Overview of Japan's Political History
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jayhari261025Overview of Japan's Political History
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jayhari26102568o AN INTRODUCTION TO POLITICS
o£ Emperor Jimmul
660 B.C and since then the descendants
continuity Smnto-
have been reigning in Japan with unbroken
of the land
ism-2i body of beliefs and iituals—is the religion
liberality^ and
which taught them the virtues of honesty,
further incul-
above all self-abnegation in the battlefield. It
cated a doctrine of Empeioi-worship, the
empeior being des-
quality of
cended from sun-goddess and as such possessing a
divmity This belief in the divine oiigin of the Emperor
made Japanese people extremely loyal to the empeior who
ruled the country both as a patriaich and a Vicegerent
of
God up to the end of the twelfth century
Second Period (Rise of the Shogan)
The second period of the political history of Japan
begins with the rise of the Shogans One of the earlier
emperors unwittingly set up a rival authority by confeiimg
the title of Shogan on a member of the Mmamoto family
The word Shogan is a military title meaning the chief mili-
tary head The result of this short-sighted policy on the part
of the emperor was that from 1192 until 1867 the emperors
had little but ceremonial functions, while successive families
of Shogan exeicised the tempoial power The Shoganate in
couise of time gave rise to a system of feudalism which
through a long process divided the whole country into great
fiefs held by daimios or feudal lords who owed allegiance
actually to the Shogan and only nominally to the empeior
who, by this time, was bereft of all poweis These feudall^
lords had their vassals a!,nd
sub-vassals thus reducing the
country to innumerable small fiefs and making adminis-
tiation highly decentralised and consecjuently
very weak.
Excepting the few wealthy feudal chiefs, the mass
of inhabi-
tants was reduced to the position of
serfs analogous to the
feudal system which prevailed in mediaeval
Europe
Third Period (Period of Restoration and
Westernisation)
landmark m
the constitutional history
nf
of Japan because m
that yeai the Shoganate
was abolished and
the emperor was restored to
his otigmal power
In .86, the emperor Me.j. and prestige
recovered the imperial
power after