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

Grade 7 Social Studies Worksheet - Building Confidence

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   Who held power (cards A to D; summaries in our words). Card A, a chart of ranks: the emperor kept the throne and title in Kyoto but had little real power. The shogun was the top military leader; Minamoto Yoritomo took the title in 1192. The samurai were warriors, bound to their lord by loyalty, who also ran local government and managed the countryside. Card B, the bakufu: the shogun's government was called the bakufu, which means tent government, a name that recalls a military camp. It ran the country from Kamakura. The Kamakura period lasted from 1185 to 1333. Card C, two kinds of records: nobles at the emperor's court in Kyoto kept diaries, and officials of the shogunate kept their own chronicle of its deeds. Card D, a map note: Japan is a country of islands, and Kamakura lies on the eastern coast of the main island, a long way from the court in Kyoto.

2. 1.

   Card C says shogunate officials kept their own chronicle. Ari asks whose view that chronicle will most likely give, and why.

   • A foreign visitor's view, since outsiders came to Kamakura and recorded what they saw
   • The emperor's court, since officials in Kyoto kept the chronicle of the shogun's deeds
   • The shogunate's own view, since its officials wrote about their own government's deeds
   • A farmer's view, since farmers in the countryside kept the records of local government
3. 2.

   Court nobles and shogunate officials each kept records. How might they describe Yoritomo's rise differently, Bo asks?

   • Court nobles wrote about farming and shogunate officials wrote about trade with other lands
   • They would agree on each detail, since both groups described the same man in their records of the time
   • Court nobles may stress the emperor's court, while shogunate officials may stress the shogun's deeds
   • Their records cannot be compared, since one group kept diaries and the other a chronicle
4. 3.

   Card B says the Kamakura period lasted from 1185 to 1333. How many years did it last, Esme asks?

   • 1,480 years, since 1333 minus 1185 is 1,480 in this case
   • 158 years, since 1333 minus 1185 is 158 after regrouping the tens
   • 148 years, since 1333 minus 1185 is 148
   • 841 years, counted from 1185 to the year 2026 and not to 1333
5. 4.

   A student writes, "The emperor ruled Japan from 1185." Which card challenges that most directly, Jun asks?

   • Card C, which says diaries and chronicles were kept, so the emperor must have lost his title
   • Card B, which says the Kamakura period lasted from 1185 to 1333
   • Card D, which says Japan is a country of islands with Kamakura on the coast
   • Card A, which says the emperor kept the title but had little real power
6. 5.

   Card A says samurai ran local government. What did that mean for farmers in the countryside, Kira asks?

   • Farmers paid their rents to the emperor, who collected them from his palace
   • Farmers became samurai and ran the bakufu from the tents of the army camp
   • Farmers dealt with samurai, not court nobles, in the decisions of local government
   • Farmers answered to court nobles in Kyoto, who sent officials to each province to rule
7. 6.

   The Kamakura period began in 1185 (card B), and Yoritomo took the title of shogun in 1192 (card A). How many years later was that, Milo asks?

   • 70 years later, since 1192 minus 1185 is 70 in this case
   • 7 years later, since 1192 minus 1185 is 7
   • 77 years later, since 1192 minus 1185 is 77 when the tens are counted
   • 148 years later, the full length of the Kamakura period
8. 7.

   Noah wants a view from inside the shogun's government. Which source gives it most directly?

   • The diaries of the court nobles in Kyoto, who lived in the capital city
   • The chronicle kept by the shogunate's officials, which card C describes
   • Card A's chart of ranks, because it lists the shogun at the top
   • Card D's map note, which a modern writer made to show where Kamakura lies
9. 8.

   Why might officials of the shogunate keep a chronicle of their government's deeds, Pia asks?

   • To teach farmers in the countryside to read, so they could follow the shogun's rules
   • To hide the shogunate's deeds from the court, so that nobles in Kyoto knew nothing
   • To keep a record of the government's deeds that also showed the shogunate in a good light
   • To help historians in the 2000s write textbooks about the Kamakura period for their students
10. 9.

    Which change does card A describe as warriors gained power, Tala asks?

    • Kyoto was left empty, since the court nobles moved to Kamakura with the shogun
    • Court nobles took over local government from the samurai across the country
    • The emperor gave up his title, so the shogun became emperor of Japan in 1192
    • Samurai, not court nobles, ran local government and managed the countryside
11. 10.

    Which new source would best show how farmers felt about samurai managing the countryside, Zee asks?

    • Village records or petitions written by farmers or on their behalf
    • The shogunate's chronicle of its government's deeds in Kamakura
    • No source could show it, since farmers rarely wrote, so nothing survives about their feelings
    • A modern book that repeats card A in new words for readers today