Togoland Former German protectorate, western Africa. Now divided between Togo and Ghana, it covered an area between the British Gold Coast colony and French Dahomey (now Benin). It was inhabited by a mixture of Ewe and other peoples. Its coastal area became a political unit of Germany in 1884; hinterland boundaries were established in 1897. In 1914 it was captured by Anglo-French forces and later divided into two administrative zones. The British zone was placed under control of the Gold Coast (now Ghana), with which it merged in 1957. The French zone became the independent Republic of Togo in 1960. Lingering sentiment for the reunification of Togoland, especially among Ewe people in Ghana, has occasionally strained relations between Togo and Ghana since inde¬ pendence.
Togtokhtor See To-wang
Tojo Hideki Vto-jo-he-'da-keX (b. Dec. 30, 1884, Tokyo, Japan—d. Dec. 23, 1948, Tokyo) Army general and prime minister of Japan (1941-44) during most of World War II. Under his direction, great victories were initially scored throughout Southeast Asia and the Pacific, but prolonged reverses in the Pacific and the successful U.S. invasion of the Mariana Islands resulted in his removal from office in 1944. He attempted suicide after Japan’s surrender but was nursed back to health to be tried and executed as a war criminal. See also war crime.
tokamak Vto-ko-.makX Device used in nuclear-fusion research for mag¬ netic confinement of plasma. It consists of a complex system of magnetic fields that confine the plasma of reactive charged particles in a hollow, doughnut-shaped container. The tokamak (an acronym from the Russian words for toroidal magnetic confinement) was developed in the mid-1960s by Soviet plasma physicists. It produces the highest plasma temperatures, densities, and confinement durations of any confinement device.
Tokelau Vto-ks-.lau \ formerly (1916-46) Union Group Island terri¬ tory (pop., 2000 est.: 1,458) of New Zealand, South Pacific Ocean. Located north of Samoa, Tokelau consists of three coral atolls—Fakaofu, Nukunono, and Atafu—each with numerous low-lying islets. Originally settled by Samoans, the islands were first visited by Europeans in the 18th century. In 1863 Peruvian slave raiders abducted many islanders; the abductions and outbreaks of disease reduced the population to about 200. The British established a protectorate there in 1889. Under the name Union Islands they were part of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands colony from 1916 to 1925, after which New Zealand was granted jurisdiction. The islands became part of New Zealand in 1948. The name Tokelau Islands was adopted in 1946; this was shortened to Tokelau in 1976. In 1994 the powers that had been held by the territory’s New Zealand administrator were transferred to the local government on Tokelau.
Tokharian languages See Tocharian languages
tokonoma V.to-ko-'no-moV In a Japanese room, an alcove with a low platform, used for the display of a flower arrangement and hanging scroll or other art objects. A feature of the shoin-zukuri style, the tokonoma is the focal point and spiritual centre of the interior of almost every tradi¬ tional Japanese house. It finds its origins in the private altar space of the Zen Buddhist monk, which contained a hanging Buddhist scroll and a narrow wooden table with an incense burner and votive candles.
Tokugawa leyasu V.to-ku-'ga-wa-ya-'ya-sCA (b. Jan. 31, 1543, Oka¬ zaki, Japan—d. June 1, 1616, Sumpu) Founder of the Tokugawa shogu- nate (see Tokugawa period) and ruler of Japan (1603-16). Along with Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi, leyasu was one of the three unifiers of premodern Japan. He allied himself initially with Nobunaga; that alliance allowed leyasu to survive the vicissitudes of endemic warfare in Japan at that time and to slowly build up his territory. By the 1580s he had become an important daimyo in control of a fertile and populous han (domain). When Nobunaga died, leyasu offered a vow of fealty to Hideyoshi, who was extending his control over southwestern Japan; leyasu, meanwhile, enlarged his vassal force and increased his domain’s productivity. In the 1590s he avoided participating in Hideyoshi’s disastrous expeditions to Korea, instead consolidating his position at home. When Hideyoshi died, leyasu had the largest and most reliable army and the most productive and best-organized domain in Japan; he emerged as victor from the ensu¬ ing power struggle. He confiscated his enemies’ lands and gave them new domains away from Japan’s heartland, much of which became Tokugawa property. He received the title of shogun and two years later passed the title to his son, thereby establishing it as hereditary among the Tokugawa.
Tokugawa period (1603-1867) In Japanese history, period of the military government established by Tokugawa Ieyasu with his assumption of the title of shogun in 1603. The structures leyasu set in place were effective for governing Japan for the next 264 years. He established his capital at Edo (modern Tokyo) and assigned daimyo han (domains) accord¬ ing to their friendliness or hostility toward the Tokugawa: hostile daimyo received domains on the nation’s periphery, while allies and collateral houses were given domains nearer to Edo. Sankin kotai, a system whereby daimyo alternated residency between Edo and their domain, also helped the shogunate keep control of the daimyo. To protect Japan from outside influences, particularly Christian missionaries, a new policy of national seclusion forbade Japanese to travel abroad and forbade foreigners to visit Japan (except for Chinese and Dutch traders, who were allowed to trade
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Tokyo ► toll I 1919
only at the port of Nagasaki). Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s division of society into four fixed classes was preserved, and the samurai (military) class became the civil bureaucrats, its members paid with stipends of rice. Increased travel to Edo and other cities stimulated urban development and urban culture (see Edo culture; Genroku period); the merchant class flourished. By the mid-18th century the shogunate began to suffer financially, as attempts at fiscal reform proved largely unsuccessful. During its last 30 years there were numerous peasant uprisings (see ikki) and evidence of samurai unrest. The shogunate was overthrown by the domains of Sat- suma and ChoshO in 1867. See also Meiji Restoration; Oda Nobunaga.
Tokyo Japanese Tokyo formerly (until 1868) Edo City (pop., 2003 est.: city, 8,083,980; metro, area, 12,310,000), capital of Japan. The coun¬ try’s largest city, it is located in east-central Honshu at the head of Tokyo Bay. The site has been inhabited since ancient times, and the small fish¬ ing village of Edo existed there for centuries before it became the capital of the Tokugawa shogunate in 1603 (see Tokugawa period). By the 19th century it was one of the largest cities in the world, with a population exceeding 1,000,000. Under the Meiji Restoration, in 1868 it replaced Kyoto as the imperial capital, and Edo was renamed Tokyo (“Eastern Capital”). A massive earthquake in the region in 1923 destroyed most of the city and killed at least 100,000 people, but most of it had been rebuilt by 1930. Much of it was again devastated by U.S. bombing during World War II and had to be reconstructed. The Summer Olympic Games were held there in 1964. Tokyo is the administrative, cultural, financial, commer¬ cial, and educational centre of Japan and the focus of an extensive urban complex that includes Kawasaki and Yokohama. Attractions include the Imperial Palace, encircled by stone-walled moats and broad gardens, and numerous temples and shrines. There are some 150 institutions of higher learning, including the University of Tokyo (1877).