Tokugawa Japan + Medieval Europe Medieval Europe and Tokugawa Japan lived in seclusion to each other, and yet there were many uncanny similarities between Tokugawa Japan and Medieval Europe. In Medieval Europe there were many key features of the social system that were introduced at the time. The social system of Medieval Europe was called Feudalism. Feudalism puts the King in charge of everything and everyone, with barons and nobles underneath him. The nobles provide loyalty and knights to the king in return for land to control.
The societies of Tokugawa Japan (c.1603-1867C.E.) and medieval Europe (c.1000-1500C.E.) had two things in common; a feudal system. A feudal system is something that features hierarchies or social structures. The feudal system normally starts with a religion, which is at the very top of the social pyramid, then it’s the King or monarch for Europe and the shogun for Japan, then there are the nobles for Europe and the daimyos for Japan. As we go down the pyramid there are the warriors, like the knight in Europe and the samurai in Japan, then there are the peasants. The peasants were included in both eras and are at the lowest part of the pyramid.
In the 1500s and the 1600s the feudal system was beginning to fall. Different countries were trying new different types of governments instead of the dysfunctional feudal system. The feudal system consisted of many different nobles ruling over their own land. It was not a uniform system of ruling over the country. There were small city-states run by a singular ruler.
Samurai were warrior class who lived by an unwritten code called “Bushido.” They fought for the large landowners called Daimyo, they worked for the Daimyo’s protection and against other powerful landowners. The Samurai was taught the values and traditions, and had to be educated in literature and writing. Therefor samurai were also trained in meditation and fighting techniques such as archery, swordsmanship, and martial arts.
They became more industrialized like the U.S. and Europe. Tokugawa was overthrown and power was restored. A widespread reforms in industrialization,
(History.com, “Edo”) The people of Edo followed a strict caste system, greatly impacted by the Chinese Confucian values. The Feudal Japanese Society, people of Edo, was divided into four different castes: the Nobles, the Samurai, the Peasants, and the Chonin. The nobles included: the emperor; the figurehead of society, the shogun; the most powerful military lord, and the daimyos; lords who controlled their own region of Japan. The samurai were the professional warriors who were bound by a code of loyalty and honor to a daimyo.
His time as shogun and ōshogo in Japan began a period of peace and stability that lasted for over 250 years and allowed for law, urbanization and social structure to develop. Ieyasu passed a law called the Buke Shohatto in 1615, which contained an outline of the social construct used in Japan throughout the Tokugawa Shogunate. It was a very military based system; the highest on the social hierarchy was the shogun, then the daimyo, then samurai and then commoners, which made up around 90% of the population and were made up of peasants, farmers, fishers and artisans, as well as merchants, although merchants were generally considered as lower in status than the other groups. The last on the social hierarchy were the outcasts, who were usually beggars and criminals. The Buke Shohatto also required that daimyo spend at least half their time in Edo, meaning many of their servants and workers, as well as family members moved to live in Edo full time.
During the Tokugawa Shogunate, did the emperor have any power? If so, what? When the emperor Tokugawa Shogunate came into power he continued with, and made bigger changes to what Hideyoshi had started. He disarmed peasants, removed a lot of the source of rebellion that seemed to haunt Japan.
From the Kamakura Period of the late twelfth century to the Meiji Restoration in the nineteenth century, the samurai have held prominent positions as noble warriors in Japanese society. They have come to be famous in modern, Western pop culture as the fierce, stoic guards of feudal Japan, but their practices and rituals extended beyond wielding katanas and donning impressive armor. Samurai practices were rich and complex, with strict codes, ritual suicide, and a history of influencing culture and politics (“Samurai”). Samurai code was influenced by traditional Japanese culture, Zen Buddhism, and Confucianism. Bushido, or “Way of the Warrior,” was the code of conduct the samurai class were expected to uphold.
Tokugawa Bakufu, founder and the first shogun of Edo Bakufu, unified Japan after a long period of internal wars and power shifts ruled by samurais, the warrior class, from late 12th to 16th century and country maintained domestic peace for around 250 years. Tokugawa adopted the centralized feudal system from the old government which he held the national authority and allowed daimyo rule the feudal domains. This is known as the BakuHan system (Bakufu, the central government and Han, the local government). Under the feudal structure, Bakufu gave Han the land to rule and in return imposed heavy expenses on Han including levying taxes, giving logistical support, providing military aid and helping with public building projects. Bakufu came up with
The social patterns of the early Meiji era also affected the Japanese people’s response to the treaty. Before the treaty, Japan had generated substantial national pride through modernization, industrialization, and foreign conquests, especially since it had proven its strength and competence to be regarded as an equal to Western nations to accomplish its ultimate goal of revising the unfair treaty just a decade ago. Therefore, after celebrating success stories for 18 months during the Russo-Japanese War, which only elevated the public’s sense of patriotism and confidence in the outcome of the war, the public was extremely dissatisfied with the terms of the Treaty of Portsmouth. They believed that the victory should be more decisive in terms of land and monetary
Imperialism in Japan Background: Japan prior to the Meiji restoration was ruled in a hierarchy very similar to other European countries. The hierarchy was that of lords, samurai and then peasants. The Japanese equivalent to a king at the time was a military dictator called a shogun. During this time the capital was Kyoto and the shogun was part of the Tokugawa clan. That is why this period is referred to as the Tokugawa Shogunate.
Youssef Marakby ID:900130817 Instructor: Richard Byford Rhet 1020 The Samurai’s affect on Japan’s culture For many years, the legendary Japanese samurai warriors showed that they are the most well known class of ancient Japan and also known with their supremacy of honor, service, and duty which the Japanese society still have today. The samurai helped lay the foundations of Japan 's culture.
“To guard against external influence, they also worked to close off Japanese society from Westernizing influences, particularly Christianity. When the Tokugawa shogunate grew increasingly weak by the mid-19th century, two powerful clans joined forces in early 1868 to seize power as part of an “imperial restoration” named for Emperor Meiji.” This restoration was the beginning of the end of feudalism, or the way of structuring society around relationships derived from the holding of land in exchange for service or labour, in Japan. The Tokugawa regime acted to exclude missionaries because of suspicion of foreign intervention and colonialism. Eventually, they issued a complete ban on Christianity in Japan.
During the beginning of the Edo period (1603-1867), in Japan was ruled by strict customs and regulations intended to promote stability and peace. The Edo period was also known as the Tokugawa period because it was when the Japanese society was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate. The Tokugawa period has brought two hundred and fifty years of stability in Japan. This period was characterized by economic growth, strict social order, isolationist foreign policies, a stable population, peace, and popular enjoyment of arts and culture. Tokugawa Ieyasu was the founder and first shōgun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, which effectively ruled Japan from the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868.
