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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)