Socio-Political+Structure+of+Feudal+Japan

·  The chief of several clans or family groups called //ubi// became the Emperor when one of his class took political power  ·  The //Emperor// and the imperial family had the highest social status  ·  He was a figurehead, a leader in name only  ·  He was the religious leader, but had little political power, and in reality was under control of the shogun's clan  ·  Economically, the people of all other classes of society provided for the Emperor and his court  ** Shogun ** ·  The shogun was part of the warrior class, and considered to be a noble  ·  The //shogun// was the military leader of the most powerful of the Emperor's clans  ·  The clans often fought to acquire this high social status <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> ·  <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">The shogun was the actual political ruler, he had a high social status and those of the other classes provided for his economic needs in return for protection and privileges (eg. a small portion of land, some of the produce of the land) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">
 * Socio-Political Structure **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Emperor **

·  <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">The daimyos were part of the warrior class <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> ·  <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">They were nobles at the top of the samurai class <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> ·  <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Daimyo translates to mean "great names" <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> ·  <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">The //daimyos// were the shogun's representatives <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> ·  <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">They ran the estates according to the shogun's rules <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> ·  <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Their swords were their most valuable possessions because they were required to use them often to demonstrate their loyalty to the shogun <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> ·  <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">They had high social status as members of the warrior class <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> ·  <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">They lived in huge castles surrounded by moats <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Daimyos **

·  <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">The samuai were members of the warrior class <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> ·  <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">The //samurai// were professional warriors of the military aristocracy <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> ·  <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">They were loyal to the shogun and daimyos, in whose castles they resided <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> ·  <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Their position gave them fairly high social status, but little political power <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> ·  <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Their economic needs were met by lower classes similar to the arrangement with the daimyos and the shogun <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Samurai **

·  <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">The ronin were paid soldiers whose loyalty was with the leader they defended at the time <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> ·  <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">The //ronin// were wandering samurai who had no daimyos <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> ·  <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">They worked as body guards for rich merchants or as paid soldiers during civil war <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> ·  <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">They had low social status, no political power and depended on others for their economic well-being <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Ronin **

·  <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">The peasants were the largest class, constituting 90% of the population <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> ·  <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">The peasants included farmers and fishermen <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Peasants **

·  <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">The artisans were the craftspeople who made a variety of wood and metal products to meet the needs and wants of the other classes <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> ·  <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">The artisan crafted a variety of products including art, cooking pots, fish hooks, farm tools, utensils, ship anchors and swords <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Artisans **

·  <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">The merchants sold goods and produce made by others <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> ·  <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">The merchants were of very low social status and seen as unimportant because they produced nothing of value and lived off the efforts of others' work <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> <span style="font-size: 24pt; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Return to Research Page <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Merchants **

Sources: Info [] Picture []