Japan Returns to Isolation
Chapter 3
Section 3
I. A New Feudalism Under Strong Rulers
A. Local Lords Rule
• 1. Civil war shattered
the feudal system this
sent Japan into chaos
– 1467-1568 This time
period was called
Sengoku, meaning
‘Warring States’
I. A New Feudalism Under Strong Rulers
• 2. Powerful Samurai
seized control and offered
peasants protection for
loyalty
– These samurai chieftains
were known as Daimyo,
meaning ‘great name.’
A. Local Lords Under Strong Rulers
• 3. The Daimyo built castles and created small
armies like the European feudal system
I. A New Feudalism Under Strong Rulers
B. New Leaders Restore Order
• 1. Oda Nubunaga
– Brutal , ambitious leader who defeated his rivals
and took control of the capital city: Kyoto
– His motto was, “Rule the empire by force.”
B. New Leaders Restore Order
• 2. He did not unify Japan and committed
seppuku: ritual suicide after his general turned
on him
B. New Leaders Restore Order
• 3. His best general, Toyotomi
Hideyoshi, continued the
mission.
• 4. Hideyoshi controlled most
of Japan and tried to
continue into Korea, but
after he died, the troops
were withdrawn.
I. A New Feudalism Under Strong Rulers
C. Tokugawa Shogunate Unites Japan
• 1. Tokugawa Ieyasu unites Japan in 1600
• 2. Shogun’s held power until 1867
C. Tokugawa Shogunate Unites Japan
• 3. Ieyasu tamed the Daimyo through his
‘alternate attendance policy’
– They would spend alternate years living in the
capital while their families were held in Edo
.
II. Life in Tokugawa Japan
A. Society in Tokugawa Japan
• 1. Japan had 250 years of prosperity under the
Tokugawa Shoguns
• 2. Rank in society was as follows:
– Emperor (figurehead)
– Shogun (actual ruler)
– Daimyo (landholding samurai)
– Samurai warriors
– Peasants
– Merchants
Japanese writing
meaning “prosperity”
II. Life in Tokugawa Japan
A. Society in Tokugawa Japan
• 3. They followed the teaching of Confucius:
– Agriculture is more valued than commerce
– For this reason, peasants had high taxes and the
hardest life
A. Society in Tokugawa Japan
• 4. By the 1700s Japan was becoming an urban
society as people moved into cities.
II. Life in Tokugawa Japan
A. Society in Tokugawa Japan
• 5. Women were expected to
– Work in the fields
– Manage the household
– Care for children
– Obey their husband
II. Life in Tokugawa Japan
B. Culture Under the Tokugawa Shogunate
• 1. Samurai would
attend ceremonial
dramas called ‘noh.’
– These were based on
tragic themes.
B. Culture Under the Tokugawa Shogunate
• 2. New Cultural styles
began to take the place of
traditional art:
– Haiku poetry 5-7-5
– Kabuki theater. This used
elaborate costumes, music
and dance about modern
life.
A Haiku I Made Up!
On a learning scale
Those who work hard will not fail
This is no tall tale
A Haiku Someone Else Made Up!
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Scott Anderson