Transcript Shoguns and Samurai

Shoguns and Samurai
Daily Lesson and Discussion Notes: 5-2
Objectives:
 Analyze changes in Japan during
the AD 700s
 Explain how military leaders gained
control of Japan
 Describe rule by the daimyo
Objective 1:
 Analyze changes in Japan
during the 700s
I. Nara Japan (pages 303-304)
A. Nara became the capital city of Japan in
the early AD 700s. Because of its
importance, the history of Japan during this
time is called the Nara Period. Nara
resembled the Chinese city of Chang’an.
B. Japanese emperors at Nara organized government
into ranks. Government jobs were given to nobles of
powerful families. Jobs could be passed on to the
official’s son or another relative.
C. The emperor’s
power came from
the control of land
and crops. A
census was
conducted for taxcollecting purposes.
D. Buddhism came to Japan from Korea and was
popular during the Nara Period. Nobles who were not
Buddhists opposed the religion, and struggles broke
out between Buddhists and non-Buddhists for control
of the government.
E. After stopping
an attempt by a
Buddhist monk to
seize the throne,
the emperor left
Nara to the
Buddhist.
Objective 1: Analyze changes in Japan
during the 700s
 During the Nara Period, the
emperor’s power grew, and
Buddhism spread among Japan’s
common people
Objective 2:
 Explain how military leaders gained
control of Japan
II. The Rise of the Shogun
(pages 304-306)
A. In AD 794, Heian became the new capital of
Japan. Today the city is known as Kyoto.
B. The government of Japan declined during the AD
800s because of a series of weak emperors. Since many
of Japan’s emperors were children, regents ruled for
them. Most regents were from the Fujiwara clan, and
the clan grew wealthy and powerful in Heian.
C. Powerful
nobles of
other clans
gained
control in the
provinces of
Japan.
D. To protect their lands, nobles built armies of warriors
called samurai. Samurai followed a code of conduct
called Bushido, which demanded that a samurai be loyal
to his master, courageous, and honorable.
E. The Gempei War was a civil war between the two
most powerful clans in Japan – the Taira family and
the Minamoto family. Minamoto Yoritomo was the
leader of the Minamoto clan and commander of their
army.
F. After the Minamoto
won the Gempei War, the
emperor decided to reward
Yoritomo to keep him
happy and loyal to the
emperor. The emperor
gave him the title of
shogun, or commander of
all of the emperor’s
military. Yoritomo was a
ruthless leader. He and the
shoguns after him
appointed samurai to run
provinces.
G. Kublai Khan and the Mongols invaded Japan twice
but were defeated. Typhoons, called kamikaze by the
Japanese, helped defeat the Mongols.
Objective 2: Explain how the military
leaders gained control of Japan
Over time, the Japanese emperors lost
power to nobles and their armies of
samurai. Eventually a military ruler,
called a shogun, ruled the country.
Objective 3:
 Describe rule by the daimyo
III. The Daimyo Divide Japan
(pages 307-308)
A. As samurai divided
their lands among their
sons, the pieces of land
got smaller, and the
samurai grew resentful
toward the shogun.
B. In 1331, the emperor rebelled against the
shoguns and many samurai joined him. Although
he won, the emperor refused to give the samurai
more land.
C. Ashikaga
Takauji was a
general who
turned against the
emperor and made
himself a shogun.
D. The daimyo were powerful military lords who
controlled territories created after the Ashikaga
shoguns took over. The daimyo protected their
territories by creating their own armies of samurai
warriors.
E. Many samurai became
vassals of a daimyo. This
meant the samurai gave an
oath of loyalty to his daimyo
in exchange for land. This
system of granting land for
loyalty is known as feudalism.
F. With no strong central government, Japanese
warriors fought each other. The Onin War raged
from 1467 to 1477. Much of Kyoto was destroyed
then. After the war, fighting spread throughout
the country as daimyo resisted shoguns.
G. The
Ashikaga
shogunate
fell in 1567.
Objective 3: Describe rule by the
daimyo
 In the 1400s and 1500s, the
shoguns lost power, and military
lords, called daimyo, divided Japan
into a number of small territories.