PRESENTATION OUTLINE
Geography
Japan is made up of 4 main islands:Honshu,Kyushu, Shikoku,Hokkaido.The islands top Japan with islands that come up from the ocean floor.Many earthquakes and volvanos brust there and only 20% of the land is good for farming.The sea around Japan helped people travel and trade for food.
Social Hierarchy
The Social Hierarchy of Medieval Japan was On the top was the Emperor,with not much power, then was the Shogun with most of the power, then was the Daimyos,the farmers etc, then were the samurai the warriors, then were the peasants, then were the Artisans, and on the bottom were the merchants.
The Shogun
The Shogun had most of the power in Japan and was kind of the ruler.The emperor chose the shogun but the shogun had most of the actual power.But as the shogun got more power he became more of a dictato/shogunate. This shogunate system was started by Minamoto in the city of Kamakura.One very famous shogun was Tokugawa.
Samurai
(Genral History)
Samurai were powerful military warriors in feudal Japan.They were the servants of the Daimyos and protected them in return of a small payment.The samurai dominated Japan government and society until the Meiji Restoration of 1868 .
Fighting Style
Samurais did most of their fighting with their swords and had many different kinds of moves with them.They also did martial arts which was orgininated in Japan. they rode horses and got their enemies with their sharp and powerful swords.
Bushido
The samurai followed a code of honor called Bushido. Bushido means the way of the warrior and is a set of values a samurai must follow. Bushido was a set of 8 things a samurai must follow, they are: 1.Rectitude or Justice,2.Courage,3.Benevolence or mercy,4.Politeness,5.Honesty and Sincerity,6.Honor,7.Loyalty, & 8.Character and Self-Control.
Seppuku
Seppuku is a ritual performed by commiting suicide in Medieval Japan. When a samuria does seppuku they probaly did something bad, for wxample failed tomobey a order, or they do it to prevent thereself from being captured in a battle, or as an act of loyalty and if there superior/lord died, also it could be considered a reward for a samurai. Seppuku was usually cutting oneselfs stomach with a short sword.
Weapons
Samurais main weapon were their long or short sharp swords. One of their swords were called The Katana. Also one unusual weapon was Gunsen which were fans of war. They alos used a weapon called Kama which was a hammer type of weapon. One very hurtful weapon was Manriki-Kusari which was the ten thousand power chain made up of powerful metal which really hurt their enemies.
Famous Samurai
Oen Samurai was Oda Nobunaga who was the strongest samurai during the peak of Japan. Another samurai was Takeda Shingen who helped and fought the most during the Sengoku period, specially at the countryside and thsi was the most violent period of the era of the samurai. One very special samurai was Tomoe Gozen who was one of the only woman to take the battlefield with the men and fought greatly.
Religions
Japan had two main religions and they were Buddhism and Shinto which originated in Japan, and Confucianism.Christianity was banned from Japan because of power.Shinto was more abourespecting the Natural World and nature, Buddhsim came frome India,to China,to Korea, and passed on to Japan in the sixth century C.E. buddhism was a path of practice that any living being can take up to gain release from suffering. Confucianism was a great deal and increased the idea of art and culture in Japan. There were still some people that chose to follow Christianity and made up a small percent of Japan.
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Government
Japan was a strong central government created by Shotoku,a prince. Japan didn't exam people to hore them instead they chose nobles from powerful families.Japan also had a cenus,so the emperor can know who owe him taxes in rice or silk.The men in the cenus also had to work in the army. But when buddhism spread in Japan the government had problems. After a small war the goverment weakened and broke apart, then they were protected by the samurai, ruled by the shoguns and daimyo.
