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=\·eryday life depended on the social group you were born into, whether you were male or
:'emale, and whether you were rich or poor. Traditional Japanese beliefs and ways of living
::ontinued to influence daily life throughout the time when shoguns ruled. The urban society 1 Conduct research
:hat developed under the Tokugawa shoguns also changed the lifestyles of ordinary people. to present a short
report on either
Shintoism or Zen
Religious beliefs Buddhism. In your
report, outline the
Shinto is Japan's traditional religion. Its name means 'the way of the gods'. Shinto followers
origins, beliefs
:>elieve the gods are sacred spirits known as kami. They take the form of things and concepts
and rituals of
.mportant to life - the sun, hills, lakes, mountains, rivers and trees, for example, and these forms of
:crt:ility. People are also believed to become kami after they die, and the kami of a person's spirituality. How
ancestors is worship!Jed. In the Shinto belief system, people are considered to be essentially did these religious
good. And evil spirits are responsible for bad things that happen. Consequently, many Shinto beliefs affect the
rtruals are aimed at warding off evil spirits through purification, prayers and offerings to everyday lives of
::he kami. Shrines for worshipping kami are found throughout Japan. In homes, small family people in Japan
during the time
�tars are used to hold offerings of sake (rice wine) and food.
of the shoguns
Buddhism arrived in Japan from China in the 6th century. Followers of Buddhism see (for example,
Jfe as a cycle. A person is born, dies and is reborn in a new form. This new form is a better their diet or burial
or worse thing or person, depending on how the person lived their previous life. A Buddhist customs)?
works towards reaching nirvana in their life. It is the perfect state from which there is no
need to be reborn. Nirvana is achieved by observing certain guidelines and behaviours. The
main form of Buddhism practised in Japan is Zen Buddhism.

.- ,
�
��
___ r Source 12.18 A
19th-century print
showing followers
�-

of Shinto leaving
offerings of food at a
shrine

The life of a peasant farmer

During the time of the shoguns, Japan was mainly a farming society. The majority of the
population was involved in agriculture, fishing, or gathering shellfish and edible seaweeds.
Peasant families were involved in daily farming activities, working in the fields to grow rice
and vegetables. Tasks such as planting, threshing and hulling rice were done by hand or with
the help of buffalos.

12.1 HOW WAS JAPANESE SOCIETY ORGANISED DURING THE RULE OF THE SHOGUNS ANO WHAT WAS DAILY LIFE LIKE? 197
 Life in the emperor's capital
In the capital city, Kyoto, the royal palace was a walled enclosure, with buildings for
ceremonies and administration. The emperor lived an isolated life in the inner palace,
a separate walled compound. He lived under constant guard, kept busy with rituals and
ceremonies. Daimyo lived in large homes with wooden walls, polished wooden floors and
tiled roofs. Court life was luxurious and social position was demonstrated by how close a
daimyo house was to the royal palace.

Food and diet

Rice was the staple food of the Japanese diet in the past, and remains the staple
today. During the time of shogun rule, meals were plain, boiled rice accompaniec.
by side dishes. For ordinary people, these were simple dishes, such as cooked or
pickled vegetables. Fish and other seafood were used in accompanying dishes fo:
wealthy families, or eaten at feasts. Noodles, made from rice flour or buckwhea:
flour (soba noodles), became popular in the 14th and 15th centuries. There was
no large-scale farming of livestock, so meat was not commonly eaten.
Fish was eaten fresh if possible, and often raw. Sushi originated as a way of
Source 12.19 Sushi preserving fish by salting it and wrapping it around boiled rice. Sushi with fresh fish
and rice originated in the time of the Tokugawa shogunate.

STRANGE BUT TRUE Arts and entertainment

In Medieval Europe. The increasing wealth of ordinary people,
spices were used to and the concentration of populations in the
disguise the taste
growing towns, encouraged the development
of spoiled meat
Since meat was less of new entertainment. These included
common in Japan. reading popular literature, and making art
and fish was usually in the form of woodblock prints. People
eaten fresh. the use enjoyed visiting teahouses and restaurants,
of spices did not attending theatres to watch kabuki and
develop in Japanese puppet plays, and sumo wrestling. They
cu1s1ne until much travelled, making pilgrimages to religious
later.
sites and visiting cities. In this way, the
fashions and cultures of the cities were
introduced to people in the country.

