Japan before the Edo period.?

Question:

Need to know if the values and belifes changed during the Edo period in Japan. (1603-1800) Also need to know How the political statue changed. Any other info? Thanks.,

Answer:

The values and beliefs did not change, but the Edo period was the first long period of peace and stability in Japan after over 200 years of near constant civil war. What did changed, was the new Tokugawa Shogunate that ruled from the city of Edo (present day Tokyo) enforced laws that to most outsiders today would be viewed as very strict and codified society so that everyone was "locked" into the social class they were born into. For example, a farmer's son cannot be anything other than a farmer. A samurai, only a samurai. An artisan, only an artisan. The laws were so detail and governed almost every aspect of a person life. For example, even what a person ate is dictated by their social class. A farmer could not eat certain foods, and had to dress a certain way. He and his family were forbidden to wear certain types of clothing, especially if it was made of expensive material even if they could afford it.

Edo period represents a chnage in Japan in that Japan became a more rigid class oriented society. Before the Edo period, even a lowly peasant could rise to the most powerful position as a ruler of Japan - see Toyotomi Hideyoshi.