West Africa - Lee County Schools / Homepage
Download
Report
Transcript West Africa - Lee County Schools / Homepage
6th Grade UBD - Unit 5 – Japanese Society
Under the Shogun- Japan was firmly organized under the
Tokugawa shogunate. Under Japan’s Tokugawa shogunate, social
status was passed down through families. It was closely tied to
military rank or way of earning a living. Members of one social class
could not move up to another social class. A person’s social class
affected all parts of life.
Japanese Cultural Treasures- Under the Tokugawa shogunate,
several parts of Japanese culture grew and changed.
For hundreds of years,
Japan developed its unique
culture with influence from
only its closest neighbors,
China and Korea. Create a
list of five facts you know
about Japanese culture
today. (5 minutes)
Work with a
neighbor and
compare your
answer with theirs.
What things are
the same and what
things are
different? (3
minutes)
The emperor was considered to be descended from the
gods but had no political power.
The shogun, or supreme military dictator, was the real
ruler of the country.
Large landowners, or daimyo, controlled local people
through samurai warriors who were loyal to them.
Peasants made up most of the population and worked the
land for the daimyo.
The Japanese people
believed their emperor
was descended from
the gods, but by about
400 the emperor was
little more than a
religious symbol.
Key Term
Emperor- A
male leader of
an empire or a
ruler who has
total power in a
country or
region.
Key Term
Shogun- The
highest-ranking
samurai or general
who received the
title of Shogun for
some great victory
on behalf of the
emperor.
Key Term
Daimyo- Regional
lords who controlled
local territories and
had their own group
of loyal samurai. All
daimyo shared an
equal title, but some
were more powerful
than others.
Real power was in
the hands of the
noble families, who
often fought each
other to gain
political control.
In 1185, Yoritomo of
the Minamoto clan
gained power against
his rivals and claimed
the title shogun:
supreme military
dictator.
The noble families and
the shogun relied on the
military support of
armed warriors called
samurai.
Samurai were loyal to
the shogun or the family
they served.
By the mid-1300s, when the
shogun had lost much of his
power, Japan developed a
feudal system with no central
power.
Regional lords called daimyo
controlled local territories
and had their own groups of
loyal samurai.
The period of 1467–
1603 was one of civil
war, as daimyo
fought each other
for wealth and
power.
A samurai named
Toyotomi Hideyoshi
defeated his rivals and
united all of Japan under
his rule.
However, because he was
of peasant birth, he could
not become shogun.
Hideyoshi issued a law that
made the classes of Japanese
society permanent: Samurai
were at the top; peasants,
who were farmers, were
below the samurai; artisans
came next; and merchants
were the lowest class of
society.
After Hideyoshi’s death,
Tokugawa Ieyasu
became shogun and won
control of Japan.
He began the Tokugawa
shogunate, which ruled
Japan for 265 years.
Powerful landowners and
samurai were required to live in
Edo the capital city every other
year.
In this way, the shogun ensured
that the landowners would not
gain regional power and
become rivals of the Tokugawa
family.
Key Term
Samurai- A
Japanese
warrior who
was a member
of the military
upper classes.
Key Term
Bushido- Or the
way of the warrior
is the traditional
code of the
Japanese samurai,
stressing honor,
self-discipline,
bravery, and simple
living.
Although they had
many privileges, the
samurai had to live
their lives according to
a strict code called
Bushido, or the way of
the warrior.
This code required the samurai
to be brave, skilled in battle,
loyal, honest, and willing to
sacrifice themselves in service
of their lord.
Samurai were even expected to
commit ritual suicide if their
daimyo ordered them to.
The samurai owed loyalty to
the emperor, his parents, his
master, his teachers, and his
friends.
By showing such obedience
and loyalty, the samurai set an
example of ideal citizenship for
the lower orders.
Video- Creating a Samurai Sword
Reading Handout- Code of the Samurai
Families arranged
marriages, and women had
few rights in marriage.
The samurai practiced
cultural activities, such as
painting, flower arranging,
calligraphy, and writing
poetry.
Women who were related to
samurai had their own strict
rules to follow.
A woman of the samurai
class was obligated to obey
her parents as a child, her
husband as a wife, and her
sons when they were grown.
Peasants made up the
great majority of the
population. They had
very little power in
society.
For example, they were
not free to leave their
daimyo’s land and seek
other work in the towns.
Because the peasants
produced food, they were
essential to the foundation
of the state in feudal Japan.
As a result, the shogun and
daimyo needed to keep the
peasants happy but not
allow them to gain too
much power.
Although merchants
occupied the bottom of
the social structure, many
of them became rich by
shrewdly buying and
selling rice.
For all classes, the
economy of Japan was
based on a rice standard.
As Japanese society became
more urban, a money
economy began to develop.
Because daimyo and their
samurai needed cash to pay
for goods, services, and their
luxurious lifestyles, they
often found themselves in
debt to merchants.
Zen, a Japanese form of Buddhism, was the
chosen religion of the samurai class.
Woodblock printmaking developed as an art form.
It captured the lively city life of the merchant
class.
Haiku, a traditional Japanese form of poetry, was
at its height during the Tokugawa shogunate.
Video- Buddhism
The preferred religion of the
samurai was Zen Buddhism,
which was a branch of
Buddhism.
Zen teachers guided their
students in meditation through
the use of stories, dialogues,
and metaphors.
In Edo and other cities, wealthy
merchants developed an art
form called ukiyo-e, or “the
floating world.”
In this form of art, the natural
world is shown in brief moments
of unreal beauty, such as a
snowfall or the blossoming of
cherry trees.
Japanese writers also
developed new form of
poetry called a haiku.
A haiku is a poem in 17
syllables, divided into
three lines of five, seven,
and five syllables.
The years of the
Tokugawa shogunate
were the “golden
age” of haiku, but the
form is still popular in
Japan today.
Key Term
Haiku- A three-line
poem with five
syllables in the first
line, seven syllables
in the second line,
and five syllables in
the third line.
These poems do
not rhyme.
Video- How to Write a Haiku
Write a short one
page story from the
perspective of a
samurai, a shogun,
or a lord about life
in feudal Japan.
What has been the
“muddiest” point so far in
this lesson? That is, what
topic remains the least
clear to you? (4 minutes)
Work with a
neighbor and
compare your
muddiest point with
theirs. Compare
what things are the
same and what
things are different?
(3 minutes)