This expression originates from the Edo period. A paid audience hired to applaud and cheer the show was seated in the section of the theatre called 'sakura'.
何がそんなにおかしいのかしら。あの人さっきからずっと笑ってるわ。
What's so funny? That guy has been laughing awfully long.
さくらじゃないか。おかしくもない漫談にひとりでゲラゲラ笑ってるんだから。
Isn't he a shill? He's the only one laughing at the boring monologue.
(Edo Period: 1603-1868)?
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After the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, Tokugawa Ieyasu became seii tai shogun, or supreme leader of the military-based government. This ushered in a period known as the Edo Period. The Edo Period lasted for nearly 300 years until 1868, when Emperor Meiji assumed control and the Tokugawa bakufu government came to an end.
During the Edo period, the emperor remained in Kyoto and had no real political power. Daimyo (feudal lords) were given control of most of the land, and domains called han were, at times, freely exchanged by the bakufu. The daimyo were required to spend alternate years at the capital, Edo (present-day Tokyo), in order for the seii tai shogun to monitor them. A strict caste system was adhered to, with samurai as the top tier. The samurai were followed by farmers, artisans and merchants (in that order) and an outcaste also developed among those who worked with things considered ritually impure, such as animal products. Despite societal constraints, however, art forms such as kabuki and ukiyo-e (woodblock prints) flourished and became popular among the public.
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| View through Waves off the Coast of Kanagawa: from "Thirty-Six Views of Mt. Fuji" |
At the same time, Christianity, which was introduced to Japan in the mid 16th century, was forcefully suppressed in accordance to sakoku, the bakufu's policy of strictly limiting foreign relations. This policy was implemented in reaction to the fear that European powers would use Christianity to subdue and colonize the Japanese people. Despite such policies, the Tokugawa leadership gradually became weaker with each generation. By the time U. S. Commodore Matthew Perry arrived in Uraga Bay in 1853 and pressed for the opening of several Japanese ports and the start of diplomatic intercourse with the Japanese, the bakufu's power was severely undermined due in part to ruling samurais' failure in solving serious fiscal problems. Perry's visit accelerated the changes that brought the era of samurai to an end, and in 1868, Meiji Restoration officially ushered in a new era. To learn more about the Edo Period, please visit:
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2128.html
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