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Usually when a medieval period is spoken about, our minds roll back and think of medieval Europe with knights, chivalry and feudal Kings. Few, if not any, think of the Japanese medieval period which took place almost six centuries after the European medieval period started. Medieval Japan had a social structure much like medieval Europe’s but also varied because of the different cultural backgrounds. Both Japan’s and Europe’s medieval periods have similarities as well as differences in their political organization, warrior bonds, and the predominance of religion. Both medieval periods’ had a political structure that revolved around feudalism. Feudalistic Japan’s political construct is very similar to Europe’s where they had a shogun, a feudal …show more content…
The main difference between medieval European political structure and Japan’s is that Japan has an emperor and three subclasses of peasants. According to Columbia University’s database article, Medieval Japan (1185-1600), “the emperor [during the Edo period] had no power and was just there as a figure head”; much like the British look up to their queen today. The second dissimilarity between the two political structures, stated by Nakamura and Matao, that there are three distinct subclasses of peasants (239). These subclasses could be categorized into an upside down hierarchical pyramid structure where the populous farmers are at the top of this pyramid, artisans in the center, and merchants amongst the bottom with other indistinct outcasts and subclasses. Land owning farmers where the highest above all peasants and the merchants where among the lowest. According to Confucian ideology, the merchant class were akin to leeches and basically served no good in a societal role. Because of this, the farmers and artisans where looked upon as the salt of the earth since they produced something that was needed. Honestly, I feel as if the Shogunate wanted to keep the farmers happy and avoid them from going on strike. This is mainly because the Shogunate knew that the merchants …show more content…
Not only does bushido stress a whole hearted loyalty and sacrifice for a superior, it also implements a strong sense of honor and the samurai must defend his master’s honor or commit suicide if this honor was trounced upon. On top of this, the bushido code has seven virtues which can be simplified down to: rectitude, courage, benevolence, respect, honesty, glory, and loyalty. On the other hand, the knights had chivalry which focused on helping the weak. Even though there is not a distinct rule set of chivalry, I noticed a pattern emerging of at least ten characteristics of chivalry. The first is morality, defending your values, third is pity for the weak and defending them, love for their country, no retreat, unmerciless slaughter of evil, obeying any command that does not imbue a form of pious to what you know as just, honesty, generosity, and finally you must be a champion of good and all that is right. The main difference is that a knight does not commit suicide if his king’s honor is trampled on, but keeps fighting for what is just. What creates the warrior bond between two different fighters from different cultures and different hemispheres is that they are men of honor. They fight for what is right and do not back down when it becomes even harder. Not only do I believe that this warrior bond is between knights and samurai, but I also
State of War: The Violent Order of Fourteenth Century Japan by Thomas Donald Conlan tracks the events in Japan between 1336 and 1392. Conlan provides his wisdom on how state and society operated in the Nanbokucho period through various source documents portraying the warriors not by their romanticized “knights of the round table” ideal, but rather showing that while there were alliances of connivence, they could be broken just as easily as they were made, revealing that pragmatism was paramount above all else.
“Feudalism was a political and economical system in Europe from the 9th to about the 15th century.” Japan also had time periods that can be called feudal age including: Heian, Kamakura and Tokugawa. Medieval Japan shared a lot of similarities with medieval Europe, however, there are also many differences. One of the differences is their warriors who played vital roles fighting for their country in both Europe and Japan. In medieval Europe they had knights, and in medieval Japan they had samurais. European knights and Japanese Samurais were different in training, armor, weaponry, true values and codes.
Japanese revolts ensue with the opening of Japan to the Western World. The middle and lower classes wanted Japan to be open while the conservative daimyo did not. Both of these groups looked to the emperor for a decision. The shogunate, reliant on the isolation, collapsed under pressures caused by outsid...
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).
Stories about war and implements of such can be observed throughout the course of Japanese history. This shows the prevalence of martial training and the profession of arms as a tradition that has not faded since ancient times (Friday and Humitake 13).
Japan lasted from 1185-1603. During that time Japan had emperors, shoguns, daimyos, samurai, and peasants who were all apart of a social class, and all together it was called the Samurai Society. The emperor was just a figurehead for the shogun. The shogun was a powerful military leader that ruled in the emperor’s name. Daimyo were powerful landlords. The daimyo often led armies of samurai. These samurai were trained professional warriors who served daimyo and shoguns. The samurai had to follow a certain code of rules for samurai called Bushido. One of their rules included to always have self-discipline to become a good samurai. The samurai warriors wore light armor, helmets (usually shaped like an animal), and had two swords around their waist. Their armor had a lot of detail and color to it, like their unique helmets. After the samurai comes the peasants, which included farmers and fishermen. They usually always work, then pay takes to the shogun. They usually gave the shogun what they earned from working like food or crops. What made their jobs a bit difficult was their topography. Japan’s topography included many mountains, undersea volcanoes, and barely any flat land to farm on. The Japanese didn’t only work they also practiced their religion. For example, they practiced Confucianism, Buddhism (...
