FEUDALSYSTEMOFMEDIEVALJAPAN

michelle.dao

FEUDAL
SYSTEM OF
MEDIEVAL
JAPAN
By: Michelle Dao

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FEUDAL
SYSTEM OF
MEDIEVAL
JAPAN
There are many social groups in the
social pyramid of medieval Japan.
There are 8 social groups in total in
medieval Japan. They are: Emperor,
Shogun, Daimyo, Samurai, Ronin,
Peasants, Artisans and Merchants

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EMPEROR
An emperor is a sovereign ruler of
an empire. The status of the
emperor was largely ceremonial.
The Japanese democratically
elective Japanese Diet
(Parliament) is the seat of the
government, with the emperor
occupying the role. The emperor
was worshipped by people but
held little political power.

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SHOGUN
The shogun were a hereditary
commander-in-chief in feudal
Japan. The shogun was the ,most
powerful warlord. The Shogun
commanded the military and
economic power and effectively
ruled the country. The shogun
during the shogunate had more
power than the emperor who was
just a puppet figure with little
actual power. He could remain as
shogun as long as he could unite
the majority of the daimyo.

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DAIMYO
A daimyo is a territorial lord. The
Japanese word 'daimyo' is
compounded from 'dai' ("large) and
'myo' ("name-land", meaning
"private land"). During the
shogunates, there were daimyo
who controlled parts of Japan
while the shogun controlled most
of Japan. The daimyo were
powerful warlords and the most
powerful rulers under the shogun.
Daimyo had vast hereditary land
holdings and armies to protect the
land and its workers. The power of
the daimyo depended on the size
of his and the number of samurai
he led.

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SAMURAI
A samurai is a member of a
powerful military castle in feudal
Japan. The term 'samurai' means
'those who serve'. The samurai
were warriors who swore their
allegiance to their lord and
maintained his authority. As
servants of the daimyos, or great
lords, the samurai backed up the
authority of the shogun and gave
him the power over the emperor.
The samurai would dominate
Japanese government and society
until the Meiji restoration of 1868
led to the abolition of the feudal
system.

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RONIN
A ronin is a wondering samurai
with no lord or master. The term
'ronin' was used for outlaws and
wanderers, men who had been
expelled from their clans or had
renounced their lords. The word
'ronin' is borrowed from Chinese,
and it means 'drifter' or 'lawless
person'.

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PEASANTS
Peasants are poor smallholder or
agricultural labourer of low social
status. Peasants were divided into
sub classes and the highest
ranking peasant was the farmers,
Farmers who owned their own
land ranked higher than farmers
who did not. Artisans was ranked
after the farmers in the sub
classes. The artisans were ranked
as the second highest. The
Merchants were the lowest
ranking.

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ARTISANS
An artisans is a worker in skill
trade,especially one that involves
making things by hand. The
artisans were the second highest
in the sub classes of peasants. The
artisans worked with wood and
metal and some are well-known
as expert of Samurai sword
makers.

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MERCHANTS
A merchant is a person or
company involved in whole trade,
especially in one dealing with
foreign countries or supplying
goods to a particular company.
The merchants were the lowest
ranking of the sub classes of
peasants. This is because they felt
like they made their living off of
other people's work. However, in
later times when Japan began to
use money more as currency,
merchants became more wealthy.

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There are two sub classes that weren't in the feudal systems. They were considered completely
out of the class system. They are...

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ETA
The eta were people who were
involved in activities as leather
work, burials or butchering
animals. The term 'eta' means
'great filth'. The eta were a caste
group whose employment in jobs
were considered unclean set them
apart in the feudal economy of
medieval Japan. The eta had to
remain segregated (isolated), poor,
socially ostracised (excluded from
society) segment of the
population, still forced to follow
their traditional occupations.

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HININ
The hinin were people that were
involved in activities such as acting
and scavenging. The term 'hinin'
means "non-person'

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