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Who makes the rules and has the most power
in your family? Do you always try your best to
follow those rules? What would happen if the
person who makes the rules was no longer
around? Who would take their place? Explain
your answers.
When you are finished, choose 2 things from
your cover page that you know or want to
know about Japan. Share your journal and
answers with your partner.
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Prince Shotoku
Shogun
Daimyo
Samurai
Bushido
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Feudalism
Noh drama
Tokugawa Ieyasu
Regent
Haiku
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The people of Japan
were broken up into
different classes or
groups. The Emperor,
the Shogun and
Daimyo, the Samurai,
the peasants and
artisans, and the
merchants.
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One way to help you
remember some of the
groups in Japan is the
acronym SPAM –
Samurai, Peasants,
Artisans, and
Merchants.
Emperor
Shogun/
Daimyo
Samurai
Peasants
and Artisans
Merchants
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The classes were set
up like a triangle with
the emperor on top
and the merchants on
the bottom – with
everyone else in
between.
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The Emperor was the
ruler at the top of
Japanese society but
he had very little real
power.
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The Shogun was the
most important
daimyo (large land
owner) and was the
actual ruler of Japan.
The Shogun were
warlords – the name
Shogun means, “Great
General”.
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The Daimyo were
land owning nobility.
They needed a small
army of Samurai to
protect the peasants
who lived on their
land.
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The Samurai were the
warriors of Japan.
They were members
of a trained army of
fighters that were
loyal to the daimyo.
Samurai means,
“those who serve”.
They developed a
code of conduct called
Bushido.
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Known as the way of the warrior, bushido
focused on doing your duty no matter what the
cost. Loyalty, courage, respect, honesty,
integrity, and honor were the most important
things for a Samurai. Often samurai would
rather kill themselves than face dishonor –
either from defeat on the battle field or
embarrassing their daimyo.
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If a samurai did
embarrass or fail his
daimyo he would kill
himself in a ritual
called seppuku or
harakiri – which
involved cutting open
your own stomach
with a knife.
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The peasants and
artisans made up the
largest class in Feudal
Japan. Peasants often
grew food while
artisans made special
crafts like pottery or
swords.
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Unlike peasants and
artisans, merchants
produced no goods
that contributed to
society. They just
sold items from one
group to the other.
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These classes make up
something called the
Feudal System. A
social system in which
lords grant people
land or other rewards
in exchange for
service. Peasants
work the land of the
Daimyo and the
Daimyo protected
peasants with the
Samurai.
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All of these classes played important roles in
Japanese society. This feudal system based on
military power lasted for hundreds of years.
Eventually, in the mid 1800’s during the Meiji
restoration this system came to an end, but the
beliefs and code of the samurai still influence
Japanese society to this very day.
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What do you think of when you hear the word
culture? If you wanted to describe features of
today’s American culture, what would you talk
about?
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1. What would you see
and hear at a Noh
drama? What is the
mood of a Noh drama?
2. Where did the
Japanese display their
art? Why do you think
art was displayed there?
3. What do “The Tale of
Genji” and “The Pillow
Book” have in common?
How are they different?
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4. How did the
Japanese writing system
become different from
the Chinese system?
5. How did women
help develop a true
Japanese literature?
6. How would you
describe the nobles at
the emperor’s court?
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A Haiku is an
unrhymed Japanese
poem of 3 lines
containing 17 syllables,
5,7,and 5. It is usually
light and delicate in
feeling and is concerned
with something lovely
in nature.
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Examples:
An old silent pond…
A frog jumps into the pond
Splash! Silence again.
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Loud, crashing thunder
And then the rain pouring
down
The rainbow appears
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