CSET Practice Test History Subtest I

THE ANCIENT NEAR/MIDDLE EAST: The Tigris, Euphrates
Valley, Fertile Crescent, and Nile Valley The Tigris and
Euphrates Rivers 1. ca. 4500 B.C.: Nomadic herders began
to plant crops and build permanent settlements at the
mouth of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. * Very little is
known about these early settlers. 2. Fourth Millenium
B.C.: between 4,000 - 3,000 B.C. another nomadic group
migrated from the Armenian Plateau and conquered the delta
region. * The Sumerians created the first known
civilization in the Ancient Near East. 3. The Tigris and
Euphrates Valley: located in the eastern end of the
Fertile Crescent (stretching from the Persian Gulf to the
Mediterranean Sea). * The Fertile Crescent (half moon
shape) stretching from the Tigris-Euphrates in the east to
the Mediterranean in the West. 4. Crossroads of the World:
it commands access to three continents, Asia, Africa, and
Europe. a. The fertile crescent has few natural barriers.
b. Its position led to frequent migrations and invasions.
5. The rivers begin in the highlands of Armenia flowing
southward. a. The Tigris flows 1100 miles to the Persian
Gulf. b. The Euphrates flows 1700 miles: * Rivers have
created a delta at the Persian Gulf. * 150 miles at its
greatest distance between the two rivers. 6. Division of
the River Valley: a. Mesopotamia: land between the rivers
name given by the Greeks. b. Babylonia: southern portion
below the neck of the two rivers. 7. The river current is
much stronger and more violent than the Nile River — at
times inflicting enormous damage. a. Canals and dikes were
built for water control as the Egyptians did. b. Canals
were also used to carry off surplus water — flood
control. c. Nature was viewed as hostile —— their Gods
seen as unreasonable and changeable. Sumerian
Civilization: Sumer 1. Located in the southern portion of
Babylonia, some believe that this is the location of the
Garden of Eden. 2. ca. 3,000 B.C.: prosperous city states
had developed in this area. a. City States: a town or city
and surrounding land it controlled (cooperating for mutual
defense). b. Chief Cities: Ur, Erech, and Kish c. Each
city belonged to a god or a group of gods — people
believed they were dependent on the city's god for food
and protection. * Priests alone knew how to appease the
gods, and acted as intermediaries between citizens and the
gods. * Theocracy - priests ruled in the name of the gods.
3. Sumerian City States: Constant Conflict a. Disputes
over land boundaries and water rights. b. This division
tended to weaken them. c. Resulted in a rise of Military
Leaders who gradually replaced the priests as rulers. *
Rulers were not worshiped as gods, but they were believed
to be representatives of the gods on earth. 4. Social
Classes: a. Class of Nobles: Priests and governmental
officials. b. Merchants and Artisans. c. Peasants and
slaves. Sumerian Writing: 1. Developed sometime after 3500
B.C. — first a system of pictograms and ideograms
eventually it was simplified with the addition of
phonograms. 2. Scribes made marks pressed into clay which
was baked to harden the clay. a. They used a pointed stick
called a stylus making a combination of wedge-like shapes.
b. Cuneiform: cuneus - Latin for wedge. 600 signs - picto,
ideo, and phonograms. c. Papyrus did not grow in Sumer, so
they continued to write on clay tablets. 3. Mystery: a. A
Persian ruler, Darius the Great, suppressed a rebellion
led by local chiefs. b. Darius had the story carved in
both pictures and writing on a limestone cliff at
Behistun. c. The Behistun Rock: Darius passing judgment
was recorded in three languages. 1.) Old Persian which was
partly known. 2.) Elamite - native to the region. 3.)
Babylonian Cuneiform which is similar to Sumerian Writing.
d. Sir Henry C. Rawlison in 1846 was able to decipher
cuneiform writing. Commerce and Trade: 1. Agriculture:
grains, vegetables, and dates. 2. Domestication of
Animals: a. Cows, sheep, and goats (dairy industry). b.
Oxen for plowing. Donkeys for pulling carts. * Beasts of
burden. Domesticate: the change (plant or animal) from a
wild state to a tame or cultivated state. 3. Textile
