Feudal System

Back in the day there was a system for who was important and who was not. This is called the Feudal System or Society, both had one, and both were different. Lets have a look at them both and see if there is still similarities, and how much is different. 

Medieval Europe's Feudal System

In most of medieval europe the feudal system was used. It was a way that everyone was happy, except the peasants, and the king got money. There was a king who gave land to people, they were called the lords or nobles. The preists were also amung these ranks and the preists were very rich. These lords then sold portions of thier land to knights or other people like merchants. who then protected the peasants, who worked and worked and were the lowest of low. The peasants didn't mind this system as they had protection, shelter and food. The soldiers were happy as they were soldiers which was a big thing and they were happy as they got money by other means. The nobles and lords were happy as they got produce and taxes from the soldiers, merchants and peasants and the king was happy as he got money from the lords. Seemed perfect at the time and that is why everyone used it!  Land was granted to you for service and during this system everyone had land, even the peasants! They had a small portion of land for farming! The main house, or should I say castle was where the king lived. It was called the Manor. People would also go there for celebrations are for prtection if being attacked. Around this castle there would be a small village and around this farms would sprout, and peasants would farm them. Now not all peasents lived such a hard life, some were able to own their own busisness. These were bakers, carpenters and blacksmiths. The others? They were almost the equivalent of slaves... and almost 90% of people were peasants.

Japan's Feudal System

Now onto the Japanese feudal system, this feudal system consisted of an Emperor, shogun, dynamo's, samurai, peasants, artisans and merchants. It worked quite well and was very succesfull. The top of the table was the emperor, even though he had little to no power. He was a figure, someone people look to but the real power was with the Shogun. The Shogun was the real ruler, he made the decisions and did all the dirty work. He made the law and told everyone whatb to do. Next to him were the Diamyo, they were rich and owned the land. They were warlords and were the most powerfull people under the Shogun. The best and most powerfull Dyiamo's often became Shoguns. Under them, the warriors aka the Samurai! They were the warriors of Japan and often lived in nice homes and lived a good life. For more on Samurai click the second tab up the top titled 'Samurai and Knughts' Under them were the Peasants and Artisans. The Peasants or farmers were the highest ranked. They owned their own land and farmed teh crops, pretty vital. Under them was the Artisans, they werent the worse though, they were the craftsmen. They crafted everything from armour and probably swords. They also made bowls and other cutlery, everything people need. Then lastly was the Merchants. They were the lowest. This was because they made a living from other peoples hard work, they hardly worked at all! And most of them werent even Japanese! people did'nt like that.Although later on Japan used money more merchants became very rich.

Similarities

Now onto the similarities between them, there arent to many here but there are a few. One is that the warriors are in the middle or the system. They are more important than the peasants but not as important as the land owners and leader. They often lived good lives. Another is what the peasants did for a living, it is the same on both. They made farms and owned small shops and again the farmers the most important ones.In both feudal systems the land owners were also very important, and second to the ruler. In both the wariors are there to protect everyone, even the peasants.

Differences

Now unlike the similarities, there are a lot of differences, so lets list them! First of  is about the people at the top of the table. In the European Feudal system the king was the real ruler, amde the law and tole people what to do, but in the Japanese feudal system the emperor did NOTHING and was just a figure. The shogun was the real ruler there. Another is about the land owners. In the European Feudal system the land owners own land, simple, but in the Japanese feudal system the land owners were also war lords! they are mch better than the European ones! Another is about the lowest class. With the European Feudal system the lowest peoples were the peasants where as in Japan the lowest were the merchants. They were even worse than the peasants in Japan! Another difference is another about the land owners. In the european system the land owners sold the land to other people and knights. Bt with the japanese land owners we have no proof of them selling the land to other people like the Europeans.