The Effectiveness of Feudalism as an Economic System in Japan

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This investigation will attempt to examine the effectiveness of feudalism as an economic system. It is relevant as it examines a form of governing and its impact on the economic status of a country. This allows it to be decided whether or not it was successful, and therefore if it is relevant to use in the modern world and what consequences might follow. Specifically, it will be focusing on feudal society from the Kamakura Period, starting in 1185 CE, to the Azuchi-Momoyama Period, ending in 1615 CE, within Japan. The issues that will be addressed are how feudalism affected the economic prosperity of the Japanese people, and how it affected Japan’s productivity and advancement. This will be accomplished by examining a variety of secondary sources, such as William E. Deal’s Handbook to Life in Medieval & Early Modern Japan and Conrad Shirokauer’s A Brief History of Chinese and Japanese Civilizations.

Summary of Evidence

In Japanese history, the period of time that is considered medieval is referred to as staring with the beginning of the Kamakura Shogunate period in 1185 CE, and ending with the Azuchi-Momoyama Period in 1615 CE. During this time period, Japan was ruled in a militaristic-style fashion by a progression of warrior-clan families, with each family known as a shogunate, or bakufu, in a system commonly referred to as feudalism. Feudalism, specifically, is “a social system… in which people worked and fought for nobles who gave them protection and the use of land in return.” In Japan, these nobles were the warrior-class known as bushi. Bushi brought about many changes such as creating and bringing about new markets, standardizing weights and measures, and possibly introducing the use of currency (coins). Al...

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... some cases. As a result, it can be concluded that feudalism was both a benefit and a detriment to Japan’s economy.

Works Cited

Asawaka, K. “Some of the Contributions of Feudal Japan to the New Japan.” The Journal of Race Development 3, (1912): 18-19, accessed April 4, 2014. doi: 10.2307/29737937.

Colcutt, Martin. “Japan’s Medieval Age: The Kamakura & Muromachi Periods.” (March 28, 2008). About Japan: A Teacher’s Resource. Accessed April 5, 2014. http://aboutjapan.japansociety.org/content.cfm/japans_medieval_age_the_kamakura__muro machi_periods.

Deal, William E. Handbook to Life in Medieval & Early Modern Japan. New York: Facts On File, 2006.

“Feudalism.” Merriam-Webster. Accessed April 7, 2014. http://www.merriam- webster.com/dictionary/feudalism.

Schirokauer, Conrad. A Brief History of Chinese and Japanese Civilizations. Toronto: Wadsworth, 1989.

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