Industry: (wool into cloth; flax into linen). 4. Most of
the land was worked for the god. * It (the land) was
controlled by the Privileged Nobility and some was rented.
5. Food production had allowed the development of trade
and industry. Sumerian Technology: 1. Building Materials:
sun dried clay bricks; they did not last as long as
Egyptian stone buildings. 2. Architecture: a. The Arch - a
curved structure over an opening; very strong supporting
weight. b. The Dome or Vault: rounded roof after combining
several arches. (use of ramps) c. Sewers: built beneath
their buildings covered with archers of bricks. 3.
Ziggurats or Temples: a. Constructed on man-made hills. b.
Built in layers, each one smaller, usually built in seven
stories. c. Top layer: shrine or a god. 4. Developed
principles of Algebra. 5. Numbering system based on 60.
(time and circles) * 360 degrees * degree - 60 minutes *
minute - 60 seconds 6. Developed a lunar calendar: forced
to add a 13th month. Education: 1. Boys of the Upper
Class: conducted in temples by priests. 2. Curriculum:
writing, spelling, history, math, languages, map making.
3. Advanced Education: law, medicine, and surgery. 4.
Divination: (usually a function of the priests) being able
to tell the future by signs and omens. a. An omen might be
any event. b. A regular means to discover the will of the
gods. 1.) Gods spoke through dreams. 2.) Examination of
the liver and other internal organs. (ie. intestines) *
paid attention to coloring, shape and markings. 3.)
Astrology - believed it was possible to forecast such
important events as the death of a king or a victory in
battle through the stars. Religion: Polytheistic 1.
Animism: The belief that natural objects, natural
phenomena, and the universe itself possess souls or
consciousness. (ie. trees, stones, water, earth, stars.)
2. Gods were identified with forces of Nature. a. Gods
were like men: habits and needs. Not omnipotent and they
could be irrational; they were viewed more as supermen. b.
Believed in demons — ritual magic was used to control
them. 3. Gods: a. Anu - king of heaven (Anu's number was
60, the highest in the Sumerian System). b. Enlil - the
god of air and storms. c. Ea - the god of waters. d. Enki
- god of the subterranean world. Lower Deities: a. Shamash
- the sun god. b. Sin - the moon god. c. Ishtar - the
goddess of love and war. d. Adad - the god of weather. e.
Dumuzi (Tammuz) - the god of vegetation, spent half the
year in the underworld. 4. Afterlife: Man separated from
the life of the gods. a. A place and time of misery and
hardship where spirits of the dead lived in darkness and
ate dirt. ie. a hopeless state. b. The Epic of Gilgamesch:
This view can be seen by one of the greatest pieces of
Sumerian literature. * Gilgamesch attempts to find a way
of achieving immortality and concludes his quest is
hopeless. Legal System: Sumerian 1. Principle of
retribution for damages — usually enforced through
payment in money or kind. 2. If a man injured a slave, he
had to pay the slave's master for the damage. * Repayment
based on merit and worth. Babylonians: 1. ca. 2350 B.C.:
Sargon of Akkad challenged Sumerian predominance. *
Following centuries saw intermittent fighting between the
Semitic speaking Akkadians and Sumerians. 2. Built the
city of Babylon on the Euphrates. By 1800 B.C. - their
power was finally established. 3. The Babylonians were a
result of the dominant Akkadians and Sumerians (merged
into one people). 4. Adopted most of Sumerian institutions
and culture. 5. Hammurabi: ca. 1700 B.C. a. Conquered the
Upper Tigris-Euphrates Valley. b. Known as the great law
giver. 1.) Law Code - oldest known written legal system.
2.) Influenced by Sumerian legal traditions. c.
Hammurabi's Law Code: (282 laws) 1.) Stern Sense of
Justice: "an eye for an eye" demanding severe punishments
for crimes — bribery, theft, dishonest weights and
measures, and damage to another's property. 2.) Sharp
Division of Classes: harsher punishment for an offense
against a noble or priest than a common person. 3.) Fair
Treatment of Women: Permitted to own property and engage
in business. 4.) An Advanced Business Society: established
