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Journey into Japan: Japan's shoguns keep everyone in their places

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Japanese temple interior
Journey into Japan: Japan's shoguns keep everyone in their places

SUBJECTS:  History

YEARS:  7–8, 9–10


What was the status of each social class in shogunate Japan?

During the period from around 1600 to 1868, Japan was a feudal society. As in medieval Europe, each group had its place in a strict social order.

Watch this clip to discover the roles of each group during the age when the Tokugawa shoguns ruled the country.

This clip is second in a series of six.


Things to think about

  1. 1.What was feudalism? It was a social, economic and political system that appeared in various forms throughout history. There was a common social structure, with monarchs or emperors ruling with the support of local feudal lords who kept warriors to fight for them. The wealth of these upper classes came from the toil of peasant farmers.
  2. 2.What does the narrator mean by saying that Japan's emperor was considered to be 'of divine descent, the son of heaven'? How could the emperor be 'utterly powerless' when he had such high status? What was the traditional role of the samurai? How did the roles of samurai change during the centuries of peace under the Tokugawa shogunate?
  3. 3.In the last part of this clip, the social position of peasants and other lowly classes is described. Whose lifestyles were supported by the hard labour of the peasants? How did the upper classes control and exploit them? Which groups were considered to be more lowly than the peasants? How do you think merchants gained wealth and how did some manage to improve their social status?
  4. 4.You learnt in this clip that the emperor lived in secluded luxury in Kyoto, 500 kilometres from Tokyo. Using the images in the first part of this clip as your main sources, write a description of the architecture and gardens at the royal palace. You may also use the internet to find further images of Kyoto to help in writing your description.


Acknowledgements

Produced by ABC and Japan Foundation.


Date of broadcast: 5 Jul 1979


Copyright

Metadata © Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Education Services Australia Ltd 2012 (except where otherwise indicated). Digital content © Australian Broadcasting Corporation (except where otherwise indicated). Video © Australian Broadcasting Corporation (except where otherwise indicated). All images copyright their respective owners. Text © Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Education Services Australia is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0).

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