118 Edo period in Japan known for his translation of the Bible into German, published in 1537 (Luther had published his own translation into German about 10 years previous.) Roman Catholics normally used the Latin Bible, but Eck as a humanist followed Erasmus and others in promoting the Bible in the vernacular, the language of the people Eck died on February 13 (some say February 10), 1543, in Ingolstadt See also Counter-Reformation (Catholic Reformation) in Europe; humanism in Europe Further reading: Bainton, Roland H Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther New York: Pierce and Smith, 1950; Dillenberger, John, ed Martin Luther: Selections from His Writings New York: Random House, 1958; Ziegler, Donald, ed Great Debates of the Reformation New York: Random House, 1969 Bruce D Franson Edo period in Japan The Edo period in Japanese dates between 1600 and 1867 It denotes the government of the Tokugawa Shogunate from Edo The shogunate was officially established in 1603 with the victory of Tokugawa Ieyasu over supporters of Toyotomi Hideyori in the Battle of Sekigahara (1600) The Tokugawa shoguns ruled Japan for more than 250 years with iron fists and tight discipline Ieyasu had centralized control over the entire country with his strategic power sharing arrangement between daimyo (feudal lords) and samurai (warriors) Daimyos were ordered to be present every second year in Edo to give an account of their assigned work Tokugawa Ieyasu promoted economic development through foreign trade He established trading relations with China and the Dutch East India Company (Indonesia/ Batavia) While Osaka and Kyoto became emerging centers for trade and handicraft production, his capital Edo became the center for supply of food, construction, and consumer items To ensure its control, the shogunate banned all Japanese people from travel abroad in 1633 Japan thus was isolated except for limited commercial contact with the Dutch in the port of Nagasaki All Western books were banned in Japan Despite Japan’s cultural isolation from the rest of the world, new indigenous art forms such as Kabuki theater and ukiyo-e, woodblock prints and paintings of the emerging urban popular culture, gained increasing popularity Intellectually the most important state This print, titled Yoroi ferry at Koami District, is from the series Meisho Edo hyakkei, an Edo period series philosophy during the Edo period was Neo-Confucianism Neo-Confucianism stressed the importance of morals, education, and hierarchical order in the government A rigid class system also took shape during the Edo period with samurai at the top, followed by the peasants, artisans, and merchants Below them were outcasts (burakumin) or pariahs or those who were deemed impure Neo-Confucianism contributed to the development of kokugaku (national learning) that stressed the study of Japanese history In 1720, with the lifting of the ban on Western literature, some Japanese began studying Western sciences and technologies, rangaku (Dutch studies) The fields that drew most interest were related to medicine, astronomy, natural sciences, art, geography, languages, as well as physical sciences including mechanical and electrical engineering External pressure on Japan grew toward the end of the 18th century The Russians tried to establish a trade link with Japan to export their Russian goods, particularly vodka and wine Other European nations also