regulations for protecting property and business
contracts, limiting interest on loans, and setting wages
for workers. 6. Culture: adopted much from Sumer. a.
Social classes, writing, architecture, and science. b.
Traders: traveled throughout the Fertile Crescent, Egypt,
India, and China. c. Women: possessed legal and economic
rights. * Exception: a man could sell his wife and
children to pay his debts. 7. Religion: a. Marduk: god of
Babylon and depicted as the creator of the world. b.
Borrowed many Sumerian gods. c. Sacrificed for a good life
now. Land of No Return: Hopeless life after death. d.
Priests: Important Role. 1.) Protection against evil
spirits. 2.) Practice of Divination. e. Religious
Literature: describes the creation of the world, the first
man and woman, building of an ark before the Great Flood.
* elements such as these are referred to as Religious
Universals. Hittites: 1. Invaded the Tigris-Euphrates
Valley ca. 1600 B.C. 2. History remained a mystery for
years - progress only since the 1940's. 3. Pictographic
Script: one line written from left to right, next line
from right to left. * Learned cuneiform from the
Babylonians. 4. Indo-Europeans: they came from north of
the Black and Caspian Seas. * ca. 2,000 B.C. - they
migrated into Asia Minor. 5. First people to make
extensive use of Iron. a. Mined copper and silver which
they traded. b. Process of making iron was kept secret. 6.
Expanded throughout most of Asia Minor. a. Established
their capital at Hattusas. b. Achievement: Legal System
1.) Less brutal than Hammurabi's Code. 2.) Capital
punishment for major crimes. 3.) Emphasized payment of
damages not retribution. 4.) Concerned more about
premeditation. 7. Decline: ca. 1200 B.C. a. Iron
processing learned by other people. b. Had looted Babylon
– difficulty caused by being too far from their homeland.
Rise of the Assyrians: 1. Kassites: controlled the area of
Babylonia until about 900 B.C. 2. ca. 1100 B.C. - the
Assyrians rose to power in Mesopotamia. a. Settled along
the Tigris River, north west of Babylonia. b. City State
of Assur: Assur the god of war and patron god of the
Assyrians. Patron: one who guides and protects you (what
does it tell us about the character of the Assyrians). 3.
Policy of Expansion: a. Learned about iron from the
Hittites. b. First to outfit armies entirely with iron
weapons. c. Used cavalry instead of chariots. d. Invented
movable towers and battering rams. 4. 8th Century B.C.:
conquered Babylonia. 7th Century B.C.: conquered Egypt
(only for a time). * Largest Empire up to that time. 5.
Annual Campaigns: Reputation for Cruelty. a. Would
annihilate everyone considered dangerous — selling women
and children into slavery. b. Transporting entire
populations to isolated areas. c. Razed houses, palaces,
and temples of their victims and stack their bodies by the
road as a warning to others. 6. ca. 700 B.C.: Conquered
Babylon and totally destroy the city changing the course
of the Euphrates to flow over it. Assyrian Government 1.
Ruler was an autocrat with absolute power. 2. The Assyrian
King was only responsible to the god Assur. 3. Created an
effective system of imperial administration. a. Built
Roads: for the movement of troops. b. Postal Service:
helped the army to act quickly against rebellions. c.
Governors: ruled conquered areas; inspectors sent to check
on their activities. d. Army of Occupation: to keep
conquered people under control-made up of paid soldiers or
mercenaries from other conquered lands. Rise and Decline:
1. Nineveh - capital built on the Tigris River. 2. Tried
to make Nineveh a city of splendor — from taxes collected
in conquered lands. 3. Assurbanipal: built a great library
containing thousands of clay tablets both Assyrian and
Babylonian. * These documents have enabled scholars to
accurately reconstruct life in the Ancient Middle East. 4.
Fortified City: a. Double Walls: 50 feet thick and 100
feet high. b. Fifteen Gates: water source from mountain
streams. 5. 612 B.C.: the Chaldeans, Medes, and Persians
joined forces. a. Captured and destroyed Nineveh. b.
Eventually conquered the entire Assyrian Empire. The
