Feudalism in Europe and Japan

Feudalism and Manorialism in Europe and Japan
Europe and Japan together with other parts of the world experienced a period when politics was decentralized. During this period, loyalty was owed to a lord and combat was part of everyday life. Some of the trends that characterized this period include feudalism and manorialism, which manifested differently despite extending across regions. Feudalism and manorialism were two frameworks in which the Japanese and European medieval culture was developed. While feudalism was an economic structure that influenced how land was managed, feudalism was a social structure that was embedded in an exchange of pieces of land for military service. This paper examines how Europe and Japan dealt differently with feudalism and manorialism. The evaluation is conducted on the premise that while trends may extend across geographical regions, they manifest differently as shown in World History. The Basis for European and Japanese Feudalism As previously indicated, feudalism was a social structure embedded on exchange of pieces of land for military service. Europe and Japan had a feudal system that was commonly known as manor, which influenced the emergence of feudalism. Consequently, the basis for European feudalism and Japanese feudalism was the manor feudal system. The definitive feature of this feudal system that contributed to the rise of European feudalism and Japanese feudalism was land ownership (Stearns et al., p.456). Japanese and European medieval society was characterized with the existence of land owning castes who determined how nobles or the inferior obtained pieces of land.
Despite the existence of manor feudal system in Europe and Japan, the basis for feudalism in these regions differed significantly. Feudalism in Europe emerged from the remnants of the Western Roman Empire. Following the breakdown of the Roman Empire around 500 CE, Europe was left without a strong centralized government (Stearns et al., p.459). The collapse of the Roman Empire implied that there was no central authority to prevent the emergence of local powers. This contributed to the rise in decentralized organization in Europe, which was the basis for European feudalism. On the contrary, the basis for Japanese feudalism is the dyarchy governance system that characterized medieval Japan. This was a two headed political system in which the emperor acted as the spiritual leader of the society while real power was exercised by feudal leaders i.e. daimyo. Role of Religion and Life of Peasants in Both Regions Religion played a critical role in medieval Europe and Japan with regards to the emergence of the feudal system. In Japan, a religious leader i.e. emperor constituted one segment of the society’s political leadership. Japanese revered their emperor since they believed that he acted as the link to the past and to the gods. Therefore, medieval Japan placed significant emphasis on religion through reverence of the emperor. In Europe, the Roman Empire acted as the central authority prior to the emergence of feudalism. Religion was regarded as the powerful force that united a very disorganized grouped of people. Consequently, religious leaders and institutions, particularly the Catholic Church, were rich and powerful in medieval Europe. Peasants in both Europe and Japan did not own land and were treated with contempt. In Japan, life for a peasant entailed involved acting as inferior people to the warrior-landlord class. These peasants were required to fight, have physical courage, and demonstrate loyalty as a means of survival. Loyalty to the warrior-landlord class constituted honor in the highly militaristic medieval Japanese society. On the contrary, life as a peasant in Europe during this time was characterized by contract negotiations with the landlord class. Peasants sealed mutual loyalties and enhanced their survival though forming mutual ties with the warrior elite in Europe during this period. Therefore, mutual ties and contracts constituted honor in Europe during European feudalism. However, life as a peasant in both regions entailed working on the lord’s land to produce food. While peasants were permitted to live on the lord’s land, they did not get paid for their jobs (Carrington par, 1).
Responsibilities of Lord/Vassal Relationship in Japan and Europe Since Japanese and European feudalism was characterized by existence of different social classes, lord/vassal relationships were critical components of survival in the society. The lord/vassal relationship incorporated different responsibilities that in turn influenced the way of life in these regions. The responsibilities of the lord included protecting people who swore loyalty and provided service in the land. These responsibilities were based on the fact that this class owned land and had the powers to grant military protection. In addition, lords utilized their land ownership as a means of military power, which became the basis for offering protection to vassal. On the other hand, vassal responsibilities included pledging loyalty to the lord, providing income to support the lord’s military endeavors, and protecting serfs from invasion and attack (Snell par, 4). In conclusion, Japanese and European feudalism dominated the medieval societies in both regions. Feudal system in Europe and Japan was based on a pyramid in which control was largely based on land ownership. Feudalism in Europe and Japan was characterized by aristocracy who were individuals that acted as landowners and determined how nobles obtained pieces of land. Despite utilizing a relatively similar pyramid for establishing the feudal system, Japan and Europe dealt with feudalism differently. The basis for the rise of feudalism in both regions differed though religion played a critical factor in their political systems. Life for peasants in both regions differed while responsibilities in lord/vassal relationship were similar.
Works Cited Carrington, Richard. "Feudalism in Japan & Europe." Prezi.com. Prezi Inc., 06 Dec. 2013. Web. 06 Dec. 2018. . Snell, Melissa. "The Problem With the F-Word (Feudalism)." Thoughtco. Dotdash, 27 Sept. 2018. Web. 06 Dec. 2018. . Stearns, Peter N., Michael Adas, Stuart B. Schwartz, and Marc Jason Gilbert. World Civilizations: The Global Experience. 6th ed. Boston: Pearson, 2017. Print.