A Box That Let the People's Voice Reach Politics — Yoshimune and the Meyasubako
In 1721, Yoshimune placed the 'Meyasubako' suggestion box in front of Edo Castle. Citizens could write directly to the shogun. From it came the founding of the Koishikawa public clinic. A box that changed Edo's politics.
A deep read
In 1721, Shogun Yoshimune placed the Meyasubako (suggestion box) in front of Edo Castle — citizens could write directly to the shogun, who personally read the submissions. One letter led to the founding of the Koishikawa public clinic for the poor in 1722, a forerunner of the University of Tokyo Medical School.
Tokugawa Ieyasu (reference) — Yoshimune modeled his Kyoho Reforms on Ieyasu's governance. The Meyasubako symbolized 'politics that listens to the people'
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Edo Castle — the Meyasubako was placed in front of the castle's judicial office, creating a mechanism for the shogun to receive citizens' voices directly
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(Reference) — Yoshimune's governance embodied the ideal of 'politics for the people'; the Meyasubako gave that ideal a concrete form