Within this essay, I will be discussing the difference in feudalism between Europe and Japan. Feudalism is the dominant social system in medieval Europe, in which the nobility holds lands from the Crown in exchange for military service, and vassals are in turn tenants of the nobles, while the peasants (villeins or serfs) are obliged to live on their lord's land and give him homage, labor, and a share of the produce, notionally in exchange for military protection. I will be arguing that Japan system with feudalism is much more simple and easier. In a poem by the Bishop of Laon, he argues that the need for subjugation in western Europe is so great, that he believes that the the three systems will not be able to survive without one another. Bishop of Laon groups these groups by those who fight, work, and pray. (Document 1). We observe that in the English customs of the 12th …show more content…
In Japan, it’s given rules governed feudal policy to lend credibility to it’s claims. By forcing men to their class, the Japanese were guaranteeing a balanced system of leaders, warriors, and workers (Document 3). In Japan though, religion was an important part of culture, commerce was more defined and compartmentalized. Military personnel were also rewarded by their accomplishments and it was outlined that farmers should not have extra taxes required of them. Though religion was important in feudal Japan, it remained separate from commerce. In Europe, Religion and commerce intermingled within their feudal systems. From a witness by Geoffrey, Count of Essex, the King is made aware that a monk from Christ Church, Canterbury, was given permission to send from England one hundred pounds of corn during Easter. The monk needed permission, which is in accordance to the feudal laws of the land; however the Count and King were acting under both religious and commercial structures. (Doc
“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.
Throughout the seventeenth century, Europe was in a state of crisis. In many countries, violent revolts and riots were not out of the ordinary. In most of these cases of violence, human behaviors and actions of the controlling governments and royalty authorities were the underlying factors that set the stage for the chaotic state. However, in all of the instances of revolt and anarchy seen throughout Europe, religious behaviors and influences were the most prominent and contributing cause that sparked the most violence in the general crisis during the 1600’s.
With the gradual decline of the Tokugawa Shogunate and the restoration of the Imperial title, Japan began its second phase of foreign borrowing by entering ‘secondary civilization,’ or industrial society (Suzuki, 1995 p.773). Beginning in the late Tokugawa period, the power of the shogun and the damiyos progressively began diminishing under political pressure and the deteriorating financial condition of the nation. Dissatisfied with the conditions, the people began leaning towards the restoration of the nation as an Empire, which occurred in 1867-68 with the resignation of Tokugawa Yoshinobu (15th Tokugawa Shogun), marking the beginning of the Meiji Restoration. The transfer of power to the Emperor proceeded smoothly, indicating the beginning of Japan’s radical influence and changes from the west. At the beginning of the Meiji period, Japan was primarily an agricultural nation with a weak military and scarce technological development still largely traditional in nature. Power was transferred into the hands of noble samurai that had opposed Tokugawa rule, acting in the name of the Em...
...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.
Feudalism is a system of land ownership and duties that were used in the Middle Ages. Under feudalism, all the land in a kingdom was the king's. However, the king would give some of his land to the lords or nobles who fought for him. Rulers in all society wanted to create law and order and ensure that people make good use of the society’s resources. That is why feudalism was created. Monarchs had to accept limits on their own personal power. They also needed to respond to expectations that other groups in society have a say in decision-making. People began to use medieval courts for problems that had previously been solved by trial by combat.
Feudalism was a large part of both Japanese and European society. Land was the basis of the feudal system. The concept of feudalism in Europe and Japan began around the same time and the relationship between lords and their vassals were about the same in both societies. However, in Europe, the lord and vassal relationship was more of a legal contract, yet in Japan it was morally binding. The fragmented and decentralized nature of government made the European feudal system less organized than its Japanese counterpart. Increases in trade led to the development of m...
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...
Three things that feudalism in Europe, Japan, and Africa had in common were social structure, protection in return for service, and the existence of warriors. They all had a similar social structure, especially Europe and Japan. All three had some form of peasants who gave loyalty to someone in exchange for protection. Additionally, all three had warriors to fight their battles. These three things show that feudalism in Europe, Japan and Africa were all related.
The purpose of this research paper is to evaluate feudalism’s effectiveness as an economic system. Feudalism was the system most common in Middle Ages Europe. This structure of land distribution involved breaking up land into smaller pieces with their own rulers in exchange for loyalty to the king. This investigation will focus on the Feudalism specifically in Europe in the Middle Ages, as opposed to Oriental feudalism. The books The Middle Ages by Joseph Dahlmus and Feudal Society by Marc Bloch, which dives into Feudalism’s details and effects, are two prominent sources in the paper.
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...
Volatility in the West during the ninth and tenth centuries drove Europeans to strive for a more stable way of life. The institution of feudalism and St. Benedict’s monastic Rule arose in response to this problem and provided what the scattered kingdoms of the old Roman Empire were struggling to achieve.
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.
During the Middle Ages, feudalism served as the “governing political, social, and economic system of late medieval Europe.” Feudalism consisted of feudal liege lords giving land and protection to vassals, common men, in exchange for their allegiance and military service. Although this principle may at first sound like a fair trade, it in actuality restricted the entire society and took away every bit of their independence. In essence, this system could even be compared to a “mini-dictatorship” because the common people relied on ...
Our preliminary class gave a brief, yet detailed outline of major events affecting the East Asian region. Within that class, prompted by our limited geographical knowledge of Asia, we were given a fundamental explanation of the geographical locations of the various events taking place in the region. In subsequent classes, we were introduced to the major wars, political shifts, and economic interests which shaped Japan, China and Korea to what they are today. We examined the paradigm of pre-modern Japanese governance, the Shogunate, and the trained warriors which defended lord and land, Samurai. In addition, we examined the socio-economic classes of Medieval Japan, which included the Samurai, peasants, craftsmen, and the merchants. We also examined pre-1945 Japan’s policies toward foreign entities, notably the Sakoku Policy, which sought to expunge all foreign presence and commerce in an effort to protect its borders and culture. 1945, however, saw ...
Feudalism is a social arrangement of rights and obligations in light of area, residency and individual connections in which land is held in fief by the king to the feudal lords. Feudal lords in return have to display their fielty and perform some administrative services.