Tokugawa Ieyasu, founder of the Tokugawa shogunate that unified Japan, died in 1616, leaving behind a stable political system that would govern Japan for over 250 years. His establishment of peace after centuries of civil war created conditions for flourishing arts, including haiku poetry, kabuki theater, and ukiyo-e prints that defined Edo period culture.

The peace and stability of the Tokugawa era enabled the rise of merchant-class patronage for poetry and theater. Matsuo Bashō would later develop haiku into a sophisticated art form during this peaceful period, while the urban culture of Edo fostered collaborative poetry (renga) and popular literature accessible to broader audiences.