Feudalism in Japan | World History

Feudal Japan

For centuries, Japan was ruled by an emperor who claimed to be the grandchild of the sun goddess, Amaterasu. The emperor was seen as divine, but by the 1100s, he was more like a fancy hood ornament—nice to look at but not actually driving the car. The real power belonged to the shogun, a military leader who ran the show while the emperor performed ceremonies and enjoyed the perks of being worshipped.

The political system that developed was feudalism, where land meant power, and society was divided into strict social classes. The shogun handed out land to daimyo, who were basically mini-kings ruling over their territories. Each daimyo had an army of samurai to enforce laws and keep order. Below them were farmers, merchants, and artisans who kept the economy running. Everyone had a role, and moving up the social ladder was about as likely as a winning the lottery. Falling down the ladder, though? That could happen in an instant—and usually with a lot of sharp swords involved.

While this system brought some order, it didn’t exactly lead to peace. Daimyo were constantly fighting over land, forming alliances, and backstabbing each other. For centuries, Japan was a patchwork of territories in a never-ending power struggle. The strongest daimyo might win for a while, but someone was always waiting in the wings to knock them down.

Woodblock painting of an archer on horseback. Okumura Masanobu (1686-1764)

The Birth of Feudalism in Japan

Feudalism in Japan kicked off in the late 1100s with Minamoto no Yorimoto, a military leader who decided the emperor should stick to ceremonies while he ran the country. In 1185, Yorimoto became the first shogun—a title that basically meant "Supreme Military Boss." To keep things running, he divided Japan into districts ruled by daimyo who were loyal to him.

This setup worked for a while. Daimyo managed their land, collected taxes, and commanded armies of samurai. In theory, they answered to the shogun, but in practice, many daimyo acted like independent rulers. By the 1400s, things got messy. The Sengoku Period (1467–1615), or "Warring States Period," was full of battles, betrayals, and shifting alliances—basically a medieval version of Game of Thrones, but with more swords and less talking.

Leaders like Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi started bringing order to the chaos. Finally, Tokugawa Ieyasu took control in 1603, launching the Tokugawa Shogunate and kicking off a long era of peace called the Edo Period.

Hemeji Castle

The Skinny on the Samurai

Until the introduction of the European musket in the 16th century, (1500-1599) the weapons of the samurai were his two swords, leather plated armor, a helmet, and a bow and quiver if he was trained as an archer.

The sword was the most important weapon for a samurai. In fact, some believed it held his soul. Samurai carried not one but two swords. The long blade was called a katana and the Shoto is the short blade. Anything smaller than a Shoto would be called a tanto (knife).

A samurai never unsheathed his sword when not in battle. To do so was considered extremely rude. When entering another samurai's house you were expected to leave your long sword at the door but were permitted to keep your short sword with you. A peasant could even be killed without question for possessing or handling a samurais' sword.

Japanese boys (and sometimes girls) could become samurai from any family. A boy chosen for samurai training would leave his family around the age of 7 to train with a teacher. The bond between student and teacher was strong and the student was expected to master skills of sword fighting as well as mental games that taught critical thinking. A teacher might sneak up on their student and hit them with a stick to enforce the lesson that a samurai must always be on his guard.

Photo of one of the last samurai in Japan. Taken around 1870.

Bushido: The Way of the Warrior

Like the code of chivalry in Europe that told the knights in medieval how to behave, the samurai (known as bushi) also lived by a code of conduct called Bushido- the way of the warrior.

The code of Bushido was simple. A samurai's duty was to serve and obey his Daimyo until death. The Samurai was a part of the ruling warrior class and was expected to help keep the peasants in line, make sure that the harvest was collected and to protect their Daimyo's land from invaders. The Daimyo controlled the people under him. Before someone could get married or leave his territory they had to get his permission. Any reflection of disloyalty or cowardice was a reflection on the Daimyo. To dishonor your Daimyo is to bring shame upon your whole family.

Shame could be passed down for generations and therefore many samurai chose the ultimate sacrifice- seppuku- rather than bring shame upon themselves. Seppuku involved a complex ceremony where a samurai would face a painful death with absolute calm. Only samurai could carry the two swords- one long and one short. During Seppuku the samurai would slice open his belly in a L-shape pattern, being careful to show no pain. Almost instantly, another warrior (probably a close friend) would act as second to cut off the head of the dying samurai to avoid prolonged pain. In this way, a disgraced samurai could ensure that his wife and children would not be outcasts.

Rare photo of the Seppuku ritual

Ninja, Ronin, and Other Sneaky Stuff

A samurai without a Lord was considered to be one of the lowest ranks in feudal Japan. A samurai's only mission was to serve his Lord and to not have a Lord meant that you were dishonorable or had abandoned your duties. Such samurai (known as Ronin) existed throughout Japan . Ronin often hired themselves out to Daimyo as mercenary soldiers but were never fully trusted.

Some highly specialized Ronin (and samurai) were like the Green Berets are today in America. These special ops forces were sent (often on suicide missions) to assassinate enemy Daimyo, engage in spy missions, sabotage, or in some way make life difficult for the enemy. These elite fighters are known as Shinobi- one who steals away. You may never of heard of Shinobi but you probably have heard of the more popular (even though the title was never used during their time) name of Ninja.

