Feudalism in Japan

reads a memoir of a bannerman samurai from the late Edo period. Military governors called the shogun, samurai, and Shinto priests were all part of the class-based social structure in feudal Japan (1192–1868). During the feudalism period, Japan was an agricultural country with relatively limited contact with the rest of the world. At the same time, its culture, literature, and the arts flourished.

Fig. 1 - Kabuki theater actor Ebizō Ichikawa, woodblock print, by Kunimasa Utagawa, 1796.

Feudal Period in Japan

The feudal period in Japan lasted for nearly seven centuries until 1868 and the imperial Meiji Restoration. Feudal Japan had the following features:

1. Hereditary social structure with little social mobility.
2. Unequal socio-economic relationship between the feudal lords and the vassals subordinate to the lords based on obligation.
3. Military government (shogunate) led by governors (shogun, or generals).
4. Generally closed off to the rest of the world due to geographic isolation but periodically communicated and traded with China and Europe.

Feudalism in Japan: Periodization

For the purposes of periodization, historians usually divide Japanese feudalism into four main eras based on the changes in government. These eras are:

• Kamakura Shogunate (1185–1333)
• Ashikaga (Muromachi) Shogunate (1336–1573)
• Azuchi-Momoyama Shogunate (1568-1600)
• Tokugawa (Edo) Shogunate (1603 – 1868)

They are named after the ruling shogun family or Japan's capital at that time.

Kamakura Shogunate

The Kamakura Shogunate (1185–1333) is named after Japan's shogunate capital, Kamakura, at that time. The shogunate was founded by Minamoto no Yoritomo (Yoritomo Minamoto). This Shogunate initiated the feudal period in Japan even though the country still featured symbolic imperial rule. In the preceding decades, the Emperor gradually lost his political power, while the military clans gained it, resulting in feudalism. Japan also faced invasions from the Mongol leader Kublai Khan.

Ashikaga Shogunate

Historians consider the Ashikaga Shogunate (1336–1573), founded by Takauji Ashikaga, to be weak because it was:

• very decentralized
• faced a long period of civil war

This era is also called the Muromachi Period named after an area of Heian-kyō (Kyoto), the shogunate capital at that time. The military governors' weakness resulted in a long power struggle, the Sengoku Period (1467–1615).

However, Japan was also culturally advanced at this time. The country made its first contact with Europeans when the Portuguese arrived in 1543, and it continued to trade with Ming-era China.

Azuchi-Momoyama Shogunate

Azuchi-Momoyama Shogunate (1568–1600) was a short transitionary time between the end of Sengoku and the Edo Periods. Feudal lord Nobunaga Oda was one of the key leaders to unify the country at this time. After making contact with the Europeans, Japan continued to trade with them, and merchant status grew.

Tokugawa Shogunate

Tokugawa Shogunate (1603–1868) is also called the Edo Period because the shogunate's headquarters were located in Edo (Tokyo). Unlike Sengoku, Edo-era Japan was peaceful: so much so that many samurai had to take up jobs in the shogunate's complex administration. During most of the Edo period, Japan remained closed to the outside world again until an American naval commander Matthew Perry arrived in 1853. At gunpoint, the Americans established the Convention of Kanagawa (1854) allowing foreign trade. Finally, in 1868, during the Meiji Restoration, the Emperor regained political power. As a result, the shogunate was dissolved, and prefectures replaced feudal domains.

Feudalism in Japan: Social Structure

The social hierarchy in feudal Japan was strict. The ruling class included the imperial court and the shogun.

The four classes comprised the lower part of the social pyramid:

Japanese Serfdom

The farmers were important to feudal Japanese society because they provided food for everyone: from the castles of the shogun to the townsfolk. Many farmers were serfs that were tied to the lord's land providing him with some of the crops (mainly, rice) that they grew. The farming class lived in villages that featured its own local hierarchy:

• Nanushi, the elders, controlled the village
• Daikan, the administrator, inspected the area

The farmers paid nengu, a tax, to the feudal lords. Lords also took a portion of their crop yield. In some cases, the farmers had no remaining rice left for themselves and were forced to eat other types of crops.

• Koku was the measure of rice estimated to be about 180 liters (48 U.S. gallons). Rice fields were measured in koku output. Farmers provided stipends measured in koku of rice to the lords. The amount depended on their social status. For example, an Edo-era daimyō had domains that produced approximately 10,000 koku. In contrast, a low-ranking hatamoto samurai could receive as little as just over 100 koku.

Fig. 2 - Reflections of the Moon in the Rice Fields of Sarashina in Shinshu, by Hiroshige Utagawa, ca. 1832.

Men in Feudal Japan: Gender and Social Hierarchy

Like its strict social hierarchy, feudal Japan featured a gender hierarchy too. Exceptions notwithstanding, Japan was a patriarchal society. Men were in positions of power and represented every social class: from the emperor and the shogun at the top of the hierarchy to the merchants at the bottom thereof. Women usually had secondary roles, and gender divisions began from birth. Of course, women of higher social status were better off.

Fig. 3 - A kabuki actor, a courtesan, and her apprentice, by Harunobu Suzuki, 1768.

In addition to being a wife, women could be concubines and courtesans.

Samurai in Feudal Japan

Samurai were the warrior class in Japan. The samurai were at the top of the social hierarchy below the feudal lords.

They were the vassals of the daimyō, but also had vassals themselves. Some samurai had fiefs (an estate of land). When the samurai worked for the feudal lords, they were called retainers. During the periods of war, their service was of military nature. However, the Edo Period was a time of peace. Consequently, many samurai served in the shogunate's administration.

Fig. 4 - Japanese military commander Santaro Koboto in traditional armor, by Felice Beato, ca. 1868, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.

Compare and Contrast: Feudalism in Europe and Japan

Both Medieval Europe and Japan shared agrarian, farming economies that subscribed to feudalism. Generally speaking, feudalism meant an unequal relationship between the lord and the vassal, in which the latter owed service or loyalty to the former. However, in the case of Europe, the relationship between the lord, such as the landed nobility, and the vassal was generally contractual and underpinned by legal obligations. In contrast, the relationship between the Japanese lord, such as the daimyō, and the vassal was more personal. Some historians even described it as having at one point been: