Post by Sargon on Oct 11, 2007 14:07:02 GMT -5
well i didnt want to steal the old heiracy from japan, but i kinda did anyhow.
i also kinda stole it from wikipeida.org
here it is summed up better then i ever could.
The Japanese class structure, while influenced by the Chinese, was based on a much more feudal environment. The Emperor, as a deity, was unquestionably at the pinnacle of the Japanese class structure (and still is, despite no longer being considered a god). However, for most of Japanese history the emperor was not allowed outside the palace grounds and his will was "interpreted" by a shogun, or military dictator. Beneath the shogun, daimyos, or regional lords, administered the provinces through their samurai lieutenants. Perhaps through Chinese influence, and perhaps springing from a lack of arable land, the Japanese class structure also ranked farmers above merchants and other bourgeois.
so its really simiple
Emperor is a god.
Shugun is the "interpreater"
Daimyos are regional lords.
samuri are lieutenants of the Daimyos.
other information on the social classes
the four classes are , samurai, farmers, artisans and merchants.
Samurai
With the creation of the Domains (han) under the rule of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, all land was confiscated and reissued as fiefdoms to the daimyo. The small lords, the samurai, were ordered to either give up their swords and rights and remain on their lands as peasants, or move to the castle cities to become paid retainers of the daimyo. Only a few samurai were allowed to remain in the countryside; the landed samurai (郷士, gōshi?). Some 5% of the population were samurai.
Artisans
The artisans were likewise ordered to move to the cities. Thus, the towns below the castles were divided into four parts, the samurai quarter, the merchant quarter, the artisans quarter, and the hanamachi, where theaters, brothels and gambling dens were located. In the towns, different ways of life developed, with the chōnindō of the artisans and merchants and the bushidō of the samurai.
The peasants, around 80% to 90% of the population, had to carry the burden of the economy. Taxes were paid in rice, 40% to 50% of the harvest, collected from the village as a community. The villages were given self-rule under village headman.
The ranking of the divisions was influenced by confucianist thinking: The wise ruler was at the top, followed by the farmer who produces the wealth of the society. The artisan only reuses the wealth created, while the merchant only distributes the goods. Interestingly, there is a parallel to the physiocratic school of François Quesnay and his contemporaries, who influenced the French Ancien Régime.
Merchants
Yet, the picture did not fit reality: the merchants were the wealthiest group, and many samurai had to take debts to keep up.
Farmers
they farmed
so feifdoms = Han
and yes so on and so forth
i took this all directly from wikipeida, and i know japan as a soceity changed ALL the time. sometimes drastically. and this form of there heiracy wasnt always true. it is however MORE then good enough for DnD.
i also kinda stole it from wikipeida.org
here it is summed up better then i ever could.
The Japanese class structure, while influenced by the Chinese, was based on a much more feudal environment. The Emperor, as a deity, was unquestionably at the pinnacle of the Japanese class structure (and still is, despite no longer being considered a god). However, for most of Japanese history the emperor was not allowed outside the palace grounds and his will was "interpreted" by a shogun, or military dictator. Beneath the shogun, daimyos, or regional lords, administered the provinces through their samurai lieutenants. Perhaps through Chinese influence, and perhaps springing from a lack of arable land, the Japanese class structure also ranked farmers above merchants and other bourgeois.
so its really simiple
Emperor is a god.
Shugun is the "interpreater"
Daimyos are regional lords.
samuri are lieutenants of the Daimyos.
other information on the social classes
the four classes are , samurai, farmers, artisans and merchants.
Samurai
With the creation of the Domains (han) under the rule of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, all land was confiscated and reissued as fiefdoms to the daimyo. The small lords, the samurai, were ordered to either give up their swords and rights and remain on their lands as peasants, or move to the castle cities to become paid retainers of the daimyo. Only a few samurai were allowed to remain in the countryside; the landed samurai (郷士, gōshi?). Some 5% of the population were samurai.
Artisans
The artisans were likewise ordered to move to the cities. Thus, the towns below the castles were divided into four parts, the samurai quarter, the merchant quarter, the artisans quarter, and the hanamachi, where theaters, brothels and gambling dens were located. In the towns, different ways of life developed, with the chōnindō of the artisans and merchants and the bushidō of the samurai.
The peasants, around 80% to 90% of the population, had to carry the burden of the economy. Taxes were paid in rice, 40% to 50% of the harvest, collected from the village as a community. The villages were given self-rule under village headman.
The ranking of the divisions was influenced by confucianist thinking: The wise ruler was at the top, followed by the farmer who produces the wealth of the society. The artisan only reuses the wealth created, while the merchant only distributes the goods. Interestingly, there is a parallel to the physiocratic school of François Quesnay and his contemporaries, who influenced the French Ancien Régime.
Merchants
Yet, the picture did not fit reality: the merchants were the wealthiest group, and many samurai had to take debts to keep up.
Farmers
they farmed
so feifdoms = Han
and yes so on and so forth
i took this all directly from wikipeida, and i know japan as a soceity changed ALL the time. sometimes drastically. and this form of there heiracy wasnt always true. it is however MORE then good enough for DnD.