Japan To The Feudal History example essay topic

Duus, Feudalism in Japan Feudalism in Japan is a book that covers a wide variety of aspects regarding history and ideals while maintaining a sense of caution when approaching certain terms. Feudalism is one of these terms that many historians, like Duus, avoid. Throughout the book, Duus explores the possibilities and theories behind reasons that led Japan to the feudal history that it has as well as giving ample explanations for what feudalism is. Feudalism is a vague term that can take on several different meanings leading to some confusion in different cultures. This term can also direct either a positive or negative influence on a society. For example, Duus points out that the term Feudalism began as a description for land tenures and laws and such, but eventually lead to a more emotional term describing the bad times when war was upon a nation.

This broad evolution of the term signifies that such a term can be taken to many different levels. The feudalism that is described when talking about the Japanese and their history falls mostly with the negative vibes surrounding the Warring States period as well as the times previous to the reunification of Japan in the 1800's. Japan did encounter many times of war and feuding due to the system the society chose to follow. Even though an Emperor had rule over the whole country, it still seemed as though the warriors, including the samurai, had more power and leniency when it came to rights and laws.

Although Japan is a geographically small country, there was still enough room back then to cause plenty of trouble. Since the warriors had the power and knew it, they took advantage of it, feuding and attacking other clans to obtain their land. Duus goes further into depth with this topic and explains that it wasn't just for fame from their successes, but for the greed of having more land than anyone else. Perhaps the idea that the more land one had back then would lead them to ultimate supremacy of the country played into some of the reasons behind their actions. One fact that is a definite issue that brought on much of the feudalism is that Japan was several centuries behind other countries. Up until 1853 when Commodore Perry arrived offshore, Japan had been virtually secluded from the rest of the world and closed to any quick developmental features that may have perhaps saved them from many years of grief.

The technology was so behind as compared to the European countries that by that time and they seemed to not want to be tainted by the outside world. How this contributes to the problem of their feudal history is that perhaps had they been exposed to other cultures and strategies, many of the incidents could have been avoided. Duus uses this characteristic to provide an in-depth comparison to the feudalism in Europe as well as develop an ideal model of the governmental structure in Japan through the years that were considered feudal. For several chapters, he discusses the structures that Japan encountered with their society and the shifts in rule from what was known as the Warrior rule to what succeeded to a monarchy, which brought the fall of the power of the warrior class. Eventually, Duus explains the national unity that Japan obtained after all of this chaotic change and how they became accustomed to those changes. Of course, with change comes progress in most cases.

In regards to Japan, many changes had been made by the time that the feudalism had been extinguished and become nonexistent. The society had learned to upgrade their living routines and opened their minds to the ideas that lay outside of their country, waiting to be tapped into. Once that happened, it is clear that Japan had struck a goldmine. Jumping ahead to today's Japan, this is plainly evident, seeing that Japan is one of the world's most industrious countries as well as the most profitable. After their potential war-making abilities had been eliminated after WWII, it seems as though Japan just melted in with the rest of the world and caught on to what being a successful country was all about. Perhaps it is fair to say that it took all of the grief and feudalism to become one of the most influential countries ever.

Duus' compilation and constant revision of this text has given many a chance to read the short and factual history of Japan without becoming too bored with the details. Feudalism In Japan is a must-have for future historians who aspire to write a renowned book that would last in educational environments for many years. The information that is entailed in this book covers a little bit of everything that anyone would ever need to know about Japan's history and does so in a way that is efficient. One admirable aspect that Duus places in this book is that there is so much that says so much yet it is in such a little text.

This shows genius in the sense that one can say everything without taking a million pages to say it in. The history of Japan is one that is very expandable and flush, and for Duus to be able to condense it is a miraculous ability!