Japanese Emperor, Shogun & Samurai

• Study notes have been generated

Emperor

• Considered the divine ruler of Japan.
• Believed to be a descendant of the sun goddess Amaterasu according to Shinto beliefs.
• Held a ceremonial role during the shogunate with little actual power.
• Symbolically had the highest power but held very little real authority.
• Resided in Kyoto as the "symbol of power" behind the Shogun.

Shogun

• The military leader and true ruler of Japan who ruled in the emperor’s name.
• Controlled the daimyo (feudal lords) and their domains.
• Responsible for implementing laws, managing military forces, and maintaining peace.
• Imposed strict class distinctions, limiting mobility between social groups to reinforce the feudal hierarchy's stability.

Samurai

• Served the daimyo and shogun as elite warriors, enforcing laws and defending territory.
• Followed the Bushido code (“Way of the Warrior”), which emphasised loyalty, honor, and discipline.
• Some samurai women, called Onna-bugeisha, trained in martial arts and participated in defending their homes.
• Played a vital role in shaping Japanese arts, poetry, and tea ceremonies, which emphasised discipline and refinement.

Women

• Samurai women managed estates, upheld Bushido values, and sometimes trained in combat.
• Peasant women worked alongside men in agriculture, raised families, and managed households.
• Artisan and merchant women assisted in workshops and managed businesses.
• Generally considered lower in status than men and expected to conform to strict gender roles emphasising modesty, obedience, and household responsibilities.
• Some noble and samurai women in early feudal Japan had the right to own and inherit land, though these rights diminished under the Tokugawa shogunate.

Answering Knowledge Questions in History

• A knowledge question asks about a topic and requires using a source to support the answer.
• Identify the topic in the question and what the question wants you to do (e.g., explain, how).
• Closely examine and annotate the given source.
• Identify other evidence from your learning to use in your answer.
• The answer should be outlined in 1-2 sentences, with further detail coming in the next steps.
• Explain what information the source gives you about the topic, pulling out as much information as possible.
• Back up your answer with evidence and knowledge from the source provided.

Answering Source Analysis Questions in History

• Identify the topic in the question.
• Closely examine the given source and identify its values and limitations through annotations.
• Discuss both value and limitations if the question asks you to identify both.
• Make a judgment on how valuable the source is and explain why using evidence from the source.
• Identify a limitation and explain how it restricts the value of the source, linking it to your first point.
• Introduce a new reason why the source is valuable without repeating your first point.
• Explain another way the source is limited, linked to your second point.
• Repeat value and limitation steps as needed.

Source Value

• Used as evidence to support claims about the past.
• Allow one to confirm that something happened.
• Used to create interpretations of finer details.

Source Limitations

• Gaps or weaknesses that affect its validity, reliability, or generalizability.
• Bias is the tendency to favor or oppose a certain perspective, ideology, or interest.