The samurai, in the absence of wars to fight, evolved into a salaried bureaucratic or administrative class, Centuries of peace contributed to a remarkable burst of economic growth, commercialization, and urban development, Japan became perhaps the world's most urbanized country, Education led to high rates of literacy, Merchants prospered but enjoyed little rise in social status. This, coupled with samurai who enjoyed high social status but were often indebted to inferior merchants, led to social tension, Peasants often moved to the cities to take on new trades, Corruption undermined the Tokugawa regime, A mounting wave of local peasant uprisings and urban riots expressed the grievances of the poor.