Chaldeans: The Second Babylonian Empire 1. 616 B.C.:
Semitic speaking nomads from the Arabian Desert seized
Babylon and rebuilt it as their capital. 2. 612 B.C.: They
took the largest share of the Assyrian Empire. 3.
Nebuchanezzar: 605-562 B.C. a. Conquered most of the
Fertile Crescent. b. Enclosed land within the city walls
to provide a food supply especially in case of siege. c.
Hanging Gardens: built for one his wives, Cyaxare -
daughter of the Median King. It was one of the Seven
Wonders of the ancient world. d. Ziggurat - near his
palace believed by some to be the Biblical Tower of Babel.
"Man trying to make himself god-like, so he divides men by
language barriers, and scatters them abroad." Genesis 4.
Achievement: Astronomy * Chaldean priests acquired a vast
store of knowledge about eclipses and the movement of
heavenly bodies. 5. After Nebuchnezzar: Civil War and in
539 B.C. Babylon wa captured by the Persians. Ancient
Persia: 1. ca. 1800 B.C.: the Medes and Persians migrated
to the high plateau of Iran. 2. United under the Medes and
joined in the alliance to overthrow the Assyrians. 3. 612
B.C.: All of Iran and the northern part of the Tigris -
Euphrates Valley. 4. ca. 550 B.C.: Cyrus, a Persian, led a
revolt against the Medes and became ruler of both groups.
5. Power of the Persian Army: extensive use of horsemen
and archers. a. Cyrus: defeated the Chaldeans and captured
Babylon gaining the rest of the Tigris-Euphrates Valley.
b. Extended his empire into the rest of the Fertile
Crescent and Asia Minor. c. Cambyses, Cyrus' son,
conquered Egypt in 525 B.C. 6. 5th Century B.C. — Darius
the Great extended the empire to the Indus River in India.
a. Both Darius and his son, Xerxes, attempted unsuccessful
invasions of Greece. b. The Persian Empire was at its peak
under Darius. Persian Government: 1. Absolute Ruler a.
Rule based on a recognition of the diversity of culture
and national groups within the empire. b. The emperor's
power rested on a policy of toleration and on the support
of an elite group who actually ruled the vast empire. 2.
Fair Taxation (collection) and justice. * Ensured laws
would be applied equally. 3. Cyrus allowed the Hebrews
(Jews) to return to Jerusalem who had been enslaved by the
Chaldeans. 4. Adopted the Assyrian system of
administration. a. Governor (Satrap); Provinces
(Satrapies) and his officials. b. General and his troops -
- occupation of conquered lands. c. Inspectors: "The
King's eyes and ears." to insure just government. Persian
Religion: 1. Originally Polytheistic. 2. Zoraster: One
trains for a future life. "The world was torn by a
constant struggle between good and evil." a. Forces of
good - by light: led by Ahura Mazda, source of truth and
purity. b. Forces of evil - darkness: led by the spirit
Ahriman. c. Man would have to choose between them — faced
with an eventual last judgment as good would triumph and
evil would then be punished. * The earth (physical
existence) would then disappear. 3. Zend Avesta - was the
sacred book of Zorastrianism. Importance: Zorastrianism
emphasized ethical or moral conduct, a final day of
judgment, and the individual's role in determining his or
her salvation. Decline: 331 B.C. — fourth century B.C.
conquered by Alexander the Great. The Phoenicians: 1.
Loose union of city states — each with a king. 2. Sidon
and Tyre were their two major seaports — both became
world famous. 3. History: Conquered by and forced to pay
tribute to. a. Egyptians b. Hittites c. Assyrians d.
Chaldeans e. Persians f. Greeks 4. Geography: less than
200 miles long and average 12 miles in width. a. Little
fertile land — large scale farming was impossible. b.
Lebanon Mountains prevented expansion eastward. c. Turned
to the sea — became the greatest traders of the Ancient
World. 5. Believed to have traveled as far as Britain and
around Africa. 6. Need for Trading: a. Lack of minerals.
b. Cedar Trees of the Lebanon Mountains — important in
the production of their ships. c. Skilled Artisans: made
objects from metals obtained from Foreign Lands. d. Murex:
shellfish which they used to make purple dye. 1.) Woolen
cloth dyed purple became a prized possession. 2. Very
