The novel The Sign of the Chrysanthemum by Katherine Paterson is a story a sef boy named Muna who runs away from his manor to the capital city of 12th century feudal Japan, Kyoto, in search of his samurai father. I will discuss the primes of social structure and politics. Katherine Paterson’s The Sign of the Chrysanthemum accurately portrays the Heiji Disturbance and the status of craftsmen and ronins.
The government shaped life in a positive way by protecting the kingdom from invaders and keeping people safe. The monarchs had armies and lots of knight at their disposal. The knights had a code of honor so they were nice to women and others. The knights had a code they lived by. Honor, bravery, chivalry, and courtesy. This code was called knightly chivalry. The monarchy also brought the artisan class and changed the attitude toward the church and religion.
Have you ever wondered if there was really a difference between the Samurai and a Knight and if not what are the similarities? Some people may think there are more differences than similarities but the reality is they are more of the same than different. They are actually very alike. These two places Japan and Europe are going through very similar problems.They are fighting each other because neither of them were very stable in the medieval times. The warriors in Japan are called the ‘’Samurai’’ and in Europe the warriors are called ‘’Knights’’. They may seem different at first but they have way more similarities than differences. The similarities are much greater than the amount of differences. I learned this by studying these main areas; Social positions, Training and armor, and Life/honor and death.
Another similarity in Documents C and D were both knights and samurai armor were very heavy. Although, Knights wore full suits of armor and samurai armor was split into four pieces. Document c states, “The body of armor had four
There were many similarities and differences between Samurai and Knights, but I believe that the differences are greater than the similarities, in other other words I believe that there are more similarities than differences. The Samurai were honorable warriors in Japan that were loyal to his Daimyos. The Knights were honorable warriors in Europe who were loyal to his lord. I’m going to analyze documents related to social position, training and armor, and their beliefs. To better determine if the differences are greater than the similarities.
Japan’s army followed the code of bushido, and Europe’s army had the code of chivalry (Doc E). Bushido was a code in which the samurais would devote their entire lives to serving their masters (Doc E). Samurais who followed the code of bushido would live life according to the Way, and punishing those who did not live their life working towards the way (Doc E). Samurais believed in the Way and the balance that it depicts (Doc F). Chivalry on the other hand was a code by which the European knights would follow (Doc E). Chivalry was a code where knights would vow to do no wrong, be loyal to the King, to give mercy to those who ask for it, and to be courteous and helpful to women (Doc E). Knights beliefs were also very religion centered, as shown in The Son of Roland “God, I acknowledge my guilt and I beg for Thy mercy for all the sins, greater and lesser, which I have committed from the hour my birth until this day … Angels descend out of heaven and come to him” (Doc
I learnt through a presentation performed by 2 people on Medieval day about the social structure of Medieval European society.
There are a lot of important similarities throughout the documents like they had great manners and great education. They had a lot of important differences like they were from two different countries Europe and Japan. Both there codes meant different things loyalty and to be respectful to the king. Both the samurai and the knights had really important roles. They had different types of lifestyles and they used different weapons. They would become knights and samurai at different ages and start training for things at different ages. They were both great warriors and lived in different countries which doesn’t mean they both are great. There were a huge difference message between life and death because you should spend your time
Knights and samurai are very similar. They were warriors during the age of feudalism who protected and were loyal to their lord. But while they are incredibly similar, who would win in a battle? However despite these similarities, in a one, in a one one one fight, the advantage would go to the samurai since their armor, code, and training are superior to that of the knights.
The societies of Tokugawa Japan (c.1603-1867C.E.) and medieval Europe (c.1000-1500C.E.) had two things in common; a feudal system. A feudal system is something that features hierarchies or social structures. The feudal system normally starts with a religion, which is at the very top of the social pyramid, then it’s the King or monarch for Europe and the shogun for Japan, then there are the nobles for Europe and the daimyos for Japan. As we go down the pyramid there are the warriors, like the knight in Europe and the samurai in Japan, then there are the peasants. The peasants were included in both eras and are at the lowest part of the pyramid.
Japan and Europe had unique lifestyles, one part being its military. It consisted of archers, who wielded bows and skilled swordsmen, called samurai. In Europe however, their military consisted of archers and swordsmen called knights. These two military figures share many similarities between each other, outweighing the differences. The three similarities between samurai and knights are moral codes, training, and their ranking in feudalism.
The knight had to change their armor because of the new weapons, and for more protection the knight had changed their armor to covering their whole body so their foot, their head, and their legs. The samurai had armor that had iron scales tied together, lacquered, and then bound into armor plates with silk or leather cords.(I got my information in document D) they also had their right arm free so they can draw their bow faster. The samurai training started out with childhood school with unique combination of physical training, poetry training and spiritual training. When they were young they studied kendo the art of fencing, with bamboo sticks. The moral code of the samurai, and zen buddhism. At 14 they trained to become samurai warriors, and lived by the code of bushido. The knight training started at 4 or 5 where they learn to ride a pony, at age 7 the served as a page to his father’s overlord,Then they practiced with a blunted or wooden swords. At the age of 14 they could become a squire, squires helped the knight they feed them, they dressed them, and helped them in battle. Then if they got approved to become a knight they would become a knight at
Chivalry is code of conduct used by knights, and heroes of the past. “Chivalry, the order of knighthood and, especially, the code of knightly behavior that was a feature of the High and later Middle Ages in western Europe”(Funk). Along with this idea of Chivalry, Feudalism was used in Europe as well. Feudalism is the system of both government and land ownership, where in exchange for a nobleman 's oath of loyalty, a king would grant them land. The ideas of Chivalry was expressed through out all sorts of different literary works, such as songs, poems, and more. The Two stories of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, and Morte D’Arthur express some of the ideas of Chivalry.
Japan’s rich history of power, wealth, and influence had many remarkable eras. One of the more notable periods in Japanese history was that of the Tokugawa Period (1600-1868). The Tokugawa Period was talked about in Musui’s Story, an autobiographical book, written by Kokichi Katsu. (Katsu ix) Katsu wrote Musui’s Story for three main reasons: to share how he had transformed from a low-ranking samurai to a well-known hero, to show his sense of self, and to serve as a cautionary tale for his descendants. He showed his sense of self when he became his own person with spirits, shrewdness, and imagination. (xviii) His transformation was proven in his journey of risk taking, danger, family, and friendships that can be told the next generation as well
From the Kamakura Period of the late twelfth century to the Meiji Restoration in the nineteenth century, the samurai have held prominent positions as noble warriors in Japanese society. They have come to be famous in modern, Western pop culture as the fierce, stoic guards of feudal Japan, but their practices and rituals extended beyond wielding katanas and donning impressive armor. Samurai practices were rich and complex, with strict codes, ritual suicide, and a history of influencing culture and politics (“Samurai”).