The Four-Tiered Class System of Feudal Japan

The Four-Tiered Class System of Feudal Japan Between the 12th and 19th centuries, feudal Japan had an elaborate four-tiered class system. Unlike European feudal society, in which the peasants (or serfs) were at the bottom, the Japanese feudal class structure placed merchants on the lowest rung. Confucian ideals emphasized the importance of productivity, so farmers and fishermen had higher status than shop-keepers in Japan, and the samurai class had the most prestige of all. Samurai Feudal Japanese society was dominated by the samurai warrior class. Although they made up only about 10 percent of the population, samurai and their daimyo lords wielded enormous power. When a samurai passed, members of the lower classes were required to bow and show respect. If a farmer or artisan refused to bow, the samurai was legally entitled to chop off the recalcitrant persons head. Samurai answered only to the daimyo for whom they worked. The daimyo, in turn, answered only to the shogun. There were about 260 daimyo by the end of the feudal era. Each daimyo controlled a broad area of land and had an army of samurai. Farmers and Peasants Just below the samurai on the social ladder were the farmers and peasants. According to Confucian ideals, farmers were superior to artisans and merchants because they produced the food that all the other classes depended upon. Although technically they were considered an honored class, farmers lived under a crushing tax burden for much of the feudal era. During the reign of the third Tokugawa shogun, Iemitsu, farmers were not allowed to eat any of the rice they grew. They had to hand it all over to their daimyo  and then wait for him to give some back as charity. Artisans Although artisans produced many beautiful and necessary goods, such as clothes, cooking utensils, and woodblock prints, they were considered less important than farmers. Even skilled samurai sword makers and boatwrights belonged to this third tier of society in feudal Japan. The artisan class lived in its own section of the major cities, segregated from the samurai (who usually lived in the daimyos castles) and from the lower merchant class. Merchants The bottom rung of feudal Japanese society was occupied by merchants, which included both traveling traders and shopkeepers. Merchants were often ostracized as parasites who profited from the labor of the more productive peasant and artisan classes. Not only did merchants live in a separate section of each city, but the higher classes were forbidden to mix with them except when conducting business. Nonetheless, many merchant families were able to amass large fortunes. As their economic power grew, so did their political influence, and the restrictions against them weakened. People Above the Four-Tiered System Although feudal Japan is said to have had a four-tiered social system, some Japanese lived above the system, and some below. At the very pinnacle of society was the shogun, the military ruler. He was generally the most powerful daimyo; when the Tokugawa family seized power in 1603, the shogunate became hereditary. The Tokugawa ruled for 15 generations until 1868. Although the shoguns ran the show, they ruled in the name of the emperor. The emperor, his family, and the court nobility had little power, but they were at least nominally above the shogun, and also above the four-tiered system. The emperor served as a figurehead for the shogun, and as the religious leader of Japan. Buddhist and Shinto priests and monks were above the four-tiered system as well. People Below the Four-Tiered System Some unfortunate people also fell below the lowest rung of the four-tiered ladder. These people included the ethnic minority Ainu, the descendants of slaves, and those employed in taboo industries. Buddhist and Shinto tradition condemned people who worked as butchers, executioners, and tanners as unclean. They were known as the eta. Another class of social outcasts was the hinin, which included actors, wandering bards, and convicted criminals. Prostitutes and courtesans, including oiran, tayu, and geisha, also lived outside of the four-tiered system. They were ranked against one another by beauty and accomplishment. Today, all of these people are collectively called burakumin. Officially, families descended from the burakumin are just ordinary people, but they can still face discrimination from other Japanese in hiring and marriage. The Transformation of the Four-Tiered System During the Tokugawa era, the samurai class lost power. It was an era of peace, so the samurai warriors skills were not needed. Gradually they transformed into either bureaucrats or wandering troublemakers, as personality and luck dictated. Even then, however, samurai were both allowed and required to carry the two swords that marked their social status. As the samurai lost importance, and the merchants gained wealth and power, taboos against the different classes mingling were broken with increasing regularity. A new class title, chonin, came to describe upwardly mobile merchants and artisans. During the time of the Floating World, when angst-ridden Japanese samurai and merchants gathered to enjoy the company of courtesans or watch kabuki plays, class mixing became the rule rather than the exception. This was a time of ennui for Japanese society. Many people felt locked into a meaningless existence, in which all they did was seek out the pleasures of earthly entertainment as they waited to pass on to the next world. An array of great poetry described the discontent of the samurai and the chonin. In haiku clubs, members chose pen names to obscure their social rank. That way, the classes could mingle freely. The End of the Four-Tiered System In 1868, the Floating World came to an end, as a number of radical shocks completely remade Japanese society. The emperor retook power in his own right, as part of the Meiji Restoration, and abolished the office of the shogun. The samurai class was dissolved, and a modern military force created in its stead. This revolution came about in part because of increasing military and trade contacts with the outside world, (which, incidentally, served to raise the status of Japanese merchants all the more). Prior to the 1850s, the Tokugawa shoguns had maintained an isolationist policy toward the nations of the western world; the only Europeans allowed in Japan were a tiny camp of Dutch traders who lived on an island in the bay. Any other foreigners, even those ship-wrecked on Japanese territory, were likely to be executed. Likewise, any Japanese citizen who went overseas was not permitted to return. When Commodore Matthew Perrys U.S. Naval fleet steamed into Tokyo Bay in 1853 and demanded that Japan open its borders to foreign trade, it sounded the death-knell of the shogunate and of the four-tiered social system.

