European Feudalism vs. Japanese Feudalism

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Feudalism, beginning in Western Europe and later appearing in Japan, is the system of government in which nobles have certain owned loyalties to the king, in return for grants of land which are run by the serfs. Although they share the same name, there are a few major differences between the two forms, causing European feudalism to stand out as what most people likely think of feudalism today and Japanese feudalism to fall into the background. Although both systems of feudalism were based on related responsibilities and protection and influenced the social structures of their people, European feudalism was created to protect Europeans from outside invasions and was mainly economic while Japanese feudalism developed due to the internal attacks by groups of uncontrolled armies and had more of a military aspect. Despite minor differences, the these two governments share many similarities politically and socially. European and Japanese feudalism were similar because they both developed out of a need for protection. In Europe, invasions from outside groups (such as the Vikings, Muslims and Hungarians), created problems for the lords. They divided their land amongst various vassals, or lower-ranking lords, who pledged loyalty and military service. In Japan, the decline of the central government allowed private armies to form, and similar to feudalism in Europe, the farmers wanted protection so they gave land to the daimyo, in exchange. Feudalism in both regions was based on a system of common responsibilities. For example, when a lord granted a land estate to a vassal, that vassal would pledge his loyalty to the lord and
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