Last modified on July 25, 2007, at 01:01

Talk:Feudalism

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Feudalism also developed independently in Japan. Japan did not have a Feudal system. I've got four whole tomes of Japanese history that detail the many reasons Japan did not have a "Feudal systme" and when I have more free time, I will break it down, for now I will focus on the other flaws.

Skilled military leaders called bushi (bushi just means "fighter", not a "skilled leader") The word your looking for here is daimyo.

raised armies of Samurai to defend their estates (samurai is not capitalized, it is not a proper noun).

The samurai lived by a code of conduct called Bushido. (Incorrect, Bushido was a "code of conduct" written AFTER the Battle of Sekigahara, which was the last major battle in Japan. The Tokugawa regime had the code written basically as a means of controlling the large amount of unemployed warriors who needed something to fill their spare time in during the time of peace. Samurai were not the honorable and virtuous warriors Hollywood makes them out to be. They were just as ruthless and barbaric as any other pre-modern warrior. Oda Nobunaga ( a daimyo leader) had his samurai burn down more than one Buddhist temple, including women and children.

Bushido was similar to the Chivalry of Europe (Hardly), but included a code for Japanese women to follow (I've never heard of this, and Japan is my primary focus of study in my History Minor).

Bushido emphasized extreme loyalty to one's lord even more than chivalry, making the Japanese amazingly tenacious fighters. As in European feudalism, the land was farmed by peasants. (this is opinionated)