![]() ![]() The samurai had a female branch, the onna-bugeisha, who fought alongside the male warriors when needed. Interestingly, Japan never took this view on women. ![]() Many sociologists would argue that the images of delicate damsels in distress in need of rescuers haunt women in Western society up until this very day. You only have to think of any fairy tale set in medieval times to gain insight into how women were viewed during the European feudal period. Because of this, families could pass on their riches to their daughters if they saw fit. She was instrumental in the creation of the ama-shogun, a charter which laid out the legal rights of women to inherit equal amounts to their fraternal kin. Hojo Masako, the wife of the first shogun of the Kamakura period, was vocal in her wishes for inheritance law to be inclusive of women in Japan. ![]() Common adoptees included sons-in-law, nephews, or even completed unrelated people. If the family did not have a suitable son, it was acceptable to adopt an adult man as a son in order to pass down the inheritance. Japanese people could select the most suitable son from the family to be their sole heir. Japan’s system avoided these issues by adding an element of flexibility to the inheritance system. For example, some families had only daughters, and others had firstborn sons who were unsuitable for the duties of the heir. In some families, this worked out well – but in others, it posed major issues. This is often still the case in modern times. In European feudal systems, the firstborn son usually inherited the family land. In Japan, we tend to see a collectivist attitude – where citizens work as a community for the good of the country as a whole. In Europe, we tend to see individualistic societies – where each person strives towards their own personal goals. Interestingly, you can see the after-effects of these two separate ethos in Europe and Japan today. This left very little room for revolt if the nobility were not serving their people well. The ethos of the Chinese system placed an emphasis on the unconditional loyalty of citizens to the nobility, regardless of their actions. In Japan’s feudal system, the relationship between nobility and citizens was modeled on the Chinese system. Should the nobility let down the citizens in feudal Europe, a revolution was a possibility. Under this ethos, loyalty to the nobility was conditional on the nobility fulfilling their side of the bargain – in other words, keeping citizens protected and providing reasonable living conditions. Legalistic vs Unconditional LoyaltyĮurope’s feudal system encouraged a legalistic style relationship between nobility and citizens, based on Roman law. Actually, if you take a look at modern Japan and Europe, you could easily pick out differences that directly correlate with how things were hundreds of years ago! 1. ![]() Naturally, Japan and Europe would have more differences than similarities. 5 Differences Between The Japanese Shogunate And Feudal Europe There were even pronounced physical similarities between the samurai and the knight class – both wore a suit of armor, and both rode horses. The training was far more holistic than just learning to fight in both Europe and Japan – warriors were expected to adhere to a code of honor at all times, and to act as aspirational role models to citizens. In both systems, warriors began their training at a young age. Knights and samurai were both considered their own separate class – above-average citizens, but below the nobility. Europe had knights, Japan had the samurai, but both valued military highly during their respective feudal periods. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |