Write the heading to the left in the left-hand column of your notes
1 - Nobles Rise to Power
During the early ninth century, emperors continued to rule Japan, but their power greatly weakened. After a period of strong emperors, a number of weak emperors came to the throne. Court officials known as regents governed for them. The regents handled the city’s day-to-day government, leaving the Japanese emperors to turn to learning and the arts. Around 800, the emperors began to lose power. At the same time, other nobles took control in the outlying provinces of Japan. The government gave these nobles land in return for their support. It also let them stop paying taxes and made the nobles responsible for governing the lands under their control. To pay for the local government, the nobles increased the taxes on the farmers working the land. The nobles gave land to warriors who agreed to fight for them. These Japanese warriors became known as samurai.
Answer the questions below in complete senteces in your notebook.
1. Who took control of the outlying provinces [areas] of Japan? 2. Who fought for the nobles in return for land?
Add the word Samurai to your Japan Vocab!
Notebook Setup
Use the outline to the right to set up your notebook for this assignment. You will start on page 32 and continue onto page 33. As you work through the assignment, be sure to complete the topics in the proper order.
32
33
Write the heading to the left in the left-hand column of your notes
3 - Rise of the Shoguns
By the early twelfth century, noble families of Japan used their samurai armies to fight one another. They fought over land and to gain control of the emperor. In 1180, a civil war broke out between the two most powerful families: the Taira and the Minamoto. In a sea battle years later, the Taira were defeated. The commander of the Minamoto forces was Minamoto Yoritomo.
After Yoritomo won the civil war, the emperor feared that the Minamoto family would take the throne. To avoid this, he decided to reward Yoritomo to keep him loyal and created a new position, shogun. In 1192, he gave Yoritomo the title of shogun: commander of the military forces.
This created two governments in Japan. The emperor remained in his palace at Heian-kyo with his advisers. He was Japan’s official leader. Meanwhile, the shogun set up his own government in the small seaside town of Kamakura. This military government was known as a shogunate. For about the next 700 years, shoguns ran Japan’s government.
Answer the questions below in complete senteces in your notebook.
1. What is a shogun? 2. How did the position of shogun come to be? 3. Find the date in bold. Add the date to your Japan timeline with a seven-word description.
2 - The Samurai
Write the heading to the left in the left-hand column of your notes
Watch the video below and answer the questions to the right in complete sentences in your notebook. Then sketch or trace the samurai to the left.
Answer the questions below in complete senteces in your notebook.
1. What was the code of the samurai called? What does it mean? 2. What is seppuku? When was it performed? 3. What types of weapons did the samurai use?
Write the heading to the left in the left-hand column of your notes
4 - Farmers, Artisans, and Merchants
For the most part, Japan’s wealth came from the hard labor of its farmers. Some farmed their own land, but most lived and worked on the estates of the daimyo. Rice, wheat, millet, and barley were their chief crops. Life improved for Japan’s farmers during the 1100s, despite their many hardships. On the daimyo estates, other Japanese were producing a greater number of goods. Artisans made armor, weapons, and tools. These goods were sold in town markets throughout Japan. As trade increased, each region began to make goods that they were best at producing. These goods included pottery, paper, textiles, and lacquered ware. Japanese merchants traded wooden goods, sword blades, and copper for silk, dyes, pepper, books, and porcelain. They set up groups called guilds, or za in Japanese, to protect their jobs and increase their earnings.
Answer the questions below in complete senteces in your notebook.
1. Describe the roles of each group in Japanese society: Farmers - Artisans - Merchants -
5 - Order of Japanese Society
Write the heading to the left in the left-hand column of your notes
The rise of the shoguns slightly altered the order of Japanese society. The emperor technically was the head of the country, but, in reality, no longer had true authority, and was instead a figurehead outside of Japan's hierarchy. The shogun, who controlled Japan's military, had the most authority. Below the shogun were the daimyo, who were powerful Japanese military lords. The daimyo of Japan were loyal to the shogun, and each daimyo was served by many samurai. Below the samurai were farmers and artisans, who worked on the lands of the samurai and daimyo. At the bottom of Japanese society were merchants, and while they could be quite wealthy, they were considered the lowest members of society as they did not produce anything themselves.
Add the hierarchy pyramid to the left to your notebook. Write the words below in the correct space of the pyramid.
Farmers/Artisans Samurai Daimyo Shogun Merchants Emperor
Add Daimyo to your Japan Vocab!
Feudal Japan (Notebook Version)
Taylor Leonard
Created on August 4, 2025
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Transcript
Write the heading to the left in the left-hand column of your notes
1 - Nobles Rise to Power
During the early ninth century, emperors continued to rule Japan, but their power greatly weakened. After a period of strong emperors, a number of weak emperors came to the throne. Court officials known as regents governed for them. The regents handled the city’s day-to-day government, leaving the Japanese emperors to turn to learning and the arts. Around 800, the emperors began to lose power. At the same time, other nobles took control in the outlying provinces of Japan. The government gave these nobles land in return for their support. It also let them stop paying taxes and made the nobles responsible for governing the lands under their control. To pay for the local government, the nobles increased the taxes on the farmers working the land. The nobles gave land to warriors who agreed to fight for them. These Japanese warriors became known as samurai.
Answer the questions below in complete senteces in your notebook.
1. Who took control of the outlying provinces [areas] of Japan? 2. Who fought for the nobles in return for land?
Add the word Samurai to your Japan Vocab!
Notebook Setup
Use the outline to the right to set up your notebook for this assignment. You will start on page 32 and continue onto page 33. As you work through the assignment, be sure to complete the topics in the proper order.
32
33
Write the heading to the left in the left-hand column of your notes
3 - Rise of the Shoguns
By the early twelfth century, noble families of Japan used their samurai armies to fight one another. They fought over land and to gain control of the emperor. In 1180, a civil war broke out between the two most powerful families: the Taira and the Minamoto. In a sea battle years later, the Taira were defeated. The commander of the Minamoto forces was Minamoto Yoritomo. After Yoritomo won the civil war, the emperor feared that the Minamoto family would take the throne. To avoid this, he decided to reward Yoritomo to keep him loyal and created a new position, shogun. In 1192, he gave Yoritomo the title of shogun: commander of the military forces. This created two governments in Japan. The emperor remained in his palace at Heian-kyo with his advisers. He was Japan’s official leader. Meanwhile, the shogun set up his own government in the small seaside town of Kamakura. This military government was known as a shogunate. For about the next 700 years, shoguns ran Japan’s government.
Answer the questions below in complete senteces in your notebook.
1. What is a shogun? 2. How did the position of shogun come to be? 3. Find the date in bold. Add the date to your Japan timeline with a seven-word description.
2 - The Samurai
Write the heading to the left in the left-hand column of your notes
Watch the video below and answer the questions to the right in complete sentences in your notebook. Then sketch or trace the samurai to the left.
Answer the questions below in complete senteces in your notebook.
1. What was the code of the samurai called? What does it mean? 2. What is seppuku? When was it performed? 3. What types of weapons did the samurai use?
Write the heading to the left in the left-hand column of your notes
4 - Farmers, Artisans, and Merchants
For the most part, Japan’s wealth came from the hard labor of its farmers. Some farmed their own land, but most lived and worked on the estates of the daimyo. Rice, wheat, millet, and barley were their chief crops. Life improved for Japan’s farmers during the 1100s, despite their many hardships. On the daimyo estates, other Japanese were producing a greater number of goods. Artisans made armor, weapons, and tools. These goods were sold in town markets throughout Japan. As trade increased, each region began to make goods that they were best at producing. These goods included pottery, paper, textiles, and lacquered ware. Japanese merchants traded wooden goods, sword blades, and copper for silk, dyes, pepper, books, and porcelain. They set up groups called guilds, or za in Japanese, to protect their jobs and increase their earnings.
Answer the questions below in complete senteces in your notebook.
1. Describe the roles of each group in Japanese society: Farmers - Artisans - Merchants -
5 - Order of Japanese Society
Write the heading to the left in the left-hand column of your notes
The rise of the shoguns slightly altered the order of Japanese society. The emperor technically was the head of the country, but, in reality, no longer had true authority, and was instead a figurehead outside of Japan's hierarchy. The shogun, who controlled Japan's military, had the most authority. Below the shogun were the daimyo, who were powerful Japanese military lords. The daimyo of Japan were loyal to the shogun, and each daimyo was served by many samurai. Below the samurai were farmers and artisans, who worked on the lands of the samurai and daimyo. At the bottom of Japanese society were merchants, and while they could be quite wealthy, they were considered the lowest members of society as they did not produce anything themselves.
Add the hierarchy pyramid to the left to your notebook. Write the words below in the correct space of the pyramid.
Farmers/Artisans Samurai Daimyo Shogun Merchants Emperor
Add Daimyo to your Japan Vocab!