The Tokugawa And Meiji State Ruling Class And Officials

While ongoing change became the status quo in late-Tokugawa era Japan the ideals of the samurai—and the respect they receive—endured. And, because samurai could still fall back on the prestige their class represented, members of society still

Next, the Bushido Code shows how the samurai acted around people. One of the rules in the Bushido Code was, “ ‘men must grudge money, for riches hinder wisdom’ ” This means that anyone who was rich in Japan at this time, had to of acted like they didn’t care about money. Wisdom was one of the most important virtues at this time, so if money obstructed

During the post classical period, 650 C.E to 1450 C.E, Japanese leaders were confronted with several issues that threatened political order in Japan. The problems that arose during that time included a lack of respect for Buddhism, for example, monks were not taking their vows seriously. Another problem included the division between classes in the social structure, one instance was when the lady-in-waiting in the temple showed disdain for the peasants in a lower class than her. Ultimately, one last problem was the lack of overall respect for the government. Samurais were not being properly trained and the Daimyo were fighting among themselves simply for power. The issues that presented themselves during this time period can be solved in many ways. Buddhism, a unified religion, reestablishing Confucian values and relationships, and properly training the Samurai are just

The Japanese social structure was a lot more complicated than the Europeans simple and permanent one. They were a lot more specific on who went where, and they had several levels of peasants. This structure was determined by looking at how much you contributed to the society, and the more you did, obviously the more important on the ranking you were. The Eta and Hinin were considered “unhuman” because they did work which went against the laws of Buddhism. In medieval Europe, the social structure was simple; if you were a peasant, there was no changing that. You were a peasant! The King was only answerable to the Pope, as during this time the Catholic Church was extremely powerful, having their say in practically everything. The difference between these two is that the Japanese simply had a ruler (the emperor), and although of course they were swayed by their religion, the Emperor had a strong say, whereas the European

There were two main groups in early Japanese shogunate period. The ‘good citizens’ included nobles, farmers and other free people. The ‘Low citizens’ include slaves, servants and guards. The daimyo and samurais belonged to the warrior class aka Shi. Shi was at the top because they protected the nation from invasion. Farmers were after daimyo’s and samurai’s they were called no. No were important because without food no one could survive. No people were essential as they produce food. Artisans aka ko came next. Ko made paper, fine swords and reed mats. Sho were merchants .The Sho were at the bottom of the social ladder because they didn't make anything. Sho lived by selling rice and other items.

The working poor which made up the majority of the Japanese citizens were not allowed to become involved in any non-agricultural economic pursuits. Therefore, maintaining constant and traditional Japanese values, yet the Dutch whom were the only foreign power allowed to trade with the Japanese at the port of Nagasaki warned the shogunate that they would have to “accede to foreign demands.” Many young scholars and the samurai class agreed with the Dutch logic in that it is not smart for the Japanese to become stagnant while the rest of the world is booming a merchant dominated economic system. Many scholars such as Fukuzawa Yukichi were worried about the state of the government and stated “I was mortified when I thought over the possible outcome of national exclusiveness.” This hindrance by the government in order to preserve the traditions of Japan irked the citizens in that the “stability” of the shogunate was regression as a culture rather than progress which is what most felt that the government should be striving

This essay will compare and contrast the Japanese emperor to European pope and Japanese peasants to European peasants.

The primary beneficiaries of the emerging money economy were the merchants. Daimyo and samurai traded their rice for money with the merchants who soon became very rich. Merchants, cashing in on daimyo debt attained positions of authority within the daimyo households. Many were living lavish lifestyles only dreamt of by samurai. This caused resentment in Japanese society because, although they were socially inferior, merchants enjoyed an elevated status economically (Kunihiko 1997). Perhaps the social class that suffered the most indignities was the samurai who, lacking the means to earn a living on their regular income, indulged in the lifestyle of Edo. Many had to resort to engaging in handicraft for income vice training at the martial arts thus leading to inherent corruption (Nobumitsu 1997).

