Feudalism in Japan and Europe

A Feudalism WebQuest: Japan and Europe

Welcome! You are about to travel back in time and across the continents to examine two distinctively different cultures with a similar social structure. This will not be an easy assignment, and at the end you must judge which system had greater negative consequences upon the people, culture, and future development of the region. So hop a board, pack a lunch, put your thinking cap on, and get ready for some history!

Introduction

With the fall of the Roman Empire in Europe and the weakening of the Emperor in Japan, two similar societies developed. For the next couple hours you will examine information available on the World Wide Web regarding feudalism in these two distinctive cultures. Based upon this information, you will be asked to answer questions and come to conclusionswhich do not necessarily come directly from the given documents. Good Luck!

Directions

You will need a pen and paper to take notes. In order to make the needed comparisons, you will need to identify what information can be found where.
In Netscape examine the provided Web Sites before beginning the activity.
Open up Clarisworks or another word processing program and put it in the background. This will be helpful to formulate your answers as you proceed.
Make sure you use your BACK button to return to this page.
Read the questions to insure you know what information you need to be looking for during your WebQuest!
Begin!

Activity

Answer the following questions based upon the information available in the provided Web Sites. Take notes until you are able to complete the question and then do so in your open word processing program.

Give a general definition of feudalism.
How did Japan's isolation affect its feudal system? Did it prolong or shorten it? Why or why not?
What does "bushido" mean? What is the bushido philosophy? How is it similar to European Chivilary?
Describe the relationship between the warrior class and the ruling class in Japan and Europe.
Give the class structure of both cultures during feudalism. Explain the duties of each class.
Now that you have a good overview of feudalism in both cultures, you need to judge them. Which one had a greater negative effect on the culture? Why? Write this in an essay format.

Resources


Japan	Europe
Japanese Isolation Feudal Times in Japan Major Events in Japanese History Bushido, The Warrior's Way A Brief History of the Samurai What is Bushido The Edo Era (1603-1867)	The Rise of Feudalism A Look at Feudalism Feudal Oaths of Fidelity* Charter of Homage and Fealty* Feudal Obligations* * Denotes primary source document.