#Japanese feudalism in the middle ages code

As in Europe, heroism, honor, and loyalty were highly valued. As in Europe, it was of vital importance that samurai learn such techniques of war as swordsmanship.

#Japanese feudalism in the middle ages code

By the late 1100s, a general code of ethics for the samurai was already being observed, though it was not written down until much later. The warrior class was the backbone of Japanese feudalism. Japanese feudalism came later than in Europe but remained in place until the last half of the 19th century. Even though there were differences in the two systems, medieval Japanese, as did their European counterparts, developed a feudal system where landowners were responsible to overlords, who, in turn, were often loyal to higher authorities. Yoritomo established a system throughout Japan where his vassals, or gokenin, and their warrior-retainers, known as samurai, fulfilled many of the old imperial government functions. The shogunate, first occupied by a Minamoto, then by Fujiwaras, and later by princes of royal blood, became a figurehead.

By placing Hojo family members in key positions, the family exercised actual political power. The family of Yoritomo's widow, the Hojo, emerged victorious. This pattern of rule from behind the scenes became even more pronounced in the power struggle following Yoritomo's death in 1199. The emperor and imperial court were much more culturally than politically influential. At the same time, the imperial court and emperor continued to reside in Kyoto, the official capital. Yoritomo's headquarters in Kamakura, which came to be known as the bakafu, or ''tent government,'' was Japan's major but not exclusive center of political power and its unofficial capital. Yoritomo chose not to live in Kyoto, the imperial capital, but remained in his headquarters in the seaside town of Kamakura, located near the modern city of Tokyo. In 1192 the emperor ''appointed'' Yoritomo shogun, or ''barbarian suppressing general,'' making him the most powerful political and military leader in Japan. In 1185, Yoritomo, the leader of the Minamoto family, defeated the Taira and Fujiwara clans and obtained military control of Japan. As the influence of the Fujiwara clan and the central government declined, two powerful provincial families, the Taira and Minamoto, warred against each other in what historians refer to as the Gempei War.