Compare and Contrast Japanese and European Feudalism

540 Words3 Pages
Hannah
AP World History
David McKenzie
October 28, 2013
Compare and contrast Japanese and European feudalism in terms of economic, cultural, and social features
Although Japan and Europe did not have any direct contact with one another during the medieval and modern periods, they independently developed similar social systems which were called as feudalism. There were several similarities and differences between Japanese and European feudalism including the implement of primogeniture both in Japan and Europe in term of economic features, Japanese feudalism based on the ideas of Confucius while European feudalism was based on Roman imperial laws and customs in term of cultural features, and the similarity between knight and samurai in term of social features.
Both European and Japanese feudalism implemented primogeniture in term of economic features, unlike the hereditary system in China, the oldest son got the priority of father’s property and the other offspring can share the rest like vassals sharing lands and property from lords. Primogeniture made sure that the oldest son inherited all the property from parents. Primogeniture was carried out in European and Japanese feudalism in order to centralize the lands of aristocracies, this emphasized the profit of lords and made sure that the property of a family won’t be separated and declined at last.
In term of cultural features, Japanese feudalism was based on the ideas which borrowed from China, Confucius’s thoughts and ideas. Confucius was a great philosopher and he emphasized morality and respects for parents and other elders, and superiors. In Japan, warriors, which were called samurai, held a duty to protect the peasants and villagers in their region. And as in return, the duty of peasants and villagers were to honor the samurai and pay taxes to them. However, situation in European feudalism were different
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