Medieval Japan

•During the 800s, regents handled government; weakened emperors pursued learning and the arts. •Nobles controlled outlying provinces in Japan and gave land to the samurai, who agreed to fight for them; samurai followed the Bushido code of conduct. •In 1192, the emperor gave Minamoto Yoritomo the title of shogun, commander of the military forces, thus creating two governments in Japan. •In the late 1200s, Japan was invaded twice by China’s Mongol emperors; both attacks were halted by storms. Samurai and Shoguns

•In 1333, General Ashikaga made himself shogun, beginning the Ashikaga shogunate period. •The Ashikaga were weak leaders; Japan was soon divided into small territories headed by the daimyo. •To guard their lands, the daimyo raised armies of samurai warriors and gave them land in exchange for their loyalty; similar to feudalism in Europe. •Fighting among samurai warriors resulted in the end of the Ashikaga shogunate in 1567; the few daimyo that remained wanted to rule all of Japan. A Divided Japan

Society Under the Shoguns •Under the shoguns, Japan produced more goods, making nobles, military officials, and some merchants and traders wealthy, but most remained poor farmers. •Most farmers and artisans lived and worked on the estates of the daimyo. Some artisans and merchants began to live in Heian-kyo(now Kyoto) where they set up guilds to protect their jobs and increase earnings. •Rights that upper-class women had gained under Prince Shotoku were lost under the shogun warrior society; some women gained fame as artists, writers, and entertainers. Society Under the Shoguns