Japan: From Earliest Days to Feudal Japan
WHAP/Napp
Objective: To identify and describe significant changes in
Japan’s political system (Yamato to Early Feudal)
Do Now: List three facts about Japan’s geography
Cues:
Notes:
I. Geography
A. Consists of four main islands (archipelago) off the coast of mainland Asia
1. Relatively isolated for thousands of years
2. Diffusion, particularly from China, but relatively limited
a) Writing, Buddhism, Confucianism, etc. – Selective Borrowing
3. Mountainous but not separating cities rather less arable land
II. Yamato Clan
A. Little is known of early cultures in Japan prior to 400 C.E
B. The first important ruling family was the Yamato clan, who emerged as
leaders in the fifth centuryfirst and the only dynasty to rule it
III. Shinto
A. Means “the way of the gods”earliest religionJapanese animism
worshipped the kami, which refers to nature and all of the forces of nature,
both seen and unseen
B. The Yamato clan claimed that the emperor was a direct descendent of the
sun goddess, one of the main forces in the Shinto religion
IV. Influence of China
A. In 522, Buddhist missionaries went to Japan and brought with them
Chinese culture but Buddhism did not replace Shintoaccepted both
B. Prince Shotoku borrowed bureaucratic and legal reforms, which were
modeled on the successes of the T’ang Dynasty in China (7th Century)
C. These reforms were enacted after his death as the Taika Reforms (645 C.E.)
D. In the eighth century, when the Japanese built their new capital, they
modeled it on the T’ang capital
E. However, the Japanese largely rejected Confucianism, as well as the idea of
the civil service examination
F. In Japan, education wasn’t nearly as important as birthThe noble classes
were hereditary, not earned
G. Birth and social class that were more important in Japan than merit
H. Even at the height of T’ang influence, Japanese selectively borrowed
Chinese cultural ideas and objects while still retaining a unique identity
V. Fujiwara
A. In 794, capital was moved to Heian, and new era of Japanese history
beganChinese influence abated and power of aristocracy increased
B. Important family, the Fujiwara, intermarried over several generations with
the emperor’s family and soon ran the affairs of the country
C. Emperor remained as a figurehead, but real power had shifted to Fujiwara
D. Under the Fujiwara, Japanese society experienced somewhat of a golden
age, especially in terms of literatureLady Murasaki – Tale of Genji
Summaries:
Cues:
E. But by the twelfth century, power in Japan spread among a larger and larger
pool of noble familiessoon fightingfeudalism developed
VI. Feudalism in Japan
A. In 1192, Yoritomo Minamoto was given the title of chief general, or shogun,
by the emperorreal poweremperor was a figurehead
B. Title of shogun-permanent title that could be passed on in Minamoto family
C. Residence in Kamakura, a town just south of modern TokyoKamakura
Shogunatesamurai became a special class of people
D. Feudal hierarchyshogun, daimyo (landlords), samurai, peasants
E. Like European feudalism, hierarchy bound together in land-for-loyalty
F. Merchants were probably seen as an unpleasant necessity by the samurai
classdealt in commerce - a disreputable sector in most feudal societies
G. Merchants did not fit neatly into the feudal hierarchy, which was based on
land-ownership and locations but merchants grew rich and samurai poorer
H. Ronin were samurai without mastersdishonorimplied failure
I. Ronin were a paradox in terms of the feudal system, much as the merchants
were - being masterless wanderersdid not fit in hierarchy
J. Ronin-hard to control, defiance could weaken bakufu (military government)
K. Samurai followed a strict code of conduct known as the Code of Bushido
similar to chivalry in Medieval Europeloyalty, honor, courage
L. Samurai failed to meet his obligations expected to commit suicide
VII. Women in Feudal Japan
A. Unlike under European feudalism, women in Japan were not held in high
esteemIn Europe, noblewomen had few rights but adored for beauty
B. In contrast, Japanese women lost any freedom they had during the Fujiwara
period and were forced to live harsher, more demeaning lives
C. Only men inherited, adultery was defined as a wife sleeping with another man
D. Still, wife's lot was better than that of a concubine, same loyalty but like servant
E. In the event of a samurai's death, the woman expected to commit ojigi, a form of
Sepuku ritual suicide for woman, thrust a knife through her throat
F. The Mongols tried to conquer Japan twice but failedTyphoon destroyed fleets
VIII. The Ashikaga Shoguns
A. The Kamakura shoguns jolted by General Ashikaga who overran
Kamakurashoguns moved back to Heian-Kyobut content to govern the
region about the capitalLet rest of the country go its own way
IX. Tokugawa Shogunate
A. In 1600, Tokugawa Ieyasu established the Tokugawa Shogunate
B. Strict and rigid government that ruled Japan until 1868
C. Shogun further consolidated power at the expense of the daimyo
D. Four classes (warrior, farmer, artisan, and merchant)-movement forbidden
E. Tokugawa moved the capital to Edo (modern-day Tokyo) – was marked by
a reversal in attitudes towards Western influences
F. By 1635, a National Seclusion Policy prohibited Japanese from traveling
abroad, and prohibited most foreigners from visiting Japan (limited
relations were kept with China, Korea, and the Netherlands
Summaries:
Questions:
 Discuss Japan’s geographic factors and the impact of these factors.
