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Introduction about japan culture
Japanese society and culture
Japanese history and culture essay
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The Tokugawa Bakufu, also known as the Edo Bakufu, was the final period of traditional Japan being controlled by military dictatorship. The reason why it was also called the Edo period was because the shogun established Japan’s new capital at Edo. This shogunate was started by a samurai called Tokugawa Ieyasu in 1603 and ended in 1867
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The structure of shogunate Japan follow the order of the following: Shogun – Daimyo – Samurai – Peasants – Artisans – Merchants. The shogun was at the top of feudal society with the highest social hierarchy. They had the highest military and civil authority. Below the shogun were the daimyos which were people who could own part of the shogun’s land. Their role was to maintain the law of the time, as well as collecting taxes and aiding people in armed tasks. Samurais were warrior administrators which inherited this position by their parents. Each samurai carried two swords and the right to kill anyone below their rank. During the Tokugawa shogunate however, there were no more wars and the samurai gained new skills which included reading, writing and accounting.
The lower levels consists of peasants would be the main labour workers. Their masters would only calculate enough rice for the peasants to live on. Peasants would be divided into three sub-categories: farmers, artisans and merchants. Farmers were superior to other sub-categories of peasants as they produce the food source that all the other classes need. These farmers were part of the honoured class but were under great strain of taxes. During to reign of Iemitsu, he made a law that all farmers must not eat the rice they grew as it must be handed to the daimyo and be given back in rations. Artisans are people who work at their own specialt...
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...e feudal structure was unfair. The shogun had full power over the land as well as people and had the power to make biased laws than only benefited the shogun. In Tokugawa Shogunate, the shogun limited the power of daimyos as stated before so no one could take his spot as shogun. What should be allowed is that the shogun has a limit to power as well so that the structure of feudal society will stay the same. But all the other ranks would be considered fair.
In conclusion, the society in traditional Japan was imbalanced to everyone besides the shogun. Tokugawa Ieyasu aimed for the unification of Japan and he achieved this by defeating his rivals in the battle of Sekigahara in the 1600. Rewards for winning this battle earned him the loyalty of all daimyos of Japan. After becoming a shogun, he unified Japan by moving the capital to Edo which later became modern Tokyo.
-Nara’s Buddhist temples were another result of cultural diffusion, Buddhist began in India in 500s B.C.E. about 1,000 years later, it came to Japan from China by way of Korea.
Issues within the Feudal structure of Japan were already occurring, even with the support of their 200 years of peace, which eventually played a role in the downfall of the Tokugawa shogunate. Internal changes were already taking place within Japan with peace for over 200 years under the policy of isolation. This already set in place issues, which helped push the decline of the Tokugawa shogunate over the line after the arrival of Commodore Perry and the Western influence he brought with him. Within the Japanese Feudal System, merchants were
This became the era of the shogun empire and was the beginning of a new duel government in
The establishment of the Japanese archipelago assumed its present shape around 10,000 years ago. Soon after the era known as the Jomon period began and continued for about 8,000 years. Gradually they formed small communities and began to organize their lives communally. Japan can be said to have taken its first steps to nationhood in the Yamato period, which began at the end of the third century AD. During this period, the ancestors of the present Emperor began to bring a number of small estates under unified rule from their bases around what are now Nara and Osaka Prefectures. At the beginning of the seventeenth century, Tokugawa Ieyasu set up a government in Edo (now Tokyo) and the Edo period began. The Tokugawa regime adopted an isolationist policy that lasted for more than 200 years, cutting off exchange with all countries except China and the Netherlands. The age of the Samurai came to and end with the Meiji Restoration of 1868, and a new system of government centered on the Emperor was set up. The new government promoted modernization, adopted Western political, social and economic systems, and stimulated industrial activity. The Diet was inaugurated, and the people began to enjoy limited participation in politics.
This aristocratic warrior class arose during the 12th century wars between the Taira and Minamoto clans and was consolidated in the Tokugawa period. Samurai were privileged to wear two swords, and at one time had the right to cut down any commoner who offended them. They cultivated the martial virtues, indifference to pain or death, and unfailing loyalty to their overlords. Samurai were the dominant group in Japan. Under the Tokugawa shogunate, the samurai were removed from direct control of the villages, moved into the domain castle towns, and given government stipends. They were encouraged to take up bureaucratic posts.
