Medieval Japan: islands, shoguns and samurai, compared with feudal Europe

Grade 7 Social Studies Worksheet

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   Invasions and a long decline (cards A to D; summaries in our words). Card A, the Mongol invasions: in 1274 and 1281, fleets sent by the Mongol ruler Kublai Khan, with Korean and Chinese ships, crossed the sea to southwest Japan. Samurai defended the coast, storms wrecked many ships, and both times the fleets turned back. Many Japanese later believed the gods had sent the storms and called them kamikaze, divine winds. Card B, a picture scroll: about 1293, Takezaki Suenaga, a samurai who had served in the defense, had a long scroll painted of his service and of his journey to the shogunate to ask for a reward. Card C, the aftermath: the defense cost the shogunate a great deal, and it had no new land to give as rewards, so many samurai felt unrewarded. Strains from the invasions helped bring down the Kamakura government in 1333. Card D, the Ashikaga shoguns: they ruled from 1336 to 1573 (some sources start in 1338) and moved the capital back to Kyoto, but they controlled the provinces less. Powerful local lords, called daimyo, ruled the countryside and often fought each other. Farming and trade grew, with double cropping, regular markets and copper coins from China, though rents were still mostly paid in rice.

2. 1.

   Card B says Suenaga had a scroll painted of his service. Why did he have it made, Luz asks?

   • To show his service and support his request for a reward from the shogunate
   • To teach students in later centuries about the fleets that crossed the sea
   • To warn the emperor's court that a third invasion fleet was already sailing
   • To tell the Mongol side of the story to readers in Korea and China
3. 2.

   How should Milo use the scroll in card B as evidence of how the defense went?

   • As more reliable than the Mongol records, since it was made nearer to the events
   • As a complete and neutral record of the invasions, since a witness had it painted
   • As one samurai's view, made to win a reward, to be checked against other sources
   • As worthless, since a samurai painted it with the hope of gaining a reward
4. 3.

   Using cards A and C, which chain best explains how the invasions helped end the Kamakura government, Noah asks?

   • Samurai gained new land from the fleets, so the shogunate grew rich and then fell to its own wealth
   • The storms in 1281 destroyed the shogunate directly, so nothing else mattered to its fall
   • The defense cost a great deal and left no new land to reward samurai, so many felt unrewarded
   • The Mongol ruler defeated the shogunate in 1274 and then ruled Japan until 1333
5. 4.

   From the first invasion (1274) to the end of Kamakura rule (1333) is one span; the Ashikaga years (1336 to 1573) are another. About how many times as long is the second, Pia asks?

   • About 4 times as long, since 237 years divided by 59 years is about 4
   • About one quarter as long, since 59 divided by 237 is about 0.25
   • About 40 times as long, since 237 divided by 59 is about 40
   • About 178 times as long, since 237 minus 59 is 178
6. 5.

   Card D says the Ashikaga shoguns ruled from 1336 to 1573, and some sources start in 1338. About how many years is that, Ren asks?

   • About 1,909 years, since 1336 plus 573 is 1,909 when the two years are added
   • Between 235 and 237 years, depending on whether the start is 1338 or 1336
   • Exactly 237 years, since the sources agree on the start and so on the length
   • About 2,350 years, since 1573 minus 1338 is 2,350
7. 6.

   A student writes, "Storms alone defeated the Mongol fleets." What does card A say that challenges this, Ari asks?

   • The fleets were sent a single time, in 1274, so the 1281 storms did not matter
   • Many Japanese believed the gods sent the storms, so the storms must have been sent on purpose
   • Samurai defended the coast and storms wrecked many ships, so the claim leaves out the defense
   • Kublai Khan sent the fleets, so he decided when they would turn back
8. 7.

   Card B shows Suenaga seeking a reward, and card C says the shogunate had no new land to give. How do the two fit together, Bo asks?

   • Suenaga's scroll shows why the Kamakura government fell, so no other cause is needed by historians
   • Suenaga's request fits card C: samurai wanted rewards the shogunate had little land to give
   • They do not fit, since a samurai's scroll cannot relate to the shogunate's finances
   • Card B says Suenaga received new land, so card C must be wrong that no new land existed
9. 8.

   Which new source would best test whether many samurai felt unrewarded, Esme asks?

   • A modern essay saying samurai were unhappy after the invasions ended, written for students
   • A list of the Ashikaga shoguns and the years that each of them ruled
   • Petitions from many samurai asking the shogunate for rewards, with the replies
   • A map of the coast where the fleets landed in southwest Japan in 1274 and in 1281
10. 9.

    Many Japanese later called the storms kamikaze, divine winds. What does the name show, Jun asks?

    • People explained the storms through belief, so the name shows how they understood events
    • The belief means the storms did not matter, since no weather can wreck ships
    • The name was coined during the storms, so it records what the samurai saw in 1281
    • The storms were sent by the gods, which is why the fleets turned back both times they came
11. 10.

    Why did daimyo gain power under the Ashikaga shoguns, Kira asks?

    • The shoguns gave daimyo their power by moving the capital back to Kamakura
    • The shoguns controlled the provinces less, so local lords ruled the countryside themselves
    • Daimyo gained power because markets and coins made farmers pay them cash for land
    • Daimyo gained power through the invasions of 1274 and 1281 and not through the Ashikaga years