In contrast to a samurai, who fought by strict rules of honor, the ninja could pretty much do whatever was necessary to get the job done. The Ninjas (like other Ronin) lived in their own separate communities with their own rank, and peasants. They were technically outside of the samurai system and therefore illegal. However, in a world filled with castles defended by big walls, sometimes a late night poisoning gets the job done better than a six month siege.

Even though most people think of Ninjas as wearing black suits and face masks this attire was best left for covert night jobs. Most ninja were hired not for assassinations but for gathering intelligence from the enemy. Walking into a castle wearing a black ninja suit was a sure fire way to get yourself arrested.

Ninja dressed in everyday clothing and were skilled at the art of conversation in order to make friends with their target. Their main objective was to earn the trust of their target and safely deliver intel back to the Daimyo who hired them. In this way, many women served as ninja. Often they would work in tea houses or as geisha to entertain and collect the gossip from samurai who had a little too much sake to drink.

Japan has its own version of Spiderman. That’s because Ninja's can climb walls! Of course, they haven’t been bitten by mutant spiders. Instead, they use a weapon called shuko, which mean “tiger’s claws” in English.

source: http://www.tbotech.com/

Buddhist Warrior Monks & the Art of Zen

Despite their violent career choices, most samurai lived a life of quiet contemplation. A samurai was expected to neither yell nor argue nor get excessively drunk (at least that was the ideal). Many samurai found solace in Zen Buddhism which makes the story of the samurai so very interesting. Where else do you have warriors who not only bravely slit their own bellies open but are skilled flower arrangers?

Buddhism came to Japan from China around 500 CE. The Chinese style of Buddhism called Chan focused heavily on meditation and quiet reflection as a way of reaching nirvana. This style became known as Zen when it reached Japan. Zen Buddhism focuses on meditation. Samurai warriors would spend hour sitting in absolute silence either staring at a wall, arranging flowers, painting natural landscapes, or having tea.

Entire rituals with their specific rules evolved from Zen Buddhism. The goal of arranging flowers, or painting a mountain, or drinking tea is not to just be quiet but to focus all of your energy, your entire being on this one act.

So why would a warrior care so much about being calm? Isn't it their job to kill people? A battlefield is chaotic place where one wrong move or look can send you back to be reincarnated. Being able to control your thoughts, you become a better warrior. However, when it came time to die, it was seen as honorable to die silently and with dignity.

Japanese Woodcut showing a Samurai doing flower arrangement

The Merchants in Medieval Japan

Japan has had a long and rocky relationship with its larger neighbors across the sea. China looked down on Japan as an inferior land of barefooted barbarians. The Japanese in turn saw their island as the birth of the sun, and viewed outsiders as barbarians. Both nations also went through long periods of isolationism where a distrust of foreigners ran high. This was followed by a period of openness when trade flourished.

The Japanese have made selective borrowing an art. From China, the Japanese have borrowed many ideas and inventions from Confucianism & Buddhism to silk, chopsticks, and gun powder. For centuries China has been Japan’s biggest trading partner–up until the 20th century when the United States took China’s place. Chinese pottery, silks, bamboo, copper and iron kettles were sent east and in return the Japanese exported beautiful ceremonial fans and handcrafted samurai swords.

The Japanese also borrowed from China its prejudice against the merchant classes. The Japanese believed that the merchant classes were parasites, because they neither produced food like the peasants nor protected the country like the samurai. The merchants grew rich from selling other people’s goods and charging interest on money they loaned.

It’s a bit ironic that merchants held such low status in feudal Japan because their trade increased the wealth of the country and brought new goods and luxuries that the samurai depended on. Merchants sometimes also lent money to help pay for a Daimyos’ army or building project. However, merchants and their families were not trusted and so were restricted from owning land, living in certain parts of the city, or having a title of honor. The biggest irony is that merchants paid few taxes because their work was not seen as important while the farmers paid heavy taxes because their work was important.

In order to obtain a permit, Japanese merchants were required to sail in domestically-built ships such as these. One assumes to make them easily identifiable by Japanese port authorities.

The Fall of Feudal Japan

By the 1800s, Japan’s feudal system was falling apart. Merchants were getting richer, samurai were struggling to stay relevant, and the rigid class system couldn’t keep up with the changing world. Then, in 1853, Commodore Matthew Perry showed up with his Black Ships and a message: open up to trade or face the consequences.

Japan tried to modernize while holding on to its traditions, but it didn’t work. Western technology and industry were moving too fast, and Japan’s feudal system couldn’t keep up. In 1868, the Meiji Restoration officially ended the shogunate, restored power to the emperor, and abolished the samurai class. Japan quickly embraced Western ideas and transformed into a modern nation.

The Samurai ruled Japan until the mid-1800s when centuries of Japanese isolation was brought down by American warships with big guns.

The revolution that followed returned the emperor back to a place of power. It also put Japan on the path to becoming the world's fastest-growing industrial superpower.

Why It Matters

Feudal Japan shows how societies balance power, tradition, and change. Its fall highlights the struggle between modern progress and preserving cultural identity—a challenge still relevant today. For Japan, leaving feudalism behind created a modern, industrial nation, while the samurai code left a legacy of discipline and honor that still influences Japanese culture and values.