The Tokugawa Shogunate

Question 1

What were Daimyos fighting for in their domain?

Answer 1

Daimyos fought to either defend themselves or add someone else’s territory to their own

Question 2

Which general started to assert control by the mid 1550s?

Answer 2

The general that began to assert control by the mid 1550s was Oda Nobunaga

Question 3

How did Oda Nobunaga assert control?

Answer 3

He was the son of a minor
daimyo official .

Question 4

What are key characteristics about Oda Nobunaga?

Answer 4

He was a brilliant tactician and a ruthless fighter. He was also one of the first to see the
value of firearms that had been introduced by the Portuguese after their arrival in 1543.

Question 5

What happened at 1568?

Answer 5

Nobunaga took
control of the imperial capital of Kyoto in 1568, and by 1582 he controlled most of central and eastern
Japan

Question 6

What happened to Oda Nobunaga in 1582?

Answer 6

In that year he was attacked in a Kyoto temple by one of his own men, and committed
suicide rather than be taken alive

Question 7

What is the mass of Oda Nobunaga’s army?

Answer 7

At that stage he had an army of 250 000 samurai, musketeers, archers and
foot soldiers

Question 8

What year did the emperor give Tokugawa Ieyasu the shogun title?

Answer 8

The emperor gave Tokugawa Ieyasu the shogun title in 1603

Question 9

How long did the Tokugawa shogunate last?

Answer 9

The Tokugawa shogunate lasted from 1603 to 1868 or for 250 years

Question 10

What are the 4 main social classes?

Answer 10

The 4 main social classes were the warrior, craftsperson, peasant and merchant

Question 11

What are all of the social classes?

Answer 11

Emperor, shogun, daimyo, samurai, ronin, craftsperson, peasant, merchant

Question 12

How long had there been an emperor?

Answer 12

There had been an emperor for more than 800 years

Question 13

What is the emperor and shoguns power in Japan?

Answer 13

The power of the
emperor was just symbolic and the shogun had military power

Question 14

How many daimyos were there and how much land did they have?

Answer 14

Daimyos ruled about 75% of Japan whilst there being 275 daimyos

Question 15

What were restrictions put on daimyos?

Answer 15

They couldn’t marry without the shogun’s approval, couldn’t build new castles, shogun had to approve repairs to existing castles, a limit to the number of samurai they could have, bridges were destroyed, allowing travel only along certain pathways, had to spend every alternate year with the shogun in Edo

Question 16

What is sankin kotai?

Answer 16

Sankin Kotai was a system to reduce the opportunity for a daimyo to build up a rebellion in his own domain. They had to leave their wives and eldest sons behind

Question 17

What did peasants do?

Answer 17

Peasants were considered important because they
produced the food that was essential to life

Question 18

What social class did farmers belong to?

Answer 18

Farmers belonged to the peasants as they farmed crops

Question 19

What did farmers do with their produce?

Answer 19

Farmers brought their harvests and handmade articles to market to exchange for goods they needed, especially for items used on ceremonial occasions

Question 20

What did farming families produce

Answer 20

Farmers produced miso and soy sauce as well as straw
capes, hats and sandals.

Question 21

What do craftspeople produce?

Answer 21

Wooden barrels, metal tools, pottery and fine woven cloth

Question 22

What do artisans create

Answer 22

paper, beautiful furniture or magnificent sword

Question 23

What was the main currency

Answer 23

Rice was the main currency, and the standard measure
was called the koku.

Question 24

How high were merchants in the social class, why?

Answer 24

Merchants were considered the lowest of the four classes because they did not produce food like the peasants or useful items like the craftspeople

Question 25

How did merchants make money

Answer 25

They made their living from charging interest on money
loaned to samurai and farmers

Question 26

What did merchants also do, how?

Answer 26

People also paid merchants to ship rice to markets in castle towns like Osaka. Most rice was shipped
along rivers and by sea

Question 27

What were the 2 social outcasts and what did they do?

Answer 27

Two social groups that were outcasts were the eta which did leather work, burials or butchering animals and the hinin, who did acting and scavenging.

Question 28

What was a samurai sword a symbol of?

Answer 28

The samurai sword became the symbol of their military role

Question 29

Apart from sword fighting and archery, what were samurai also trained to do?

Answer 29

Samurai were taught instruction in reading, writing, ceremonial conduct and public service

Question 30

What would a samurai do if they failed to follow bushido?

Answer 30

A warrior who betrayed this trust was expected to commit ritual suicide (seppuku).

Question 31

What was the purpose of a samurai to follow zen buddhism?

Answer 31

Dispel all distracting thoughts and emotions and to give
them control over their minds and bodies. so they could approach battle calmly and with a single purpose