JAPANESE FEUDALISM
Research - Notes
1. How did the social and political hierarchy function in medieval Japan? Specifically refer to the
Emperor, Shogun, Daimyo, Samurai and peasants.
2. What was the philosophy of the Samurai and the code Bushido
3. What was the role of Shintoism and Buddhism in the society?
DIRECT QUOTE – RED
PARAPHRASE - BLACK
YOUR OWN IDEAS - GREEN
Subtopic Question
Source
Code
D1
1- What was the
Emperor’s social
and political
hierarchy in
medieval Japan?
2- How are the
Samurai and the
Bushido alike?
3- How do they differ?
4- How are Shintoism
and Buddhism
alike?
5- How do they differ?
6- What was the
Shogun’s function in
medieval Japan?
7- What was the
Daimyo’s function in
medieval Japan?
Socially and
politically?
8- What was the
Samurai’s function
in social and
political society?
9- What were the
peasants’ roles in
society politically
and socially?
10- What were the
classes?
11- What is a bushido?
Information
6- Shogun = warrior government. The warrior governments supposedly
retain military overlordship of Japan. Yoritomo, as shogun or
"generalissimo" appointed by the imperial court of Kyoto, had exercised
strong personal rule over his vassal followers.
3- The samurai ("those who serve"), also known as bushi ("military
gentry"), became the rulers of the country upon the founding of the
Kamakura shogunate in 1185, and held power until the Meiji Restoration
of 1868, when Japan entered the modern age. The Japanese provinces were
split and maintain by the local military to keep peace.
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4- Shinto and Buddhist teachings are deeply entangled in Japanese everyday
life, though the Japanese people themselves may not be aware of it.
5- Buddhism is more based on intellectual, social, artistic, and political
life. Shintoism is more about respect for nature. That’s why they worship
gods from the elements (see book info.).
4- Shintoism=polytheistic. Buddhism and Shintoism resulted in merging
both of them. Gods in Shintoism were given a similar position of Hindu
gods in Buddhism. Moreover, because one of Mahayana Buddha's
(Dainichi Nyorai) symbol was sun, many equated Amaterasu, the son
goddess as the previous reincarnation (boddisatva) of Dainich Nyorai.
However, in Tokugawa Shogunate era saw a revival movement within
Shinto. Shinto scholars argued whether Buddhas were reincarnations of
Shinto gods. Shinto and Buddhism were officially separated after Meiji
Restoration.
10- There were to major classes in Feudal Japan: Nobles and peasants.
Nobles are ppl like the Emperor or the Samurai; which made up only 10%
of the population. The peasants were farmers or craftsmen. They made up
90% of the population.
10/1/6- The Emperors come from the same family, unless the family would
lose power because then another family would take over. The Emperor
would claim to be a descendant of a god, so the shogun would make the
governmental decisions, and the Emperor would only be like a figurehead.
8- Samurai were the warriors in a daimyo’s army. They were given
certain privileges and honored amongst the ppl. Well built villagers
could be a samurai. Some of the privileges included being able to carry
two swords, having family crests, a surname, and being able to behead
any villagers who did not treat them respectfully.
11- It is the code that a samurai has to follow.(“the way of the warrior”)
This meant they had to be loyal and obedient to their master. If the code
was broken he would have to follow a suicide ritual called seppuku in
which the samurai would disembowel him or herself in a way that was
considered honorable and would bring respect back to his/her family once
deceased. Women were allowed to be samurai. They had privileges, but
could be dominated by a male samurai. However, they still had power over
a male in a lower class.
7- There were many clusters of small villages in Japan separated by
mountains. The daimyo was the leader of the strongest family in that area.
Daimyo means “great name” because they were honored and highly
respected. They were like warlords, they had their own army of samurai
and people gave the daimyo part of their profits, like a tax. In return, the
daimyo would protect the village, repair flood damage, and defend his ppl
if there was a war.
6- The shogun was the head of the leading daimyo. They could accept or
decline trade agreements, and initiate military attacks. The shogun was the
one who made the actual decisions, not the Emperor, although they needed
the Emperor’s consent before. They also got a sword like the samurai.
Probably ppl who r honored and respected get to carry a sword.