Though the Kamakura period marked the beginning of warrior class rule in Japan, events in the late Heian period provided the means for samurai clans to rise to positions of power. The increase in the number and size of shoen (private estates exempt from government taxation) resulted in a significant decline of the imperial government’s authority. “By the twelfth century, it was estimated that only about one-tenth of land remained in the public domain under the authority of the provincial governors.” (Hane Perez p. 76) The lack of taxable land prevented the government from acquiring the financial resources necessary to maintain a national military. As the central government’s military

Between 1968 and 1912, Japan was going through a reformation called Meiji Restoration in order make the country strong as western countries. It had caused changes in many parts of Japan such as society, government, military, etc. Some of these changes still can be seen in the Japanese society today such as emperors are honored by Japanese citizens and seen as a special figure. Since this reformation had a great impact on development of Japan, it can be consider as a very important part of Japanese history.This study will seek to answer the question: To what extent did the Meiji Restoration succeeded to reform and strengthen Japan? In order to answer the question, the investigation will analyze military reform and economic reform caused by

Japan is an unique oriental country in many aspects, especially in politics and economy, both western practices and traditional nationalism are coexisted in this country. The period 1890-1940 was just followed the Meiji restoration, and was typical in the history of Japan, at that time, Japan was on the way from a feudal country to a capitalistic country, called modernization. Many western practices were being more and more adopted, however, at the same time, traditional rules still had strong influences in Japan. Under this background, this report will discuss the Japanese cultural factors during 1890-1940 that influenced the disclosure

The Meiji Era in Japan is known as a time of rapid industrialization and Westernization where many institutions of society were realigned in one form or another to be consistent with their Western counterparts. Ironically, at the same time, it was a period of growing nationalistic feelings that began to develop in Japanese society. However, besides being a reactionary or nostalgic feeling experienced by the population, this nationalist ideology was also actively promoted by the Meiji leadership. Central to this ideology was the emperor who was effectively and successfully used as a tool for legitimizing the Meiji government.

The Japanese people, although of different classes, are united by a fierce pride for self and culture. Although many of the samurai are starving and poor, they are too proud to beg for food, or even accept it as payment for services rendered. Some of the samurai who refuse to help the village do so because they are too proud to work for such a lowly cause. The farmers’ pride in their village is seen through their efforts to defend their village and livelihood in the face of the bandits. This pride is even more evident as those farmers who live outside the protective wall built around the village for the battle attempt to mutiny against the samurai and defend only their homes.

Late Feudalism in Japan was characterized by its contradictory nature of being centralized politically while maintaining feudal institutions, thus earning the title of a “centralized feudalist state” (Reischauer, pg. 73 - 74). Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first shogun of the Tokugawa bakufu, wanted to encourage an era of peace after the constant bloodbath that occurred during the second phase of feudalism in Japan, and this was the basis of most of the changes that distinguish Late Feudalism from the other two phases. The most notable change he implemented was the revival of Confucianism; this resulted in declining rates of crime and violence and a rise in literacy rates, a phenomenon that was based on Confucius’ famous phrase, “The gentleman is not a utensil” (Confucian Analects, Handout #1). In terms of individualism, Confucianism encouraged individuals to

During the tenure of Tokugawa leyasu, the government changed from a devolved feudal government to a military government that was in the form of bakufu. In this form of government there was the maintenance of a controlled environment among the daimyos since their rivalry was a major factor to the chaos that took place in the recently concluded Warring States Period. The main polices that were used in the Tokugawa system of governance were influencing the daimoyo, taking control over the imperial court, managing the foreign relationships, and sacralizing the legacy of Tokugawa. From the Tokugawa Japan, it stated that the social and economic Backgrounds of the current Japan, Tokugawa leyasu put more exertion so that he could control the daimyos and reduce them in their numbers. There was a law adapted by this regime called the buke sho-hatto that were laws concerning the military houses that regulated the daimyos immensely starting from how they gad to repair their castles and ranging to ensuring that their wives and children stay in