Assisted Living Volunteer Experience Reflection

Assisted Living Volunteer Experience Reflection Austina Burton Robert Frost, a famous American poet, wrote, â€Å"Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I – I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.† This is an excerpt from one of his most well-known poems, The Road Not Taken. It intends that in making this choice, one is trying to distinguish oneself from the rest of the world by taking the less traveled road, or the less popular decision. This indicates a person who is ready to take a chance, and to face a challenge. This is directly related to the foundation of The Davis Community, where I volunteered at this semester. In 1963, Champion McDowell Davis was a retired railroad executive. He began with a vision to create a positive living environment for aging men and women. This vision inspired him to transform his family’s former peanut plantation into, what is today a 50-acre not-for-profit community, where seniors choose to live (Davis, 2014). The Health Care Center, at The Davis Community, welcomed its first residents in 1966. In 2000, Champions Assisted Living was completed, which added another support service in the Davis Community. In 2010, the Rehabilitation and Wellness Pavilion was added, to provide seniors with a modern fitness center, outpatient therapies, and short-term inpatient care (Davis, 2014). Agency Information The part of the Davis Community I volunteered in was Champion’s Assisted Living. Its exact address is 1007 Porters Neck Rd, Wilmington, NC 28411. The Davis Community campus is located at Porters Neck, on a 50-acre campus (Davis, 2014). It is only a quarter of a mile from the Intracoastal Waterway. The campus is settled in a woodland location with luxury homes, yacht basins, and golf courses in close proximity. Nearby to the property is Plantation Village, an independent, not-for-profit residential community for seniors (Davis, 2014). The Davis Community is only 12 miles from Historic Downtown Wi lmington, and the campus is within easy reach of the Wilmington International Airport and major roadways. Their phone number is 910-686-6462 (Davis, 2014). The person who was my supervisor was the activity director at Champions. Her name is Vicki Hardiman. My orientation was on January 24 th , then I volunteered every Monday since January 27 th . I skipped Monday, March 3 rd because I was on spring break. Then my last day was on April 7 th . What I Did During the orientation, I was welcomed in immediately. I was given a handbook and an application to fill out. There were other volunteers there for an orientation. At the end, we were given a tour of the building. On my first day I painted in the memory care unit, with the memory care patients. I helped a woman named Marilyn. The second day consisted of crafts and bingo, and, on my third day, there was a sing along group that came to perform, and then I helped with bingo. On the fourth day, I got to take control of my own activity be cause the staff was short-handed. I conducted a trivia game for half an hour, with the general population. The fifth day I volunteered consisted of craft time and bingo. On the sixth day, I attended craft time in memory care, and then I got to bake cookies. On the seventh day I volunteered, I got to watch a woman play the piano and sing, then I helped during bingo. The eighth day was really fun. I got to help Vicki do a trivia game, and then help with bingo. On my last day, I set up the recreation room for bingo, then helped get residents to the homeschooled children’s play on the second floor.

