Feudal Society by Marc Bloch.

¶ … Feudal Society by Marc Bloch. Specifically, it will evaluate the concept of Medieval Feudalism as defined in the book, and compare it to a modern developing nation where the concept of feudalism was applied to describe the changes and challenges the country face in modernizing. Japan and its modernization after World War II is a good example of a country that came from a feudalistic tradition, and turned into a very modern and viable nation-state.

Feudal society as described by Bloch is a frankly military society that revolves around military service and a lord who requires service from his vassals in return for land grants, called fiefs. The lord or liege was a hierarchical figure, and in late medieval times, he may have granted fiefs for other types of service rather than military. Basically, the principle, as Bloch defines it, is that of an obligation to be paid to the leader or ruler of the area, and it affected all areas of society. Most historians and experts agree that the feudal states of Europe and the rest of the world developed in modern nation-states. In fact, it has consistently been applied to the Asian nations of China and Japan, and for various reasons.

Japan was a feudalistic society well into the 19th century (as late as 1867) (Scalapino 3). In fact, they resisted modernization until heavily influenced by western culture and ideas. In Japan, feudalism consisted of landowner groups who commanded great legions of peasants who worked in their fields. These people were quite close to nature, something they shared with their European brothers, as Bloch notes, "The men of the two feudal ages were close to nature - much closer than we are" (Bloch 72). This is important for a number of reasons. Japan's main economy was based in agriculture, and Japan's culture has always been close to nature and in touch with the natural world, much more so than western culture. In addition, education was not exceptionally important in Japanese feudalism, or in European feudalism. Few people of the peasant class could read or write, and it was not especially necessary for their existence. Like the feudal system in Europe, the feudal system in Japan revolved around the lord and vassal, and the vassal was often a military warrior, just like in Europe. However, there was one vast difference. In feudal Japan, the relationship between vassal and lord was not simply a militaristic relationship, there was a "familial" bond too, which often was not present in European relationships, and the Japanese did not expect monetary or land in reward for service. Another historian notes, "In theory the vassal owed service to his lord simply because he was his lord, and he did not claim, though he might reasonably hope for, protection and reward" (Sansom 291). Both societies were religiously based; in fact, in Europe many vassals followed their lords into battle during the Christian Crusades. In Japan, the religion was Buddhist, but relied on monks as some of the church leaders, as did Christianity in Europe. However, the Japanese did not fight for their faith as the Europeans did, as author Sansom notes:

In Japan, there arose no such circumstances to identify feudal and religious interests. Buddhism had spread over the whole Far Eastern world, and even Khubilai Khan's Mongols had come under its influence when they invaded Japan; so that it would have been difficult for a Japanese Peter the Hermit to rouse the Minamoto vassals by crying that dangers assailed the faith (Sansom 294).

Thus, religion, agriculture, societal needs, and the economy were all important in both feudal societies, but they developed differently, and there were certainly as many differences as there were commonalities.

Japanese feudalism differed from European feudalism in several other important areas as well, and that may be one reason it was able to exist into modern times. The Japanese viewed their peasants differently than peasants were viewed in Europe. The Japanese viewed their agricultural workers as highly honorable because they were the chief producers of the country (Scalapino 102), while in Europe they were the very lowest of the social classes. Those that worked the land were far removed from those that owned it, and they could seldom rise above their social rank. This kept strict limits on society and what it could accomplish. In addition, Japan placed extreme importance on the family, with a very strong paternal leader, who was the "law" of the family unit. Thus, the landowners were powerful in society, but in the community, the fathers were the most powerful, and who the family looked to for guidance and understanding. Therefore, complete control did not lie with the feudal lords, and so, society was less constricted, and held on to feudal values longer. In fact, much of modern Japanese society still has roots in the feudal system, such as the continuing importance of the father in Japanese families and society. Writer Scalapino continues, "The element of feudal influence can be seen most clearly in two respects: the feudal system greatly strengthened the hierarchical nature of the family, and also facilitated the integration of the family into larger social-economic units" (Scalapino 127). In addition, feudalism did not begin in Japan until the late tenth century, and it remained until the late nineteenth, while feudalism flourished in Europe between the ninth and thirteenth centuries. The Europeans learned from feudalism and moved on, while Japan stubbornly held on to an antiquated system far longer than it was necessary.