It is amazing to see how different past cultures which never met often had similar aspects. One example of this is the forms of feudalism which developed in medieval Europe and Japan, two cultures which had no contact with each other. These two forms of feudalism developed completely separately, and therefore do have some key difference, but are very similar to each other, because of similar circumstances in the two regions.
Some differences between European and Japanese feudalism were the type of system each one was, the codes of conduct the fighters were upheld to, and the religion at the core of each system. European feudalism was a form of government, with the lowest level being the serfs, the lower class who were protected by the lords, and the higher levels gave
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This occurred because of similar circumstances between the two regions. The Holy Roman Empire in Europe was weakening due to Viking invasion, and people began to lose hope in their kings and turned to whoever was willing and able to serve them, out of which developed European feudalism, in which powerful men granted fief to those who swore an oath of loyalty to them and promised to serve and protect them. In Japan, one man became more powerful than the emperor, and people were losing trust in their leader, as the Europeans had, and turned to this man, Yoritomo, to lead them. The emperor turned to Yoritomo, and gave him the power as shogun to rule Japan for the emperor, and he developed a system similar to European feudalism in which he gave power to daimyo, who promised to be loyal to him in return for military power. In both of these situations, a force became more powerful than the current leadership, and people began to turn to whoever was willing to lead them in return for