9- The peasants were separated into many classes. The farmers were the
highest and the merchants were the lowest. Then the farmers were
separated again into the farmers who owned land (higher) and tenant
farmers(less important). Since making farms was scarce, food was made
valuable making farmers important. They also asked the Shoguns for
military help. Craftsmen were 2nd in the rank of peasants. Their work was
often made of wood and metal. Merchants were the lowest because they
lived off others’ labor. They lived in separate parts of the village and could
only consort with people from other classes when doing business. In later
times, merchants became wealthier and as money were used for currency
instead of rice (and merchants controlled the money), they became more
powerful. It got to the point where even poor samurai might adopt a
merchant’s son or marry in between families in order to bring money into
the family. They were referred to also as 'leeches' because they sucked
money and goods off other Japanese groups.
11- The core tenets of Bushido date from as early as the 12th century as
demonstrated by the earliest translations of Japanese literature and warrior
house codes. Honor codes are still used today in gangs. Under the Tokugawa
Shogunate, Bushido became formalized into Japanese Feudal Law. [1]
Inazo Nitobe, in his book Bushido: The Soul of Japan, described it in this way.
"...Bushido, then, is the code of moral principles which the samurai were
required or instructed to observe... More frequently it is a code unuttered and
unwritten... It was an organic growth of decades and centuries of military
career." The code valued respect, wisdom, honor, glory, benevolence, courage,
rectitude, care for the aged, and loyalty; virtues. It’s kind of like Confucianism
in China. Confucianism also valued respect, honor and cared for the aged. This
is an example of how China and Japan are alike; feudalism. The elders are
wiser while the youth respects and takes care of them. One class above the
other.
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4/5- Buddhism separates people into 4 divisions: monks, nuns, laymen, and
laywomen, The laity is more “financially” involved in society in the sense that
they accumulate wealth, grow crops, distribute it, and maintain order. The
simple divisions of Buddhist society are made more complex, however, by the
different roles that exist within the monastic com unity; by the complexity of
occupations and functions within the lay community and the shifting
relationships that bind the two orders of society, monastic and lay, together.
The great Indian monasteries became learning centers in secular arts such as
literature, medicine, and astrology. Some developed monastic traditions were
often linked with royal power. Religion vs. Politics. (God’s role in Politics).
Shintoism and Buddhism are the two major religious traditions in Japan.
“Shinto” means the way of the gods. Shintoists worship many gods from
elements.
Research - List of Sources
Source Type of
Code
Source
D1
Database Author : Varley, H. Paul
MLA citation
Title of Article: Ashikaga Takauji
Title of Magazine , Newspaper or Encyclopedia:
Service Gale
Date of publication, volume/issue number:
Search
strategy
Keywords
Samurai AND
Bushido in
History
Resource
Center World.
Title: Samurai
Name of Database : Student Research Center Gold
URL: http://find.galegroup.com/srcx/
Date of access: Feb 8, 2007
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Internet
Author :
Keywords
Title of Article/ Web Page: Religion in Japan
Title of Web Site: Wikipedia
URL : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_Japan
Date of publication (or last updated, or copyright): 2/9/07
Date of access: 2/15/07
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Internet
Author:
Title of Article: Feudal Japan hierarchy
Title of Web Site: Wikipedia
Keywords
URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feudal_Japan_hierarchy
Date of Publication: 2/10/07
Date of access: 2/15/07
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Internet
Author:
Keywords
Title of Article: Buddhism and Eastern Teaching
Title of Website: Wikipedia
URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism_and_Eastern_teaching
Date of publication: 20 November 2006
Date of access: 2/16/07
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Internet
Author:
Keywords
Title of Article: Bushido
Title of Website: Wikipedia
URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bushido
Date of publication: 21 Feb 2007
Date of access: 2/23/07
B1
Book
Call Number: 291 ILL
Author/ Editor: Micheal D. Coogan
Keywords:
Buddhism
Title of book: The Illustrated guide to World Religions
City of Publication: New York
Publisher: Oxford University
Copyright Date: 1998
Volume:
Page number: 194
For reference book (encyclopedia) type the Entry (Word you used to find
information):
B2
Book
Call number: 031 WOR
Author/Editor:
Title of book: World Book
City of Publication: Chicago
Publisher: World Book Inc
Copyright Date:
Volume: II
Page number: 32-60
For reference book type the Entry:
Keywords:
Shintoism