2. Students will be able to…
• Explain the development of feudalism in Japan
• Describe how power shifted from the nobles
to the nobles in the 1100’s
• Explain how Japanese society became a
military society
3. A Timeline of Japanese Leadership
593-622
Prince Shotoku
800’s
Fujiwara clan
comes to power
– They hold the
REAL power in
Japan
1100’s
Feudalism
Begins in
Japan
Minamoto Yoritomo
Becomes first Shogun
1192 1603
Tokugawa Ieyasu
Isolates Japan and establishes a
Dynasty which lasts until the 1800’s
4. Central Government Grows Week
• Japan remained strong
and untied for centuries
• Fujiwara clan came to
power and remained
Japan’s most powerful
family for almost 300
years.
• 1100’s the power of
central government and
the Fujiwara clan declined
– Running out of money
– Lost authority over large
land owners
5. Feudalism:
• A political and social system of local rule in
which lords (Daimyo in Japan) gave land to
vassals in exchange for service.
7. Feudalism in Japan
• Daimyo (large
landholders) gained
control over Japan
– Hired Samurai armies to
protect themselves and
attack other daimyo
– Powerful families (Taira
and Minamoto) had large
armies of samurai
– The emperor still remained
in power – but no longer
had any real power
continuing the pattern
started in early Japan
8. As daimyo power increased central government
weakened and lawlessness increased
• Small landowners wanted protection
– To get protection they pledged loyalty to a more
powerful lord or daimyo
– Loyalty included military service
– This person is known as a vassal
9. Military Society
• Military leaders called
Shoguns or “supreme
commander of the army”
rose to power
– Shoguns ruled on the
emperor’s behalf – usually
allowing his own interest
to come first
– Minamoto Yoritomo
became the first shogun in
1192 – ruled the country of
Japan
– Shotgunates would last for
nearly 700 years
10. Samurai
• Warriors
• Vowed to fight for their lord
even if they could not protect
their family
• Honorable death more
important than long life
• Women were often warriors
• Lived by a code of honor called
Bushido: loyalty, honor, and
bravery – became the
unwritten code of conduct for
all Japanese
• Zen Buddhism an important
aspect of their lives
11. Three Powerful Warriors Unify Japan
Oda Nobunaga
• Mid 1500’s
• Recognized the importance
of guns
• First Japanese soldiers to
use guns in battle
• Controlled nearly half of
Japan before he died in
1582
Toyotomi Hideyoshi
• General for Oda Nobunaga
• Born a peasant
• Controlled all of Japan
before his death in 1598
12. Three Powerful Leaders
• Tokugawa Ieyasu
– Became Shogun in 1603
– Founded a dynasty
(Tokugawa Shogunate) that
would last until 1868
– Established the capital of
Japan Edo which would
become Tokyo
– Isolated Japan, banned
Christianity, forbid
Japanese to leave Japan,
and ended all foreign trade
– Lasted until the 1850’s
13. Why it Matters…
• Japan remains strongly united today. It
continues to limit immigration and controls
the country’s dealings with foreigners
