Feudal Japan Essay Research Paper During the

Feudal Japan Essay, Research Paper

During the period of Japanese history known as Feudal Japan, there were many warring fiefs, orstates, with different lords. Their objective was unifying Japan. and, it couldn’t have been donewithout the help of samurais and ninjas. Samurais had masters and went by a code of conductknown as Bushido. The ninjas were just thieves and hired assassins. What else can be learnedabout these warriors. Some questions that might pique a person’s curiosity are many. How didthey training. What requirements had to be met to become a master. How has modern day Japanbeen influenced by its medieval history. Feudal Japan has had much influence on Japan’s shapeinto modern day. “The kami came into existence on a plane parallel to the Prime Materia, whence Japan iscreated after Izanagi (the male) ‘dips his spear into the ocean and creates Japan along withIzanami (the female). They procure a pantheon of gods, and it is through this natural divinity thatthe hegemony of the Yamato House is mythically legitimized” (Lewis 1999). Here Lewis explains the myth of how Japan was created. He uses reference in relating the relationship of man, with thekami, or gods. “Kobutai refers to the traditional assertion that feudal Japanese have divine roots, and butone Imperial Line.” (Lewis 1999) . This explains of how the Japanese felt about themselves, and how proud they were of their own culture. Not only that, they felt as if to be more superior beingsthan any other race on the planet. “Although the Emperor is the logical apex of thisstructure…..the lower classes were not allowed to lay eyes upon him.” (Staff 1999). Like allfeudal systems there were many classes. Only a few lived lavish lifestyles, while many work asslaves. At the top of the chain was the emperor, he spent most of his time isolated in the palace. The emperors felt so bored that they often became monks. This allowed for more freedom andthe ability to travel beyond Kyoto, (Japanese capital). Many times the emperor was only asymbolic representation of authority, because the real power holders of Japan were the Shoguns,(Japan’s top military oligarchy). Next in line were the Kuge, “The Kuge ran Japan’s central government….they held manypowerful positions.” (staff 1999) Indeed, just as in any feudal system, they were the nobles, andaristocrats. Their lives were based upon the government most of the time, which in occupied alltheir spare time. Just below the Kuge came the Buke. They were Japan’s military class. Started around1100, this class includes samurai, ashigaru (foot soldiers), and daimyo (governor-general). Theirmain duty was to act out the duties enacted to them by the Kuges, some of which includedleadership of different geographic regions. At the bottom of the list are the Bonge. They were the common people. “Theseunfortunate people have the lowest social ranking besides the Ainu. Who are considered wildbarbarians.” (Mcdowell 1996) The people of this class often wanted to distinguish themselves sowithin this class were subclasses. Ryoke were independent land owners and farmers, Gesakukinwere renter farmers, and Genin were craftsmen and laborers. These common people struggledand worked like slaves for the higher classes. A good example of this is that 95% of the peoplesupported the rice needs of the 5% who were higher class. This often caused many riots andrebellions. The samurai were called upon to break up the turmoil. This lead to the samurai becoming an official class. The Samurai became an official class, but how did that happen. “War played a centralpart in the history of Japan.” (Staff 1999) For the most part, the struggle was the one oftenrepeated thoughtout history, the controlling of land. About 20% of Japan’s land was fit forfarming. No wonder it was so valuable. This struggle, along with the rebellion of the lowerclasses helped the samurai to be distinguished as a class. “Emperor Keiko was cunning, fearless,strong, and a great marital artist” (Mcgee 1999). Emperor Keiko was an important person. Legend says he was the first person obtain the title of Shogun, or General of Japan. He wasimportant because the legend goes on to say his son Prince Yamato, through his father’steachings, set the role for the samurai. Ancient Yayoi warriors developed weapons, armor, and a code which, during thecenturies, became the core of the samurai. The ancient weapons were bows, arrows, and swords. Armor included a helmet protecting the head and neck, a breastplate for chest protection, arm andshoulder protectors, and a belly wrap. Later forms of armor came to include leg and thigh

protectors. The reason for changes in armor was the change in fighting technique. In the fifthcentury, horses were being imported to Japan. This led the samurai to fight with bows and onhorses. “After seeing the skill of Mongols on horseback…the samurai later changed their ways offighting .” (Mcgee 1999) Later on, in the 13th century, when battling with Mongols, theirmethods changed to ground. They used swords during close range combat for beheading foes.The long sword was 24 inches, while the short was between 12 and 24 inches. The samurai oftenbelieved their swords were their souls. With the demand for stronger swords over the centuries, the straight swords became thelong curved ones seen today. The sword began as iron combined with carbon. The swordsmithsused fire, water, anvil, and hammer to shape these swords. After forging the blade,