Japanese Feudalism Essay

Words: 435
Pages: 2

The Japanese and European societies were progressively feudal during the 9th to the 15th century. Both societies had similarities. Although they also had numerous differences. There are social and political aspects of feudalism. Cultural diffusion plays a big part in spreading feudalism in different ways from Europe through Japan.
Feudalism is a loose form of government, organized system of rule in which powerful lords divided their large landownings among lesser lords. It’s a social system in medieval Europe in which kings and queens had the most power. In feudalism, there is a social order. Politically, feudalism is a caste system. The caste system went as follows; King and Queens, lords, lesser lords, knights, and peasants. The Church usually
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One similarity is their warriors. In Europe, they had knights. The knights had heavy armor and rode horses. They followed a code of conduct called chivalry. The Code of Conduct says the knights need to be brave, loyal and true to their word. In Japan, their warriors are samurai. They were heavily armed like the knights and were skilled fighters. Samurai also lived by a code of honor called Bushido, which entailed that they be brave, honorable, and loyal. Another similarity is the caste system for both regions. Even though they were called different names, the basis is the same. The top was the king or emperor, then came the lords (Shogun in Japan), lesser lords (Daimyo in Japan), knights/samurai, and the end of the pyramid is the only difference. In Europe, peasants were at the bottom, but in Japan peasants second from the bottom and merchants were at the bottom. In Europe women were cherished and protected. Only the noble women, though. Women even did work around the village. In Japan, women were not put on a pedestal. The men were more favored because they carried on the family name. Japan might have differences from Europe’s form of feudalism, but the general idea of Japan’s feudalism was definitely adapted from Europe’s.
Japan and Europe both had feudal societies. Japan was originally influenced by Europe. With the many similarities in their feudal societies, one can clearly see