ABSTRACT
It was a time of unbroken peace, but a peace sternly maintained under military feudalism. Ieyasu with the help of his son and grandson succeeded in suppressing notions of democracy which had begun to appear in the Momoyama period. Society was settled as nearly as possible into a static condition, every individual fixed into the place where he was born. The Emperor and court continued to live in Kyoto, as always, but actual power was held by the Shogun and under him by the various lords of provinces, his vassals, who were known as daimyo. The military retainers of these lords were called samurai and constituted the upper class of society. The lower classes were peasants, artisans, and merchants.