The post of shogun was, in theory at least, purely military, so Yoritomo's administration and those of later military rulers came to be known as the shogunate, bakufu, or "tent government," to distinguish it from the civil government in Heian-kyo. As the samurai clans under the Minamoto began building political power, Japan's political center shifted away from Heian-kyo toward the Kamakura bakufu, leaving Heian-kyo as the symbolic, religious and cultural center of Japan. The Kamakura Shogunate set down a pattern of rule in Japan that would last for some seven centuries.
The top structure of the society includes the Shoguns, Daimyos and Samurais. ‘Shogun’ was the title granted by the Emperor to Japan’s top military commander (Web-japan.org, 2013). Initially Emperors controlled the country but over time Shoguns became more powerful than the Emperor and took over the whole government, the Shogun was generally the real ruler of the country until 1867 when feudalism was abolished (Web-japan.org, 2013). Daimyos were the lords and their roles were to manage and maintain the law, collect taxes and aiding in armed forces for the Shogun (Ask.com, 2013). Samurais were the members of the military class, they were the warriors of traditional Japan. The roles of the Samurais were to protect and serve their daimyos or lords usually in wars (Answers.yahoo.com, 2013).
Tokugawa and his politicians created some policies to keep japan from rebelling and try to control over the society. They divided the feudal lords into three categories: Fudai, Shimpan and Tozama daimyos.
When discussing the origin of the Samurai, an important time in history for their beginning can be seen in the formation of a Feudal System in early Japan. In 646 AD, Emperor Tenji enacted the Taika Reform. This reform allowed the aristocracy to adopt Chinese-Style political structures, bureaucracy, and culture (Farris). Basically, this allowed land to be redistributed among the people and while new taxes were formed. This was because more income was needed to support the newly adopted Chinese style empire. Due to these reforms, many peasants had to sell their land and work as farmers for other people while people who actually owned land were able to gain wealth and power. This resulted in the formation of a feudal system. This system was similar to that of medieval Europe and contributed to the rise of the Samurai social class.
...th wore helmets, armor, and worked for their leader, the shoguns or daimyo for the samurai, and for the knights their lord(s). Lastly, they both had peasants. The peasants both had to pay their taxes and had no power. Feudal Japan and Feudal Europe both had a certain social class order for power and how the people lived and worked.
... those who were born into wealth and this secured the well being of the future generations of rulers. The main source of power for all of the groups was strong ancestral lineage. Education also played a major role in each group because those who could read and write well passed the civil service exams. This secured the gentry’s local status, and the samurai had to be well educated in order to act as political administrators and military warriors. Lower class rebellions plagued the rule of each elite group and were controlled and diminished. The main difference between these groups was the military status of the samurai. The gentry and yangban acted purely as government officials while the samurai possessed duties to the military as well. Overall, the main criteria met by all of the elite groups were prominent ancestral lineage and exorbitant amounts of money.
...ining power over its subjects. The Tokugawa instead took the wives and children of the shoguns semihostage in Edo to deter powerful families from taking over the Tokugawa. This is the way the Tokugawa handled the problem because they were no outsiders to Japan but they had many enemies within the state. The Tokugawa and Chinese, however, both closely maintained their contact with foreigners, especially in trade. The Chinese established the Canton system which limited the Europeans to trade in only one city and need a guild approval to trade. The Japanese solved this problem of foreign relations through directing all trade traffic to Honshu, a port city under Edo’s direct rule. This was significant because this direction of trade meant the Edo government could collect taxes on the products rather than another daimyo, drawing power and wealth away from rival families.
Ieyasu established his government at Edo, present-day Tokyo, where he had a huge castle. His was a stable, peaceful government beginning a period of Japanese history which was to last until the Imperial Restoration of 1868, for although Ieyasu himself died in 1616 members of his family succeeded each other and the title Shogun became virtually an hereditary one for the Tokugawas.
There are many historical aspects of the Japanese, but the most interesting is the history of the Samurai. In Japans history war played a large role in the country. Controlling clans fought for parts of the land and overall control of the country. These clans were powerful families that resided in the country and who all wanted power and control of Japan for themselves. The families that would be in control were known as Shoguns. These shoguns would have warriors that fought for them if any of the other clan families would try to attack him in order to overthrow him and take his power from him. The Samurai followed a code that developed from Chinese beliefs when in battle. The Samurais code was known as the Bushido. This code was also known as “The Way of The Warrior” which was the main belief s...
The Japanese culture is quite harmonious, respectful, and hardworking. Their culture is made up highly of being respectful of others, family, and nature. They value their elders, history, tradition, religion, family, government, nature, education, and work.