Source 12.20 A kabuki actor

Education
In Japan during the rule of the shoguns, wealthy men and women in towns were usually well
educated. Almost all samurai were literate, too, as their roles in the Tokugawa shogunate becar......
EXTEND 12.4
more administrative, and they moved away from their traditional roles as warriors. Samurai
1 Find out how an studied the Confucian classics, poetry, and musical instruments, as well as military training.
abacus is used
The peaceful and prosperous times of the Tokugawa shogunate also encouraged peasants
for calculations.
and whether and artisans to formally educate their children. At temple schools, boys and girls were
these devices taught to read, write, calculate using an abacus (a counting frame with rows of beads), and
are still used by study history and geography. Girls would also learn skills such as sewing, flower arranging,
Japanese school dancing and playing a musical instrument; and they would be taught the rituals of the tea
students today. ceremony. About 40 per cent of boys and 10 to 15 per cent of girls in Japan had basic literac,­
by the end of the Tokugawa shogunate.

198 OXFORD INSIGHT HISTORY 8 AUSTRALIAN CURRICULUM FOR NSW STAGE 4

Everyday life in Japan under the shoguns SOURCE STUDY

Source 12.21
A 19th-century
photograph showing
peasants planting rice
1n a flooded field

Source 12.22 A 19th-century illustration of sumo wrestling. Source 12.23 A 19th-century illustration of a Japanese family
Sumo wrestling was performed as early as the Heian period: 1l eating
was a skill of unarmed combat practised by samurai.

INTERPRET 12.3

1 Find an image of a sumo wrestling competition today. Compare it with

Source 12.22. Note what has changed about sumo wrestling and what has
remained the same.
2 Observe the style of family dining shown in Source 12.23. Note the
similarities and differences with the way meals are served and eaten in
your family.
3 Describe the clothing worn by the daimyo in Source 12.24. How does it
differ from the clothing worn by people in the other social groups.

l Source 12.24 An 18th-century

painting of a da1myo being
groomed by servants

REVIEW 12.4

1 How do Shinto followers ward off evil spirits?

2 How did sushi originate?
3 Explain why samurai in the Tokugawa shogunate had to be well educated.

- 1 HOW WAS JAPANESE SOCIETY ORGANISED DURING THE RULE OF THE SHOGUNS AND WHAT WAS DAILY LIFE LIKE? 19
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HOW WAS JAPANESE SOCIETY ORGANISED DURING THE RULE OF

• THE SHOGUNS AND WHAT WAS DAILY LIFE LIKE?
» Sequence time periods and identify key places in Japan from the Nara period to the
Tokugawa shogunate
1 Draw a timeline to show the following periods in Japanese history. Include their start
and end dates, names of the key clans, and the location of their capital or clan base.
16 marksl
Azuchi-Momoyama period Muromachi shogunate
Heian period Nara period
Kamakura period Tokugawa shogunate
» Identify the roles and relationships of key groups in this society using sources
2 Identify the different social groups in Japan under the shoguns and explain the role and
status of each group. Include relevant sources in your response. 15 marks)
3 Use a diagram to show the relationships between social groups under Japan·s feudal
system. 15 marksl
4 Identify ways in which women were subordinate to men in Japan when shoguns ruled.
13 marks)
» Outline key cultural, economic and political features of Japan under the shoguns
5 What were the roles of the shogun and emperor in Japan? 12 marks)
6 What was the main economic activity in Japan during the rule of the shoguns and how o:
this change during the Tokugawa shogunate? 12 marks)
7 Explain why Japanese society became more urban under the rule of the Tokugawa
shoguns. 13 marks)
8 Identify the major religions in Japan during the rule of the shoguns and outline their ke,
beliefs. 14 marksl
9 Why did leisure time increase under the Tokugawa shogunate, and what pastimes did
people enjoy? 15 marksl
» Describe how the Japanese used natural resources, and outline the Tokugawa
shogunate's policies on forestry and land use
10 How did the Japanese use timber in the past, and what policies did the Tokugawa
shoguns put in place to manage forest resources? 15 marks)
» Describe the everyday life of men, women and children in Japan unde.r the shoguns
11 Write a paragraph on each of the following aspects of everyday life in Japan ·during
the rule of the shoguns to describe the experiences of men. women and children.
110 marks)
• Food and clothing
• Leisure activities
• Education
TOTAL MARKS [ /5

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200 OXFORD INSIGHT HISTORY 8 AUSTRALIAN CURRICULUM FOR NSW STAGE 4