expensive: became known as royal purple. Phoenician
Colonies: 1. 1,000 - 700 B.C. — factors in the Near East
favored the Phoenicians. a. The Hittite Empire had
disappeared. b. The Egyptian Empire was declining. 2. The
Phoenicians united under Tyre and established colonies
throughout the Mediterranean Sea. 3. Purpose: Centers of
Trade a. Sicily b. Sardinia c. Malta d. Southern Spain e.
Northern Africa: Carthage the most important (almost 300
cities). Culture: Borrowed 1. Government and most of their
culture from the Egyptians and Babylonians. 2. Indirectly:
spread their knowledge through the Mediterranean. 3.
Religion: harsh a. Polytheistic. b. Gods — Baals, angry
gods. c. Practiced human sacrifice and at times their own
children. d. They had no belief in an afterlife. 4.
Achievement: transmitted what became our alphabet. a.
Egyptians and Sumerians — phonograms and signs for
syllables. b. Sinai Peninsula - a people developed signs
for consonantsonly. Semitic Family: Hebrew and Arabic are
still written without vowels. c. Phoenicians adopted this
system and developed an alphabet of 22 consonants. d. The
Greeks improved it by adding symbols for vowels. e. The
Romans adopted the Greek alphabet altering some of
theletters. Alpha-Beta: Alphabet Polis Anthropos 5.
Arameans - in the Western Fertile Crescent. a. Developed
an alphabet using cuneiform characters. b. Traders - they
influenced both Persian and Indian writing. * Founders of
Damascus. Lydians: 1. After 1,000 B.C.: Indo-European
speaking people who lived in Asia Minor. 2. First half of
the 6th Century B.C. - they enjoyed great prosperity and
power. 3. Croesus - a king of the Lydians - had the
reputation of being the richest man in the world. 4.
Contribution: A merchant trading people. a. Need: a means
of exchange that could replace barter. b. First government
to mint coins and guarantee their value. ie. a money
economy. Palestine: 1. South of Phoenicia: 150 miles long.
2. Similar to Phoenicia a. Lack of minerals. b. Difference
- no forests. 3. Northern Palestine: a. Jordan Sea -
fertile soil. b. Crops: grain, olives, figs and grapes. 4.
Southern Palestine: a. Around the Dead Sea. b. Desert:
soil poor and rocky. 5. Between Africa and Asia: a. Trade
route between Egypt and the Tigris-Euphrates Valley. b.
Ideas of the two civilizations. c. Invaded and forced to
fight: 1.) Egyptians 2.) Hittites 3.) Assyrians 4.)
Persians 5.) Later: the Greeks and Romans Hebrews or Jews:
1. Abraham, founder of the Jewish People, had lived in
Sumer. a. Led his people to the borders of Northern
Palestine. b. Some remained there, and others moved on. 2.
They crossed the Isthmus of Suez. a. Settled east of the
Nile Delta: "Land of Goshen" - a swampy country. b. They
improved the land and began to prosper. 3. The Jews and
Egypt: a. Jews believed to have entered Egypt with the
Hyksos in the 1700's B.C. b. 1500's B.C.: they Hyksos were
forced out, and the Jews were forced to work as slaves. 4.
Moses: destiny to free the Jewish people. * ca. 1275 B.C.
- he led the Jewish people out of Egypt — in what is
known as the Exodus. 5. Tradition: a. Because of life in
the desert — some felt that life in Egypt as slaves was
better. b. Mt. Sinai: Moses returned with the Ten
Commandments revealed to him by Yaweh or Jehovah. c. Told
of the Promised Land - ie. Palestine. 6. Joined the Jews
who lived along the Northern border of Palestine. a.
Palestine was controlled by: 1.) Canaanites: held Northern
Palestine. 2.) Philistines: held the coastal region of
Palestine. b. The Canaanites were conquered first and the
Hebrews settled in the Jordan Valley. c. They never
completely conquered the Philistines. Government and
Customs: 1. Nomads - Hebrews were divided into 12 tribes -
- each was headed by a religious leader called a Judge. 2.
Fighting for Palestine: they had united the tribes under
Kings. Saul David Solomon 3. ca. 933 B.C.: end of
Solomon's reign. a. Revolution. b. The Kingdom was split
in two. 1.) Kingdom of Israel in the North. Capital -
Samaria. 2.) Kingdom of Judah in the South. Capital -
Jerusalem. 4. 722 B.C. - Assyrians conquered Samaria and
Israel. 5. 586 B.C. - Chaldeans conquered Judah and
Jerusalem.

