How The Shogun Enforced Rules In Feudal Japan
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Japan
- If people commited serious crimes like murder and setting fire to something intentionally they would have a death penalty.
- Different crimes would get different punishments like: exile, labor, confiscatioln of property.
Japan
What was life like for the people that lived in Feudal Japan?
The Samurai of Japan
By Livi and Donia
- For the wealthy, like the emperor and warrior class, life was very luxerious with many opportunities.
- For the poor and people lower on the social pyramid, it was not the ideal way to live and grow up in. They did not get much respect compared to the people higher up on the social pyramid and did not have as many luxuries.
- Many people in the warrior class lived in big houses and wore clothes that only they could afford to show their power and authority.
- Another name for the samurai is "bushi".
- The samurai were warriors that protected the daimyo in armies.
- They had added privileges and held a higher social status than most people in Japan.
- These privileges included: a family name (last name), family crest, and being able to carry two swords.
- They followed a code of honor called the way of the warrior, or "bushido" in Japan.
- If they failed to protect their lord they were to commit "seppuku" (suicide).
The Shogun of Japan
- Shogun literally means " a commander of a force".
- The shogun was essentially a military general and political leader.
- They would be lower than the emperor on the social pyramid but above daimyo.
- Although they were lower than the emperor on the social ladder, if the emperor told the people of Japan that he believed in one shogun and that the other one should not be shogun anymore, the people would follow the emperor's lead, as he was the most important.
The Peasants of Japan
Traditional Japanese Music
- The peasants were divided into several classes on the social pyramid.
- The highest ranking of the peasants were farmers, farmers who owned their own land ranked higher than farmers who worked on the land of others.
- Craftstmen and artisans were the second highest ranking of the peasants. They worked with wood and metal and some became very well-known for making swords for expert samurai.
- Merchants were the lowest ranking of the peasants because people felt that they made their salary off of other people's work.
Social Pyramid in Feudal Japan
The Daimyo of Japan
The Emperor of Japan
- Daimyo means "great name".
- The daimyo are of a lower rank than the shogun and emperor.
- They owned armies of samurai to protect the land and the workers that they owned.
- The greatest daimyo were sometimes able to move up on the social pyramid to achieve the status of a shogun.
- The emperor of ancient feudal Japan was at the very top of the social pyramid.
- He was like a god to everyone of Japan and was to be respected and believed in.
- Although he was thought of as a god, the shogun had more military and overall power and authority over Japan than the emperor.