The feudal Japan is Japan of an aristocracy. This social class has dominated the law, the society and all the orders. The changes went through militarism and strict obedience. They enforced the political and economical changes. Those changes were unwillingly accepted by most of the society, yet, were unavoidable. The law was magistrated by the Imperial Court. The taxes were put on every goods, available. The Equal Fields distribution was strictly monitored. It embraced only one generation and the fraud was punished. The country was undergoing never-ending civil wars, the Buddhist temples were pronounced as ''sacrid places'', the places of protection and escape from persecution. The land reclamation was very expensive, almost impossible to gain, especially, when the land was lost. It was due to the hereditary tax which was extended later on and embraced other related pieces of the land.
The military service was compulsory, the sons who would never become the emperor or inherit any leadership of the various branch of the family would be placed in the army. The rise of taxes enabled to keep the Imperial Army and warfare intact. Yet it was quite painful for the poorest citizens of Japan. The noblemen and military leaders fought for land and land privileges. They wanted to win the control over the Imperial house. The most powerful family of all, Yorimoto, won the exclusive control over the whole country. In 1192 they established the total supremacy. The military government had been changed into national government. The role and the position of shogun emerged.
The Shogun collected local taxes, administrated the land. The legitimate farmers had the law of ownership. The samurai lived in castles or big estates, their military serviced was paid, they were paid when went to war. All the government facilities were placed in Kyoto, the shogunate dealt with military and civil administration. The common law was accepted by everyone with no exception. The shape of the government changed, in mid XIII century it was more like a coalition. Not only land and government evolved, the schools as well.
The schools tried to survive the constant time of bloodshed and war. The two were the most influential; Tendai and Shingon. They were so good, they received the Imperial Patronage. ''Mappo'' had a great impact in understanding and implementing Buddhism. It led paths to salvation. The Zen school taught that everything is an illusion, their motto said '' The clutching hand cannot grab itself''. The schools became so common, the government lost the power to control them, they were led by uneducated samurai, laymen. The Zen schools praised discipline, obedience and endurance, martial arts. The changed led to the warriors leadership, the brutal power, one of the representative of which was Muromachi who was characterized by brutality and cruel acts.
Muromachi era or reign lasted between 1333-1467 and continued the Imperial rule over Japan. The civil wars triggered the Japanese economy and finances due to tax rise. During the first year of Muromachi reign the shogunate wanted to expand its power over the warlords which was partially successful. The new class of military men emerged. His era was called ''Rule of the Mighty by the Lowly''. The inheritance of the land was no longer possible, the land could not have been divided among the children. The government knew the land is the power, so, they had to control it much more thoroughly, for that reason the samurai had no right to live on the land, they were deprived of having their own land. The government invested in armor and weapon. The reasons were firm, the Mongols supremacy over the Asia grew stronger and stronger. And it had to be stopped. The soldiers had to be well equipped. Despite of wars Japan imported a lot, mostly silk, cotton, brocades, books. The merchants established their trading points in Korea, Twain. The culture bloomed, so the commanders-in-chiefs. One of them was Oda Nobunaga, very cruel, very ruthless, nonetheless, a military genius.
He won almost every battle he was submitted to, between 1560 and 1570. Ten years of continuous victory. His unscrupulous reputation became a myth and a legend. He loved discoveries and was looking for weapons innovations. He won one - the arquebus, which was very expensive, quite heavy to use, he changed its inaccuracy into accuracy, changed the meaning of battles. The Christanity in Japan had never been welcomed, with ferocious hatred He fought Christians out of Japan. It was not just a brutality, it was carnage. He saw a great potential in his men, he trained them to become an excellent soldiers, he perceived them as a weapon tool, respectively. He was taken over by another warrior, Toyotomi Hideyoshi.
Hideyoshi was poor, so poor that he couldn't keep his family name, only the military service was about to give him the status, the position and the recognition. He was a brilliant soldier, it opened him the way to Imperial Court and the highest level of power some could only dream about. The army gave him power and made him the most influential personality of his times. He followed the code of the warrior, he forbade the marriages between classes. In 1587 he passed edicts which were triggered against Jesuit priests. His the biggest achievement of all was the immerse army, unstoppable and extremely obedient. He had great plans to conquer Korea and later on India. His army left behind; famine, destruction, yet, it stopped the Mongols, their invasion towards Japan. Which was something. He didn't manage to establish the dynastic succession, which, by many historian is regarded as Hideyoshi the biggest failure.
Bibliography:
1. The Cambridge History of Japan, 2001
2. Japan History; From Prehistoric to Modernity, 1999
3. The Oxford History of the World, 1997
4. The Modern Nation: The History of Japan, Second Edition, 2009
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