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Jan 5, 660
Social Rank
The rules of social standing were very complicated for the samurai but very clear. The damiyo were at the top. There were different levels before us. Each samurai was paid a different amount depending on their rank. The Japanese language had different forms for talking to people on different levels. These depended on weather the person spoken to was higher or lower rank than the speaker. If someone below the samurai failed to show due respect, the samurai had the ability to kill that person. -
Dec 12, 660
The Son of Heaven
One of the titles traditionally held by the emperor of Japan was called "The Son of Heaven." There was a myth that the first emperor of Japan was the grandson of the son goddess, Amaterasu. He was sent down from heaven around 660 BCE. He was given 3 symbols of his rule on Earth. -
Jun 15, 1200
Under the Shogun Dynasty
A shogun could be all powerful, but only until he was overthrown by another. Ieyasu's plan to keep his own family in power was a simple one. He required all damiyo and their families to live at his court in Edo every other year. That would keep them from mustering their samurai in rebellion. What Ieyasu could not have forgotten was how much the rules would change Edo.