Year 8 History: Japan under the Shoguns
Syllabus Dot Points
Students learn about:
•
The way of life in Shogunate Japan, including social, cultural, economic and political features
(including the feudal system and the increasing power of the shogun
• The role of the Tokugawa Shogunate in reimposing a feudal system (based on daimyo and
samurai) and the increasing control of the shogun over foreign trade
• The use of environmental resources in Shogunate Japan and the forestry and land use policies of
the Tokugawa Shogunate
• Theories about the decline of the Shogunate, including modernisation and westernisation, through
the adoption of Western arms and technology
Unit Outline
1. Introduction, Geography & Society
2. Shogun, Shugo & Daimyo
3. Samurai
4. Ronin, Peasants & Merchants
5. The Ninja and Castles
6. Religion
7. Early History
8. Heian Period
9. Kamakura Period
10. Muromachi period
Metalanguage List
artisan
divine
hostage
jujutsu
kamikaze
samurai
kami
nirvana
pagoda
clan
seppuku
archipelago
civil war
peasant
shogun
daimyo
ronin
edo
bushido
palanquin
emperor
typhoon
Kick start questions
1. Sequence the Nara and Heian periods and the Kamakura, Muromachi and Tokugawa shogunates
2. Identify key places in japan during this period
3. Outline key cultural, economic and political features of this society, including the increasing power of
the shogun
4. Describe the everyday life of men, women and children in japan under the shoguns
5. Identify the roles and relationships of key groups in this society using sources
6. Outline how the Tokugawa shogunate took control of japan by AD 1603
7. Describe how the Tokugawa shoguns revived the feudal system in japan
8. Explain how foreign trade was controlled by the Tokugawa shoguns
9. Describe how the Japanese used land and forests as resources
10. Outline the Tokugawa shogunate's policies on forestry and land use
11. Explain why the Tokugawa shoguns isolated japan from the rest of the world from AD 1639
12. Identify examples of modernisation and westernisation in japan in this period and explain their
impact
13. Assess the importance of western influence on the decline of the shogunate
14. Explain how the shogunate have influenced modern Japan