There are similarities and differences between Japanese
and European feudalism. Both seem to have developed from a
blending of concepts of centralized imperial rule with
traditional tribal organization and personal bonds of
loyalty. In Europe these ingredients derived from the
Roman Empire and the Germanic tribes. Japan's feudal
tradition can be traced to T'ang China and the uji
organization in early Japan. 

Feudalism developed slightly later in Japan than in Europe
(12th and 9th centuries, respectively). This delay could
have been due to Japan's isolation and the lack of foreign
invasions. However, both systems began with strong
legalistic attitudes and stressed vassal-lord obligations,
designed to ensure the allegiance of the former in periods
of constant warfare. The legal foundations were, however,
very different in the Japanese and European feudal
systems: European feudalism was grounded in Roman legal
structure while Japan feudalism had as its basis Chinese
Confucian morality.

Setting the stage: Of feudal development 

The organization of land into a standardized system was
one of the developments necessary to allow the rise of
Japan's militarist society. Historically, the traditional
uji (clans) had maintained themselves through basic
agriculture while dominating the collective political
environment. More people and planning were needed,
however, in order to create the paddy system for rice
cultivation (which was developed in the centuries before
600 CE). 

In 645, the Japanese adopted the Chinese 'equal-field'
system, whereby all rice land was nationalized. The
Japanese made modifications to this before implementation,
which were called the Taika ('great change') reforms,
whose key goals were asserted in 646. 

They were triggered by the death of the ruling Prince
Shotoku in 622, whose incapable son accessed the throne
and was summarily slain. A new emperor, Kotoku, was
installed and a new family, the Fujiwara, was created;
this new family was to breed with and politically dominate
the throne for many hundreds of years.

The Taika reforms defined extensive sociopolitical
changes. Their goal was to reestablish Imperial authority
and return to the late Emperor Shotoku's plan to establish
an effective and fair government based on the Chinese
models. All private lands were seized and collated for
future Imperial redistribution, along with all rice lands,
according to the aforementioned Equal-Field System. To set
a royal example, the new prince Naka (who later became the
Emperor Tenji) donated all his lands to the state.

A new capital was needed; to accomplish this a bureaucracy
was necessary, along with roads, taxes, a standing army,
communication, and an infrastructure. In order for the old
clans (Uji) to accept this arrangement, they had to be
bought out by installing them as high-level officials in
the new government.

A national capital was then established at Nara (710-784),
and this Chinese land/taxing system was utilized to
provide revenue. All existing rice paddies were considered
public land that could be freely redistributed by the
Emperor, and a census was conducted in 670 to determine
the nature of the population.

Social Classes in Feudal Japan

1. The Emperor

Although the Emperor is the logical apex of this
structure, most of his time was spent ensconced away from
the lower classes who were not allowed to lay eyes upon
him. In fact, the emperor-figurehead was thrilled by any
opportunity to leave the Palace and be moved through the
streets of Heian-Kyo (Kyoto).Ordinarily, his time was
spent 'observing' and was never allowed to actually do
anything. Therefore, many Emperors ultimately become
Monks, because it allowed them more personal freedom.

The position of 'Emperor of Japan' is truly a historical
cipher. Imperial power soon came to be destabilized, which
heralded the rise of 'classic' Japanese feudalism. As the
so-called 'OmnipotentNon-Competent', it soon comes to pass
that his authority is delegated to Regents (Sessho) and
the Shogun (Japan's top military oligarch).

It could be said that the Emperor is typically controlled
by the previous Emperor, who historically had been
controlled by the Fujiwara family. The Fujiwara
continually married into the Imperial line to retain sway
as aristocrats, and rushed headlong into the political
fracas that was the court microcosm.

2. The Kuge

The old hierarchy was not simply abandoned with the
establishment of the Yamato government; they were in fact
re-formed into the kuge, a social class of inherited
nobility that was intertwined with powerful positions in
the central government. Since Japan's beginning, a wide
social disparity has existed between the floating grandeur
and culture of the Capital versus the harsh reality of
life in the provinces. 

Immediately below the Emperor socially (and it must be
said that some argue the existence of a more lateral
relationship) were the kuge, being both Imperial
Descendants and Court Aristocrats. Their lives consisted
of detailed court ceremony, which was designed to occupy
all the spare time they had. 

3. The Buke

Below were the buke, or the hereditary/official military
classes established around 1100. The years 1185-1400 make
up a transitory, proto-feudal period where the central
provinces of Japan were set up as geographic extensions of
the Kuge. As farmers, the original buke living in distant
provinces rebelled against high taxation, and from them
came a form of proto-samurai: farmers who could be called
to battle in short order (similar to the American
'Minutemen'). The buke class, then, encompasses the gamut
of warring types, including all from the lowest foot-
soldier (Ashigaru) to the most illustrious governor-
general (daimyo). The Samurai are the driving force of
this feudal society, and as such is a most appropriate
case-study for understanding the nature of Japanese
feudalism.

4. The Bonge

At the bottom of the official hierarchy are the masses of
commoners (Bonge), who were also known as Kootsunin,
Hyakushonin, and Eta/Hinin, who were the social
'untouchables' (to allude to Indian castes) also known
collectively as Burakamin.

