Feudalism in Japan

The feudal period in Japan lasted for 700 years.  During this time Japan was ruled by warrior aristocrats under a feudal system very similar to that in Europe.  But European feudalism ended with the Renaissance, while that of Japan stretched for another 300 years until 1868.  By then, the West had gone through both the French and American Revolutions, and was well into the Industrial Revolution.

In Japan, however, the long feudal period was by no means the “dark ages” as in Europe.  In Japan, culture and education thrived, although they were firmly subordinated to the martial arts and to a political structure in which loyalty to one’s “daimyo,” or feudal lord, was the ultimate virtue and obligation.

The decline of power of the Emperor in Japan occurred in the late 12^th century, when court rivals sought to reinforce their position by calling in help from two outside military houses which successively seized the real power from the Emperor.  This period is written about in many tales of romantic and gallant feats of valor.  (The Tale of Genji is an example and a short version can be found in the resource material for this unit.)

In 1192, the chief military Minato clan, Yoritomo, received the title of Seii-tai-shogun, which means “barbarian-subduing generalissimo.”  The Shogun became the real ruler of Japan, while the Emperor was only a figurehead-valued as the ultimate source of legitimacy, but became almost powerless.

Japanese feudalism was based on fiefs given to noble warriors for their performance of military duties for the lord.  With this came the development of “bushido,” the “Way of the Warrior,” similar to the code of chivalry in medieval Europe.  This bushido demanded that the Samurai warrior doe fighting rather than surrender, because “death is lighter than a feather, but duty is weightier than a mountain.”

Rather than surrender or accept disgrace, a Samurai was expected to commit suicide by seppuku, also known as hara-kiri.

A Samurai’s two outstanding virtues were an indifference to suffering or even death and a great capacity for unswerving personal loyalty.

The new warrior state was soon put to an epic test as Japan faced the only serious external threat in its history until 1945.  The great Mongol Emperor Kublai Khan, whose absolute rule extended 5,000 miles from distant Kiev to the ports of Korea, mounted two powerful invasions of Japan.  An initial invasion was beaten off in 1274, but he returned seven years later with the greatest armada the world would see until World War II:  4,000 ships carrying an army of 150,000 men.  They secured a beachhead on Japan’s southern island of Kyushu, where Japan’s warriors fought the invaders desperately for 53 days of almost uninterrupted battle, until a sudden typhoon nearly destroyed the Mongol fleet.  Feeling this was divine intervention, the samurai wiped out the invading force.  In Japanese history, this timely typhoon s called a “kamikaze” or “divine wind”-a name which was to become familiar six centuries later to the U.S. Navy.

What ever the shortcoming of feudalism there is little doubt that without the martial arts of the samurai, Japan would probably have lost to the massive Mongol invasion.

Questions for the Feudal Period

1. How long did feudalism last in Japan?
2. What happened in the last 300 years of feudalism in Japan in the rest of the world?
3. To whom did samurai owe allegiance?
4. What title did the Emperor give the Minamoto clan in 1192?
5. Give examples of how Japanese feudalism was similar to that in Europe.
6. Explain the saying, “death id lighter then a feather, but duty is weightier than a mountain.”
7. What are the two virtues if a samurai?
8. What ended the Mongol invasion of Japan?