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Japan Under the Shoguns

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Japan Under the Shoguns

Read the historical briefing, then complete the tasks. Use evidence from the briefing where you can. Dates are approximate; Japanese eras and political power did not always change at the same moment.

Historical briefing: who held power?

For much of Japan’s feudal era, political authority was shared and contested. The emperor was the hereditary sovereign and an important source of legitimacy, but military rulers often held greater day-to-day political power. A shogun was a military leader who governed through a bakufu, or military government. Powerful landholding lords called daimyo controlled domains and relied on samurai, who served as warriors and retainers. Farmers produced much of the rice that supported society, while artisans and merchants worked in towns. These categories were not a simple ladder: people’s status and opportunities could vary, and the system changed over time. In 1185, Minamoto no Yoritomo won a decisive struggle for power; in 1192, he was appointed shogun. His Kamakura government established a lasting model of military rule. Later, the Ashikaga shoguns ruled during the Muromachi period (1336–1573), but their authority weakened and powerful lords fought for control. After decades of conflict, Tokugawa Ieyasu secured victory at Sekigahara in 1600 and became shogun in 1603. The Tokugawa shogunate governed from Edo (now Tokyo) until 1868. Its long rule brought greater stability, although society remained tightly ordered and political control was strong. Japan’s mountainous terrain left much land difficult to farm, while many people lived on coastal plains. Rice-growing regions, ports and roads mattered to rulers because they helped supply armies and connect domains. Mountains could make travel and central control harder, but they did not isolate every community.

Part A: Read like a historian

Use the briefing to investigate how military government worked and why power shifted.

1.Match each term to its best description. Write the correct letter beside each number.

A. Shogun
B. Daimyo
C. Samurai
D. Bakufu

4. The military government
1. A powerful landholding lord who controlled a domain
2. A military ruler who governed through a military government
3. A warrior and retainer who served a lord

2.Choose the best answer: During much of the feudal era, who generally held greater day-to-day political power?

The emperor
The shogun
The merchants
The farmers

3.True or false? The emperor became unimportant simply because the shogun held much of the practical political power. Explain your choice in one sentence.

4.Complete the chain using the briefing: daimyo controlled domains → samurai served as warriors and retainers → they provided the daimyo with .

Part B: Track the turning points

Use the timeline to interpret what changed.

Date

Event

1185

Yoritomo wins a decisive struggle for power

1192

Yoritomo is appointed shogun

1600

Tokugawa Ieyasu wins at Sekigahara

1603

Ieyasu becomes shogun

5.Which happened first: Yoritomo’s decisive victory or his appointment as shogun? What does the order suggest about how he gained authority?

6.Which military victory is most closely linked to the beginning of Tokugawa rule, and in what year did it happen? (This question asks about the military victory, not the later formal start of Ieyasu’s shogunal rule.)

Part C: Make a historical judgement

Use specific details rather than general statements.

7.The briefing says that mountains could make travel and central control harder. Give one reason why a daimyo might find it difficult to govern a domain with mountainous terrain.

8.The Tokugawa shogunate ruled until 1868. Use the briefing to give one feature of Tokugawa rule that might have helped maintain order, and one cost or limitation of that order.

9.A student says, “The emperor was the only ruler who mattered in feudal Japan.” Rewrite this as a more accurate statement using both the words emperor and shogun.

10.In one or two sentences, explain why the phrase “Japan under the shoguns” is useful, but does not tell the whole story of who mattered in society.