 Discuss the importance of the Yamato clan.
 Explain the impact of various belief systems on Japanese culture.
 How did the Japanese engage in selective borrowing from China?
 How and why did the emperor begin to lose power?
 Discuss Kamakura Shogunate.
 Discuss the Ashikaga Shoguns and the Tokugawa Shoguns.
1. Under the shogunates of Japan
4. Which contemporary society most
(A) Real power still rested with the
closely mirrored feudal Japanese
emperor
patterns of decentralized rule, an
(B) Power rested with Buddhist
economy based on agricultural
monks
peasant labor, and emergence of the
(C) The emperor’s power was largely
warrior elite following a distinct code
symbolic
of honor?
(D) The shoguns were the religious
(A) Polynesian
priests
(B) Inca
(E) None of the above
(C) Western European
(D) Russian
2. Where in the world did the literary
(E) Islamic
form of the novel emerge?
(A) United States
5. The isolationism of the Tokugawa
(B) Japan
government included
(C) France
(A) Forbidding Japanese from going
(D) England
abroad
(E) India
(B) Forbidding Chinese and Dutch
merchants from trading at
3. Despite extensive modeling of the
Nagasaki
Chinese imperial system, how did
(C) Forbidding scholars of neoJapanese civilization hew to
Confucianism from teaching in
established tradition in the
Japan
postclassical era?
(D) Banning all foreign religions such
(A) Aristocrats doubled as military
as Confucianism and Buddhism
officers.
(E) All of the above
(B) Strict codes of behavior governed
noble classes in court life at the
6. The status of which of the following
imperial center.
was in jeopardy in Japan by 1750?
(C) Examination systems were not a
(A) The shogun
part of the selection process for
(B) The emperor
the imperial elite.
(C) Samurai
(D) Poetry was a highly valued art
(D) Merchants
form among the elite.
(E) Daimyo
(E) A capital city served as the nerve
center of the empire.
Excerpt from international.ucla.edu
The feudal period in Japan lasted for 700 years. During this time Japan was ruled by warrior
aristocrats under a feudal system very similar to that in Europe. But European feudalism ended
with the Renaissance, while that of Japan stretched for another 300 years until 1868. By then, the
West had gone through both the French and American Revolutions, and was well into the
Industrial Revolution. In Japan, however, the long feudal period was by no means the “dark ages”
as in Europe. In Japan, culture and education thrived, although they were firmly subordinated to
the martial arts and to a political structure in which loyalty to one’s “daimyo,” or feudal lord, was
the ultimate virtue and obligation.
The decline of power of the Emperor in Japan occurred in the late 12th century, when court rivals
sought to reinforce their position by calling in help from two outside military houses which
successively seized the real power from the Emperor. This period is written about in many tales of
romantic and gallant feats of valor. (The Tale of Genji is an example.) In 1192, the chief military
Minato clan, Yoritomo, received the title of Seii-tai-shogun, which means “barbarian-subduing
generalissimo.” The Shogun became the real ruler of Japan, while the Emperor was only a
figurehead-valued as the ultimate source of legitimacy, but became almost powerless.
Japanese feudalism was based on fiefs given to noble warriors for their performance of military
duties for the lord. With the rise of feudalism came the development of “bushido” or the “Way of
the Warrior.” Bushido was similar to the code of chivalry in medieval Europe. This bushido
demanded that the Samurai warrior die fighting rather than surrender, because “death is lighter
than a feather, but duty is weightier than a mountain.” Rather than surrender or accept disgrace,
a Samurai was expected to commit suicide by seppuku, also known as hara-kiri.
A Samurai’s two outstanding virtues were an indifference to suffering or even death and a great
capacity for unswerving personal loyalty.
The new warrior state was soon put to an epic test as Japan faced the only serious external threat
in its history until 1945. The great Mongol Emperor Kublai Khan, whose absolute rule extended
5,000 miles from distant Kiev to the ports of Korea, mounted two powerful invasions of Japan. An
initial invasion was beaten off in 1274, but he returned seven years later with the greatest armada
the world would see until World War II: 4,000 ships carrying an army of 150,000 men. They
secured a beachhead on Japan’s southern island of Kyushu, where Japan’s warriors fought the
invaders desperately for 53 days of almost uninterrupted battle, until a sudden typhoon nearly
destroyed the Mongol fleet. Feeling this was divine intervention, the samurai wiped out the
invading force. In Japanese history, this timely typhoon is called a “kamikaze” or “divine wind”-a
name which was to become familiar six centuries later to the U.S. Navy.
Whatever the shortcoming of feudalism, there is little doubt that without the martial arts of the
samurai, Japan would probably have lost to the massive Mongol invasion.
Thesis Statement: Comparative: Feudalism – Western Europe/Japan
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