The document discusses how social controls shaped Japanese identity and citizenship during the Tokugawa period. It examines the concepts of honor and duty, which were highly important in Japanese society. The Tokugawa shogunate used existing social values and controls like the teachings of Confucianism to maintain order and support their rule. Confucianism taught that everyone had a proper place in society and that peace came from accepting one's duties and obligations.
The document discusses how social controls shaped Japanese identity and citizenship during the Tokugawa period. It examines the concepts of honor and duty, which were highly important in Japanese society. The Tokugawa shogunate used existing social values and controls like the teachings of Confucianism to maintain order and support their rule. Confucianism taught that everyone had a proper place in society and that peace came from accepting one's duties and obligations.
The document discusses how social controls shaped Japanese identity and citizenship during the Tokugawa period. It examines the concepts of honor and duty, which were highly important in Japanese society. The Tokugawa shogunate used existing social values and controls like the teachings of Confucianism to maintain order and support their rule. Confucianism taught that everyone had a proper place in society and that peace came from accepting one's duties and obligations.
Duty How did social controls shape Japanese identity and citizenship?
Honor and Duty in Our
Society How important are the ideas of honor and duty to you in your life?
Do you think about how your actions may affect
the honor of your family as a whole?
What are your everyday duties and how
seriously do you take them?
Do you hear people in our society use the terms
honor and duty very often in conversation?
At the beginning of the chapter you read the
story of Lord Asano and the 47 Ronin. Lord Asano felt that Lord Kira dishonored him. Obedience to authority was important to the Ronin, but their duty to avenge their lords dishonor and death was even more important than the law.
Toward a Harmonious Society
The Tokugawa shogun did not create the Japanese social structure. However they did use its values and social controls to support and protect their rule. Social controls are the rules and customs in society that regulate peoples behavior. The purpose of social controls is to maintain order in society. The teachings of Confucianism played an important role in the Japanese acceptance of class distinctions. It taught that everyone had a proper place in society. If everyone accepted their duties and obligations, there would be peace and order. Confucius encouraged people to be modest and study hard. In Edo Japan, samurai schools and