Feudalism Hierarchy chart Medieval EuropeFeudalism Hierarchy chart

Some of the most legendary military figures in feudal Japan were daimyos including Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi who were both seen as strong country rulers. They had a lot of advantages over others, for instance, they were exempt from paying any taxes. The word daimyo originally meant large private land owners. How strong the shoguns completely depended on how many daimyo they had under them. Daimyos were in fact more powerful than shoguns at times. Daimyosĭaimyos, also known as feudal warlords, were categorised just below and reported directly to the shogun, making them also very powerful rulers. Some of the notable shoguns in feudal Japan include, Minamoto no Yoritomo, Shikaga Takauji, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, Tokugawa Ieyasu and Yokugawa Yoshonobu who became the last shogun. Shoguns were Japan’s ruler until its abolishment just before the beginning of the Meiji period. The shoguns were appointed by the emperor and simply meant a ‘general’ originally, however, the shoguns gained the highest rank during the feudal period due to their physical strengths. They were also the military and political leader of feudal Japan and held the most power. The shogun was the highest class in the noble class. The sub categories of the military class included the shogun, the daimyos, the samurais and the ronins. Although the noble class was below the royal class in the feudal Japan hierarchy, the people in this class were the ones ran the country in reality, making them more powerful figures. The nobles, those in the military class are equivalent to the middle class in today’s society. Again in reality, they were not very powerful compare to the ones in the military class during the feudal period in Japan. The royal family members were classed the second highest social class in the royal class. The royal family were those who were related to the emperor. However, as the time went on towards the end of the feudal Japan in the Edo period, the emperor regained the power. The emperor was seen more like a figurehead, and had large symbolic religious influential figure to the Japanese people. The emperorĪlthough the emperor was classed as the leader of feudal Japan, he actually had very little power and control over the country, as the government was dominated by the military force. The royal class was at the top of the chain, and it was also the one included the emperor and his family members. An illustration of daimyo Kyogoku Takatomo, a high ranking figure in feudal Japanese hierarchy.

Feudalism Hierarchy chart Medieval EuropeFeudalism Hierarchy chart