ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the lawful petitions produced by the village headmen class—who were central leaders of the villages in local areas, as well as peasant rebellions—and how the characteristics of the movements developed in the Edo period. Late-twentieth century advances in regional history research have resulted in progress being made in finding information on peasant rebellions in every area. Peasants “hid their weapons” and did not use them during class struggles (peasant uprisings), while feudal lords only rarely used military force to suppress rebellions. By the end of the Edo period, there were cases in which the principle of non-armament in the face of peasant rebellions was discarded. During the latter part of the Edo period, the old system of control of the shogunal lords was greatly shaken from the bottom, accelerating the collapse of the regime. On the other hand, the development of lawful petitioning so conspicuous in this period also prepared the way for the Meiji era.
