Counts vs. Daimyo Essay

During the middle ages both Europe and Japan experienced feudalism. The feudal system in both social structures was very similar and different. The system of feudalism in Europe and Japan was a system that had similar roles for the nobles,and the peasants.Both cultures had warriors who defended the people of our country.They follow certain codes of honor. The feudal system has many similarities but also consisted of many differences.

The feudal system began to decline after the Black Death struck Europe in the late 1340’s. The feudal system joined politics and grouped together the social classes of that period. It began with the “relationship between two freemen (men who are not serfs), a lord and his vassal. Vassal derived from a Celtic word for servant, but in feudal terms vassal meant a free person who put himself under the protection of a lord and for whom he rendered loyal military aid.” This relationship was mutually beneficial at first, but throughout the development of the system, great restrictions were endured.

Feudalism in Japan and Europe are different. Although feudalism arose because both societies were in need for security and stability, feudalism in Japan arose because of civil rivalry while feudalism in Europe arose because of invasions. The systems were the same because the lords had to lessen their responsibilities and required armies to protect them. Trust was needed between lords and their

starts of with the emperor. The emperor is at the top with his family. The emperor is an important religious figure, he swapped lands swapped land with nobles exchange for their support for he couldn't handle all the land far far away from him. In the shogunate period the emperor didn't have much power for the shoguns had basically controlled the government.

Japanese Feudalism - a social system founded upon a strict hierarchy with the daimyo at the top, followed by the samurai, then farmers and fishermen, artisans, and finally merchants and shopkeepers.

Feudalism was a contrasting system dealing with political and military relationships existing among members of the higher social class, Kings, Lords and other owners of large lands in Western Europe during the Middle Ages. The Feudal system started by the granting of fiefs, chiefly in the form of land and labor, in return the lord would receive political and

European feudalism was based on contract and Japanese feudalism was based on personal relationship with the lord and vassal. This helps prove that the differences between European and Japanese feudalism made limited government more likely to develop in the West because a contract limits what the lords and vassals could do. William, the king of English, said, “I command you [the vassal] to summon all those who are under your charge......and bring ready with you those five knights that you owe me[.]”1 This helps prove that European feudalism was based on contract because when you owe someone something, it implies an agreement. The key terms are I command you and owe. The vassal has to send troops because he has to. He is under the rule of

Kingdoms in this era were subject to imperial claims (other than by the emperor), making the role of emperor not absolute and in constant struggle to maintain control over, through negotiations or confrontations.5

Feudalism, as a decentralized political system, flourished in Medieval Europe. In this essay, the main political and economic characteristics of Feudalism will be mentioned, while discussing the main historical factors to the rise and fall of feudalism.

The vassal-lord relationship in Europe was created very similarly to how the samurai-daimyo relationship in Japan came about. These systems or relationships were created in order to protect the higher powers, the lord and daimyos. In these systems though, the samurai and vassals both had a type of agreement with the lords and the daimyo. In return for protecting the lord and his family, the vassal was given land, a very important gift back then, in a contract made with the lord. The samurai though led a simple life and did not demand anything in return for their loyalty to the daimyo. This is why many historians believe that the Japanese system may or may not be a feudal system because a feudal system means a decentralized political order in

In Medieval times during the 10th and 13th centuries, a form of political and social organization called feudalism was a way of life that had great effect on people of the time and on the modern world. Feudalism was developed because of the weakness of Europe and it's kings. The word feudalism comes from the word fief, which was the land held on condition of feudal service, similar to an estate (English). The fiefs bound together lords and vassals. Feudalism was a structure in which a lord divided his land into smaller parts to give to lesser lords (“Feudalism”).

Tokugawa had centralized government with 450 daimyo put into a place. He required them to meet in Edo every other year, having a residency for at least one year. The families of the daimyo also had to stay as hostages, so they could

What makes a society feudal? To answer this I am going to look at two important ideas which Duus brings up. The first important idea that he presents is that feudalism has no definition that everyone agrees on, which has created controversy surrounding the question of Japan 's Feudalism. Duus addresses this controversy and then shows that he believes Japan did indeed have feudalism due to having many similarities with European feudalism. The second important point is that the vassal system, particularly that of military men, is a defining feature in Japan 's feudalism. He shows that the rise, and later decline, of the vassal system is crucial in holding together Japan 's feudalism. When vassals began to shift from a military focus to a more aristocratic one, the feudal system declined and eventually faded entirely.

The feudal system of the time operated on the premise of peasants or serfs, and thanes, or lords. The lords owned the land, and the peasants worked on it. In turn, they received the protection

Feudalism is, thus characterized by political decentralization. The monarchs, having delegated such a substantial amount of authority to the nobles, were left essentially without any real power. The social order, which regulated virtually all of society, dictated the need for a king to maintain public peace. Thus, the monarchs remained in power, but only figuratively (Pirenne, pp. 147-150).