This thesis was written to better understand the origin and motive behind ‘ee ja nai ka’. This was a year-long phenomenon that occurred at the end of the Tokugawa shogunate and the beginning of the Meiji Restoration. Many historians have interpreted it as both a celebratory and subversive event directed against the shogunate. However, I argue that this interpretation is too simplistic. The period in which ‘ee ja nai ka’ appeared was economically and politically turbulent, as inflation in the prices of ordinary goods rose to astronomical heights and the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate came to an end. In this thesis, I first contrast two opposing interpretations of ‘ee ja nai ka’, the main point of contention being its alleged subversive character. This is followed by a historical analysis of the economic situation at the time. Then a brief look at the philosophical ideas of the carnivalesque and the dichotomy of hare and ke. I use these interpretations to analyse the connection between okage-mairi and ‘ee ja nai ka’. Finally, I address the events leading up to the celebrations and their impact on the political sphere after the Meiji Restoration. How are all these elements connected? Is there something deeper and structural in the context of ‘ee ja nai ka’? Was ‘ee ja nai ka’ truly subversive and emancipatory?
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