War played a central part in the history of Japan. Warring clans controlled much of the country. A chief headed each clan; made up of related families. The chiefs were the ancestors of Japan's imperial family. The wars were usually about land useful for the production of rice. In fact, only 20% of the land was fit for farming. The struggle for control of that land eventually ga...
Do you know someone in the military? A loved one, a friend, do you know what they go through? I may not, but I do know about the harsh training and war that occurred for the Samurais and Knights. In Europe and Japan the empires were falling and Clans were taking over Japan. The government came up with an idea to create feudalism. There was an agreement in both Europe and Japan that exchanged land for protection. The similarities between Samurai and Knights were greater than the differences. This can be shown by looking at the three most similar areas: social position, training and armor, and life, honor, and death. The Samurai and Knights has their differences, but were the similarities greater than those differences.
European feudalism was based on contract and Japanese feudalism was based on personal relationship with the lord and vassal. This helps prove that the differences between European and Japanese feudalism made limited government more likely to develop in the West because a contract limits what the lords and vassals could do. William, the king of English, said, “I command you [the vassal] to summon all those who are under your charge......and bring ready with you those five knights that you owe me[.]”1 This helps prove that European feudalism was based on contract because when you owe someone something, it implies an agreement. The key terms are I command you and owe. The vassal has to send troops because he has to. He is under the rule of his lord. The lord tells his vassal that “[H]e will perform everything [that] was in [their] agreement [because] [he] submitted himself to him and chose his will.”2 This helps prove that European feudalism was based on a contract because a contract implies an agreement. The vassal chose the lord himself, so therefore, the vassal is under the lord's rule and needs to follow the agreement. On Japan's view of feudalism, their feudalism wasn't based on contract. On page 122 and 124 of The Tale of Heike, it implies personal relationships with the lord and vassal. “Despite his predicament, [the lord] still thought of [his vassal].”3 When the lord dies, the vassal kills himself saying, “For whom do I have to fight now?”4 This helps prove that Japanese feudalism was based on a personal relationship with lord and vassal because the lord and vassal actually cared for each other. Even through major problems, the lord and vassal's actions showed how close their relationship was with each other. Also on page 5...
Hard and soft, day and night, girl and boy. These are all differences but one that is not mentioned is samurai and knights. Japanese emperors and the imperial court was challenged by the rise of clans. Like Europe, Japan found itself in pieces. In turn, nobles trained warriors who, in exchange for farmland or food and lodging, swore to be loyal to the nobles and to defend them. The warriors from Europe were called knights. The warriors from Japan were called samurai. From 1000 to 1600 CE in Japan and Europe, samurai and knights were the muscle and the soul of the warrior class. Critics may argue samurai and knights are very similar but in reality, they have more differences. They different because of their loyalty and honor, and their training
...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.
Because they were on the completely opposite sides of the globe, the Spanish Encomienda system and the Japanese Feudalist system were remarkably different. Two differences were that the Japanese Feudalist system had one person at the top, in sharp contrast with the Spanish Encomienda which had a group of people at the top and another was that the Spanish Encomienda system divided its society by ethnicity, not simply by power as did the Japanese. One parallel between the two hierarchies was that foreigners were placed at the bottom of the hierarchy in both Japanese and Spanish societies. Because the Japanese and Spanish societies had almost no contact with one another due to the geographical distance between the two, they are for the most part, completely different apart from a few nuances.
...high power status, Japan had to have a self-reliant industrial common ground and be able to move all human and material resources (S,195). Through the Shogun Revolution of 1868, the abolition of Feudalism in 1871, the activation of the national army in 1873, and the assembly of parliament in 1889, the political system of Japan became westernized (Q,3). Local Labor and commercial assistance from the United States and Europe allowed Japan’s industry to bloom into a developed, modern, industrial nation (Q,3). As a consequence production surplus, and food shortage followed (Q,3). Because of how much it relied on aid of western powers, Japan’s strategic position became especially weak. In an attempt to break off slightly from the aid of the west Japanese leaders believed that it would be essential for Japan to expand beyond its borders to obtain necessary raw materials.
Deal, William E. 2006. Handbook to Life in Medieval and Early Modern Japan. Facts on File, Inc., 2006. eBook
I believe we can all agree that Japanese samurais and European knights are two of the most skilled and famous forms of warriors in history, right? Well both warriors began their trade at a very young age, and went through multiple stages of training throughout their lives. They both had a code of honor basically, but they differed from one another in quite a few ways. The big question is, “Were the similarities greater than the differences?”. Right off the bat I began to ponder the technicalities of the answer to this question. Before I get too scrambled up in the technicalities, let’s discuss some these differences and the similarities and figure out how this plays out. Before we conduct this discussion, let’s review our key terms. A clan is a group of close-knit and interrelated families. Feudalism was a political and economic system that flourished in Europe from the 9th to the 15th century, based on higher classes giving random services and items in exchange for something else. Knights were men who served their lord as a mounted soldier in armor. Samurai’s were members of a powerful military social class in feudal Japan. A shogun was a hereditary commander-in-chief in feudal Japan. Chivalry was the medieval knightly system with its religious, moral, and social code. Bushido was the code of honor and morals developed by the Japanese samurai.