These poor unfortunates have the lowest social ranking
besides the Ainu, who are considered to be 'wild
barbarians' anyway. Non-Burakamin commoners were therefore
eager to distinguish themselves any way possible, and were
thus stratified into 3 basic categories:

Ryoke - Landowners and Independent Farmers Gesakunin -
Renters and Tenant Farmers Zomin, Nuhi, Genin - Craftsmen
and Laborers These commoners were to constantly struggle
with those who did not work the land. For example: after
1200, 95% of Japanese people were supporting the rice
needs of the elite 5%, which was indicative of their
social and economic decline. In fact, the farmers would
riot regularly; Ji-Samurai (proto-Samurai) were then
called upon to control them, which presaged the birth of
the Samurai as an official class.

CRAFTSMEN

In Edo (Tokyo) society, craftsmen and merchants were
socially ranked even below the farmers, with the merchants
at the bottom solely because of the money they made off of
others' efforts. Craftsmen were classified into 3 main
types which were then sub-classified:

Those with their own shop

Those who arrive on-site to perform work

Wandering Craftsmen (which had individual ranks based on
why they wander)

At this time (17th c.), the most money was typically made
in one of the 'five crafts': roofer, sawyer, stonemason,
plasterer, and carpenter. Those in the same trade lived
together in a certain area of town, and paid their taxes
as much in goods and services as in cash. Therefore, when
the 1850's came around and feudal Japan was faced with the
reality of the west already undergoing the industrial
revolution, there was a level of craftsmanship unheard-of
outside of Asia. 

MERCHANTS 

The merchants were much-maligned by the civil government
and grew more feared by the same, in correlation with
their growing incomes which in turn correlated with
growing social influence. In a phenomenon similar to the
Italian Renaissance, the capital generated by the
merchants spawned a related culture. 

Merchants dealt not in rice but in coin, and utilized four
metals: gold (oban, koban, ichibu kin), silver (chogin,
mame-ita, monme), copper (zeni), and iron. They had square
holes in the center based on the Chinese system, and were
carried on strings of hemp.

Like all other classes, merchants were strictly sub-
classified; the critical difference, however, was that
they made up their own rules (as opposed to the other
classes, who were defined by the military). Merchant dogma
directed one to work hard, and avoid things like the
following:

Sponsoring charity wrestling tournaments

Trips to Kyoto

Sports, incense-discrimination, or poetry

Familiarity with geisha (prostitutes) and/or actors of the
Kabuki (lower-class)variety

Lessons in Iaijutsu (art of the quick draw) or sword-
fighting

There is a particularly fascinating feudal development
that relates to merchant culture: at roughly the same time
as the northern Italians (and perhaps a bit earlier: 1400-
1500s), money replaced rice as the primary means of
exchange at Sakai, the merchant village established on
foreign trade and not feudal relations.

THE RONIN 

To be Ronin (masterless) was not necessarily dishonorable
to the individual; in fact, 'seven times down, eight times
up' is a traditional anecdote describing how a lord would
(periodically throughout a samurai's career) dispatch
certain bushi on a year-long wandering mission. In the
ranks of employed warriors, however, one without a master
was considered a social outcast due to his personal
autonomy, which was unheard-of in all strata of Japanese
society. The Ronin, however, came to treasure his freedoms
and found it possible to spiritually grow beyond the
limitations he previously railed against.

The Ronin, then, are what represent the 'renaissance'
fighting man in classical Japan. They were adventurers,
seekers of psychological and physical challenge, and stood
out in diametric contrast with the rigid stratification of
Japanese society-at-large. They were men of great value,
who had been socially ostracized due to the fickle zephyr
that is politics. In groups, time and again they proved
their effectiveness against the organized and centralized
military government, the shogunate of Tokugawa Ieyasu,
(also known as the Bakufu). This system of military
government ultimately outlasted the Ronin as a collective;
nonetheless, there will always be a decided historical
romanticism in the notion of the highly skilled, self-
sufficient outcast who had to constantly defend himself
against mastered samurai, who had the social wherewithal
to be offended by the presence of the masterless warrior.

NINJA 

An entire course could be dedicated to this subject
because ninja are so widely misunderstood. To put it
concisely, the ninja performed the military tasks that
were so socially maligned that no samurai or ostensible
warrior could perform them. Such missions included
sabotage, surveillance, assassinations, infiltration, et
cetera. Ninja lived in extremely tight and secretive
family organizations, and the finest secrets of their art
are probably lost (or at least hidden from the lay eye).

