MEDIEVAL JAPAN

GEOGRAPHY

• Japan unlike most countries is an island. Japan has a very large amount of mountains as well. There is very little area for farmland because of it mountains. Japan has a lot of rivers but only a few can be used for transportation.

SOCIAL HIERACHY

• Japan has a feudal system. A feudal system is where a group of people are put on a social class. First was the emperor he had a large amount of respect but didn't make all the decisions. Next was the shogun which had respect but made a lot of the decisions. Next came the daimyo they were a well respected military leader. Next came the samurai which were the warriors. Next came peasants who did all the farm work. Next came the artisians who made pottery or made things by hand. Next came the merchants who sold products or valuables.

SHOGUN

• Shogun was the person below the emperor. Unlike the emperor they made a lot of the important decisions. People also respected them like the emperor. The shogun wasn't born into it like the emperor they were elected.

SAMURAI

• Some samurai did not have leader at all. These samurai were called Rônin. These samurai did not have a leader because there leader died or some other important reason.
• One of the fighting styles was Muso Jikiden Eishin-ryu. This fighting style delt with drawing the sword and cutting in the same movement. Another fighting style is Hyoho Niten Ichi-ryu. This styles name translates to "Two heavens, One school" and refers to the trademark stance of both swords held above the head attack.

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• The code of honor was called bushido. Bushido is the code of honor and morals developed by the Japanese samurai. Before you even become a samurai you have to learn bushido. Bushido was a very big deal to becoming a samurai. Samurai commited Seppuku which means they have commited suicide. When the samurai commit seppuku they cut their stomach open with a knife or sword. They did this because they wanted to die in honor. This was also part of bushido which was the code of honor that samurai learned.

SAMURAI (CONTINUED)

• Samurai's weapons were known as knives and swords. They had a primary sword and a secondary sword. Their swords were very reliable because they were flexable and very strong. The black smith would make the sword of iron and then dip the hot flaming metal into water which made the weapon strong.

SAMURAI (CONTINUED)

• Oba Nobunaga was a very famous samurai. He lived around (1534-1582) this is when he was born and when he died. He started the unification of Japan around the 16th century. He increased his army's fire power by adopting firearms. He was the ruler of 1/3 of Japan. He was a very feared war lord. He was forced to commit seppuku by his shogun Akechi Mitsuhidel.

RELIGIONS

• Japan had two main religions Shinto and the Budda. The religion Shinto dated back to prehistoric times. Shinto means "the way of the gods". The other religion Buddhism deals with the Budda. The Budda believed in peace and nature. People that were part of Buddhism medated a lot.

GOVERNMENT

• A person named Shotoku took over Japan and wanted to grow a stronger government. He was the first person to make a Japenese constitution. He also built the buddhist temple of Horyuji which is the oldest surviving wooden building in the world. He created Japan's first strong central government.

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