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Similarities between japan and western europe feudal social organizations (600-1450)
Tokugawa administration
Similarities between japan and western europe feudal social organizations (600-1450)
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How the Tokugawa Shogunate Controlled the Japanese Society.
In this essay I will describe the ways that Tokugawa Shogunate maintained control of medieval Japanese society. The Tokugawa Shogunates maintained the medieval Japanese society in a well organised way, and that’s what my argument is about and here a reasons why they did an excellent job at it.
In the Tokugawa Period (1603-1867) was the final period of traditional Japan. Tokugawa leayasu (Military Dictator) was a shogun who gained hegemony by balancing the power of potentially hostile domains with strategically placed allies and collateral houses. This describes that leayasu has maintained & controlled the medieval Japanese society in a strategically way.
Another description on how
Inquiry Question: Why were the passengers on the Komagata Maru rejected to stay in Canada?
Western influence played a significant role in the downfall of the Shogunate. The arrival of Commodore Matthew Perry in 1853 and the signing of the ‘unequal treaties’ lead to further discontent in Japan’s Feudal Structure and rebellions against the government. Although in the lead up to the arrival of Perry, there were already problems within the Feudal structure of Japan, it was the response of the Shogunate to Western influence that ultimately lead to an alliance, which sped up the downfall of the Shogunate.
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...
Musui’s Story is the exciting tale of a low class samurai’s life towards the end of the Tokugawa era. Although one would normally imagine a samurai to be a noble illustrious figure, Musui’s Story portrays the rather ignominious life of an unemployed samurai. Nonetheless, this primary account demonstrates the tenacity of samurai values and privileges present at the end of the Tokugawa shogunate. The social status of samurai had been elevated to such a state that even someone like Musui was easily able to gain influence in everyday affairs with his privileges. Not only that, but he had retained his values as a warrior and still kept great pride for his arts in weaponry.
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).
Throughout History, there have been many different groups or events that are still widely known today. Groups of people such as the Indians or Vikings are popular groups which are referenced constantly in today’s society. However, none of these groups is more known or referenced than the Japanese Samurai. Originating in 646 AD, these Japanese warriors developed from a loose organization of farmers to the dominant social class in Feudal Japan. Along with their dominant military and political standing, the samurai brought with them a unique code or moral belief that became the core of Samurai culture. Because of this, the Samurai and their principles still affect modern day Japanese society with social customs today deriving directly and indirectly from the beliefs of the Samurai.
Sanson, George. "Tokugawa’s Practical Revolution." Makers of World History, Volume 2. Ed. J. Kelly Sowards. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1995: 76-78.
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...
The Japanese Empire became an empire in the year 1868. They quickly spread their empire out and became rulers over 7,400,000 square kilometers of land. “They quickly became known for war crimes against their ow...
The Tokugawa Shogunate, although a very strong government, gave way in 1868 because of slow economic decline. The economy suffered in many ways, starting with a population growth that strained resources. The Shogun, as Confucians, wanted Japan to be an agriculturally based civilization but that fell to pieces as more and more peasants moved to cities to become artisans or merchants. These merchants would then manipulate the price of rice in order to make the largest profit. Samurai had to convert rice into cash, but it became harder for them to do so when the shogun could not stabilize rice prices. Merchants soon grew richer than daimyo and samurai who still held the higher social status. The Shogunate made laws that stopped all travel in and
In Japan the Tokugawa government was in control. At the time Japan was isolated from other countries preventing Japan from being able to trade and explore. There was no contact between the West because of past experiences. The Shogun believed in using the feudal system to keep the people in order. In the year of 1854 Commodore Matthew Perry arrived in one of Japan’s harbor with two large naval ships. Commodore Perry came from the US with a letter from the President demanding Japan to open their ports for trade. Due to the large size and strength of the US’s ships Japan agreed to open their ports. America was mainly interested in trading and getting more supplies not conflict. The people believed that the Shogun, Japan’s leader, showed weakness
...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.
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 ...
The second phase occurring between 1603 and 1868 is identified as the Tokugawa period and illustrates the efforts to centralize governmental authority and political stability. Here, the development of a centralized law enforcement system is reflective of that of