After many long years of war, the first bakufu or
shogunate was established by Minamoto Yoritomo in the
later 12th century. Yoritomo was a better administrator
than fighter, so he brought in his brother Yoshitsune for
muscle and was appointed Shogun in 1193. He established a
military capital at Kamakura to complement the civil
(Imperial) capital in Kyoto, but the shogunate proved to
be the more effective method. At around the same time
seppuku (ritual suicide) was invented, and heralded what
can be considered to be the era of 'refined' or 'classic'
Japanese feudalism. 

This new shogunal system continued until Yoritomo broke
his neck; his (incapable) sons disappeared and Hojo
regents maintained the power of the shogunate for over 150
years, a period that would become known as Shikken. This
was in fact a very fair and stable system, and is perhaps
Japan's best attempt yet at civil government. 

It was during this period that the Ji-Samurai evolved into
classic feudal Samurai in Japan's 'mediaeval' age, because
the Hojo regency faced foreign-policy crises. In 1274 the
Mongols came calling after conquering in Indonesia and
Korea, and were such warriors that they would drink blood
from the necks of their horses to survive overland treks. 

In 1336, the Ashikaga shogunate was forcibly established,
which led to centuries of pure, unadulterated civil war
known as Geikokujo. This was the 'real feudalist' age, the
turmoil of which produced the series of 'The 3 Unifiers'.
These men established the centuries of feudal peace before
the arrival of Commodore Matthew Perry on behalf of the
United States in 1853. 

THE THREE UNIFIERS

These three colorful and key figures in feudal Japanese
history are who ultimately establish the Tokugawa bakufu,
that re-organized and set in social stone a new feudalist
society whose peace would continue virtually uninterrupted
for two centuries. Their names were:

Oda Nobunaga (1534-82): Did not take the title of 'Shogun'
since he was not a Minamoto; made full utilization of the
arquebus (musket) to consolidate his power.

Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1536-98): Invented his last name to
seek a new civil administration

Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542-1616): Rewrote his family tree and
assumed the title 'Shogun'.

This ethic (largely inconceivable to the western mind) was
all-important in common practice, as a warrior would fight
bitterly to his last sinew if ordered by his liege to do
so; in fact, samurai literature dictates that each day one
should awake with his mind prepared to die that very day. 

Consequently, warriors often had to be forcibly blocked
from throwing their lives away in the heat of battle. The
way of the samurai was of death, and of desperateness. 

This also manifested in unjust (and lethal) hostility that
became increasingly prevalent as the samurai declined. 

This social decline was due to the ultimate futility of
their existence as their society began to morph into an
increasingly accelerated tangent due to modernization and
westernization, combined with hundreds of years of peace.

BUKE HIERARCHY

The highest social rank for a buke to hold (below the
shogun) was to be a daimyo or 'great name'. These were the
provincial military governors famous for being patrons of
an artistic and cultural explosion that occurred around
1600. 

This year also marked the formative Battle of Sekigahara;
the victors, led by Tokugawa Ieyasu, established a new
shogunate and between 250-260 feudal governors, or daimyo.
Daimyo existed in three basic forms: 

Shimpan - "Related Lords" - Honorable family members

Fudai - "Inner Lords" - Hereditary lords who controlled
Han (fiefs) and assisted bakufu policies

Tozama - "Outer Lords" - Powerful lords who were
indifferent or hostile, and were dealt with carefully

Shimpan lived close to the capital, which was now in Edo
(modern-day Tokyo) and held significant offices in the
civil government (though they lacked any real power).

Fudai were the lords who had previously been vassals of
the Tokugawa family before the pivotal Battle of
Sekigahara; Tokugawa Ieyasu was the last of the 3
Unifiers, and the man who finally succeeded in
establishing the new shogunate. Fudai han (fiefs) were
essentially a living buffer that would encircle the
central core under bakufu control; in return, fudai also
occupied important positions in the government. 

Tozama were the remaining ujikami (clan chieftans) who
were rivals of Ieyasu, and acknowledged his title of
Shogun.

The arrival of the Americans in 1853 upset the delicate
balance of threats that the bakufu maintained between kuge
intrigue and daimyo uprisings. This then triggered the
restoration of the Meiji Emperor in 1868, after 'revere
the Emperor and expel the barbarians' became a popular
catch-phrase.