Japanese+and+European+feudalism

Thesis: Both European and Japanese feudalism rose up after the past rulers could not maintain their ruler any longer. Samurais and knights worked in service of their "lords" as long as they were given land and honor. Feudalism in Japan started in 1185 but did not end until 1868. The Japanese emperor was in power but merely acted as a figure head with the shogun with the real control. Feudal Europe began after the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century by the Visigoths, leaving the European lands in turmoil. European feudalism began in France and Germany in the 9th century.

European feudalism


 * What is feudalism? The exchange of land for service in the military
 * Fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century led to European feudalism
 * Romans were weak, no organization
 * There was a sort of feudal hierarchy in which that the king was the head of it all, followed my the lords who held land.
 * An advantage to European feudalism is that ANYONE could rise up to being a lord or of a holder of high power, despite if they were born a peasant or not.
 * prove to be loyal or worthy in battle by the king or lord, and he would be rewarded with a fief(land)
 * swear an oath to his king/lord (Oath of Fealty)
 * [|spread] all throughout European world, some examples being France, England, Spain, Italy, and later Germany.
 * Eventually, feudalism [|fell] to the rising monarchs from France, Spain, and England

Japanese Feudalism
 * between the 12th and 19th centuries
 * The "lords" were the shoguns, who were then followed by the daimyo
 * Feudal Japan had a [|four-tiered class system]
 * The merchants held the lowest position
 * Samurais were at the top
 * had right to chop of people's head (lower than them) that did not bow to them
 * More than just the feudal system belonged a class of beauty (geisha) and condemned people (eta)
 * Feudal system fell in 1868 fell when the Meiji Restoration took place with the emperor abolished the shogun

Watch a short presentation of what Feudal Japan looked like [|here].


 * If you choose to want to learn more detailed information about Feudal Japan, then read this [|pdf].