh always kept the right etiquette, especially in the ceremonies reserved for the emperor. In the spring of 1721, when Trinh Cuong (1709 - 1729) allowed him to wear sa and duong shirts when attending, "Trinh Quan and Nguyen Cong Hang took the opportunity to ask the Lord to wear yellow clothes when meeting with the mandarins. The Lord then summoned them and said: "Since I ascended the Lord's throne and helped the King, I have always maintained my respect. Yellow is the color worn by the Emperor, to honor our Emperor, in accordance with the meaning of the ceremony. From now on, when handling state affairs, holding meetings at court, and in normal banquets and meetings with mandarins, I will only wear purple clothes, in order to distinguish myself from you."⁽²⁰⁾. For the spring ceremony at the Nam Giao altar, Lord Trinh was even more cautious. In early spring of 1724, Trinh Cuong did not listen to the advice of his courtiers, and kept the rules with King Le. Trinh Cuong's actions made "everyone in the capital and outside the town happy and grateful, praising the Lord as a person with a respectful heart and good virtue."⁽²¹⁾According to the description of priest Alexandre de Rhodes, who lived in Dang Ngoai from 1627 to 1630, in the solemn procession at the beginning of the year taking the king to work,rice planting festival, the lord humbly “rode in a low golden chariot” behind all the civil and military mandarins. After the king performed the land-opening ceremony, “he was the first to come forward to pay respect to the king, prostrating himself on the ground... That was the greatest form of respect and the most solemn recognition of the king, once at the beginning of each year.”⁽²²⁾. In foreign relations, for many political reasons, Lord Trinh always showed flexibility, not abusing the king's power. In terms of form, King Le was still the highest and only legitimate representative of Dai Viet nation. As the head of the court, the king was the one who carried out diplomatic ceremonies such as: receiving foreign embassies, sending envoys, taking care of tributes, exchanging documents with foreign countries. King Le was also the one who organized court sessions and all edicts of the lord's palace had to be approved by the king.The king's legitimate position in relation to the Ming and Qing dynasties made not only the Trinh lord in Dang Ngoai but also the Nguyen lord in Dang Trong fear him, making him truly cautious in his political moves. ⁽²³⁾. The Japanese shoguns also observed the need to maintain a respectful distance to show respect for the monarchy. Although they held real power and had their own government apparatus, the shogunate always promoted the position of the Emperor. Even during the Southern and Northern Dynasties (1336 - 1392), although they had the power to decide on all the most important political issues, the Ashikaga shogunate still had to choose someone from the royal family to ascend the throne. During the Edo period, the Tokugawa shogunate not only maintained its ruling position but also ensured the stable development and unity of the country for 267 years. In addition to enacting socio-economic policies and implementing a relatively decisive foreign policy suitable to the situation in Japan at that time,The successful settlement of relations with the Kyoto court contributed to the strength of the Edo military government.. In a situation where the shogunate was always the target of many powerful lords, establishing good relations with the royal family was a major political challenge for the head of the shogunate. Strengthening close relations with the imperial court was a key step in maintaining the stability of the feudal social order. Due to the consequences of historical developments, real political power was always in the hands of the shogunate, but the Edo government always considered it important to maintain regular contacts with the Emperor.is the expression of traditional principles of feudal ethics. In name, the Emperor remains the head of the monarchy and at the same time the symbol of cultural tradition, unity and national harmony. The position of the Emperor is essential to legitimize the political power of each shogun. For their part, the shoguns must be responsible for protecting the traditional prestige of the Emperor, the representative and embodiment of the Sun Goddess, the guardian deity of the entire nation. The position of the Emperor is conceived as an essential factor in spiritual life (Shinto,Shinto) and the Japanese political system. The noble origin of the Emperor, deeply imbued with tradition and national consciousness, is a symbol of the spirit of national unity and solidarity, which has made the shoguns from the Kamakura Shogunate to Edo, no matter how ambitious, have to calculate carefully in their political steps. “Moreover, in an isolated country like Japan, always divided by warring forces, the noble position and power of the Emperor is always a necessary condition to reconcile conflicts. In that sense, the shogun is considered the subject of the Emperor and cannot violate the above-mentioned supreme principle.”⁽²⁴⁾. Learning from previous dynasties, as the military commander and the closest and most loyal subject of the Emperor, the Shogunate used many clever measures to separate the feudal lords (Daimyo) out of regular contact with the Kyoto court. The purpose of this policy was to prevent any lord from relying on the Emperor to scheme for rewards, promotions or political alliances. By placing the government in Edo, under the pretext of being willing to obey the Emperor, the Tokugawa shogunate establishedKyoto Shoshidai(The Great Capital) in Kyoto to control all activities of the lords and the entire imperial family. The lords, even the high-ranking court nobles, if they wanted to see the Emperor, were subject to supervision and had to be represented by the Shogunate.Shoshidaiapproved. In 1615, in order to formalize the activities of the Imperial Family, the Shogunate issued a lawKinchu Narabini Kuge Shohatto(Law on the Forms of Operation of the Royal Family).The Code, consisting of 17 articles, strictly regulated the Emperor's activities in traditional cultural and ceremonial goals, affirmed the status of the Shogunate, regulated the Emperor's relationship with religious institutions, and the mandatory principles of living in the palace for princes and high-ranking officials.⁽²⁵⁾. In order to control and further tighten the relationship with the imperial court, the shogunate also established the marriage system with the royal family. At the same time, by promoting generals who had made special contributions, especially in the decisive battle of Sekigahara in 1600 and the capture of Osaka in 1615, the shogunate also wanted to thereby reduce the prestige and influence of the imperial aristocracy. The Edo government on the one hand promoted the status ofTennojust tried to provide large amounts of money and food to over 187,000koku1 year of rice with about 2,000ryogold. That source of income was enough for the court to maintain a relatively luxurious life, build some architectural works, repair the imperial palace, organize religious ceremonies... But politically, the Emperor's court did not need (in fact could not) get involved in the country's political activities. In terms of diplomacy, the Shogunate was the place to decide everything. After gaining power in 1600, in order to protect Japan's foreign economy and monopolize trade, the Edo government enacted theRed Seal ShipBy the 1730s, faced with complex domestic and international political issues, the Shogunate gradually enacted a policy of restricting foreign trade and then decided to close the country.sakoku). During the period of national isolation (1639 - 1853), the Edo government was the only place that could choose and decide the level of relations with the countries: Netherlands, China, Korea and Ryukyu; ports allowed for trade, quantity and type of goods, number of ships and merchant ships of each country coming to Japan each year, etc. In the international perception at that time, the shogun was considered the person with the highest status, the king (king,king) of Japan⁽²⁶⁾. Edo Castle, not the capital Kyoto, was the place to receive the embassies. According to statistics, from 1600 to 1850, the Tokugawa shoguns received Dutch trade representatives about 19 times.⁽²⁷⁾and many times received diplomatic delegations from the Choson Dynasty (Korea) and the Ryukyu Kingdom (Liuqiu) sent to⁽²⁸⁾. In many other cases, it was the feudal lords and representatives of the Edo Shogunate who directly handled complex diplomatic issues. After more than 200 years of pursuing a policy of national isolation, by the mid-19th century, under strong pressure from the United States and many Western countries, the Edo Shogunate decided to open the country, signing a series of "Unequal Treaties" with the United States, the Netherlands, England, Russia, France, etc. With the above measures and scope of power, it can be seen that the Shogunate sought every way to eliminate the influence of the court in the fundamental issues of the country. The court had no right to manage land, could not interfere and have influence in localities, and could not decide on foreign policies. Therefore, it was not completely lacking in