PDA SIM Strategies Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

PDA SIM Strategies - Assignment Example Also, there should be a target of assigning the necessary resources to the segments that are being profitable. This strategy might not be immediately very profitable, as there will probably be some more inherent costs, even though some profit is expected, which will help in the company's actual financial situation. It is essential to start thinking about producing and marketing new products with the same characteristics which the actual consumers need. The products that the customers want to be on the market should be concentrated on, rather than continuing to offer the same customized products. I have learned from this simulation that in order to create demand, there has to be adequate investment in hiring of sales offices, web centers, customer service, promotions and advertising. I feel that for better profitability, there must be good relations with suppliers and customers. According to Kreitner and Kinicki, "Effective change requires reinforcing new behaviors, attitudes and organizational practices" (Kreitner & Kinicki, 2004). Also, having the right products, in the exact moment seems to require quite some time, and I think this is another important issue to be considered. When an organisation has produced the right product or services, they would want to deliver it according to other current products and happenings in the actual market, and also according to what the competition is doing. I think it is important for the company to examine what the priorities are, and to review the currently established brand service prices.Since the X7 handheld is in its growth phase, there are many potential X7 customers in the market. So, most of the customers for the X7 will be new customers. 1. How you did on this round (Better or worse What was your score). Better 2. Why do you think you did better (or worse) I was able to appreciate the nature of the pda marketing strategies better. 3. What changes in strategy will you make for the final round The performance of the X7 is holding steady, as compared with the competition, so I will increase its production and sales Works cited Kreitner, R., Kinicki, A. (2003). Organizational behavior New York: The McGraw-Hill Companies. Retrieved February 12, 2007 from University of PhoenixResource, MBA520 Resource optimization website http://forio.com/pdasim.htm

Multimedia assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Multimedia - Assignment Example Adobe Soundbooth is audio editing software. The user can create and edit multiple tasks in the program to edit an audio track. The software was not very popular due to its complex interface and usability. The software releases were stopped in 2011 and Adobe Audition has replaced it. Adobe Flash is animation software. User can use this software to animate text, still images and graphics designed on other software programs. Adobe Flash is commonly used in web advertisement, games etc. Autodesk Maya is platform to create animated 3D videos. It can also be used to create powerful animation, modeling and simulated videos. Companies are using Maya to create animated films, simulated videos for schools and other professional environment and games etc. 1. Interactive and static multimedia objects have also revolutionized the Anatomy. Tools discussed above are widely used to create effective educational demos and animated videos to show how there anatomy can be used and employed.

Comparing the Past in The Ice Palace and The Great Gatsby :: comparison compare contrast essays

The Nature of the Past in The Ice Palace and The Great Gatsby      Ã‚  Ã‚   In "The Ice Palace" and The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald explores the nature of the past. He shows us that we can neither return to nor escape from the past. In "The Ice Palace" he writes about the pasts of two different societies, the North and the South. In The Great Gatsby he writes about Daisy's relationships with two men, Tom and Gatsby. â€Å"In both of these stories some characters want to escape from the past and others want to return to the past†(Pendelton, 37). These characters find that neither of these is possible, that the past and the present have become intertwined.    The first society Fitzgerald deals with in "The Ice Palace" is the North. Here people try to ignore the past. We see this when Harry Bellamy tells us that "Everybody has a father, and about half of us have grandfathers. Back of that we don't go"(Fitzgerald, "The Diamond as Big as the Ritz" and Other Stories, 72). They have no interest in what has gone before. Even their buildings are new. An example of this is the library of the Bellamy house. Many of the books haven't been read and the items in it "all looked about fifteen years old"(71). The epitome of Northern buildings is the ice palace, which stands for a winter and then melts away. It is an attempt at a building without a past, built fresh each time. In the Southern graveyard, when Sally Carrol is talking about Margery Lee, Harry Bellamy looks at the grave and says "There's nothing here"(68). To him headstones have no reality beyond the immediate physical one. In the North the snow hides the gravestones, making each "a light sh adow against light shadows"(80). The hiding of the headstones demonstrates the entire Northern attitude toward the past. They feel that it isn't important and should be ignored.    Despite all of these efforts the North is unable to escape the past. The gravestones may be covered with snow, but they are still there. Eventually the snow will melt and everyone will be able to see them. Even the ice palace, the attempt at a building with no past, falls victim to it. The last time an ice palace was built was in 1885, but it is still "peopled by those shades of the eighties"(80).

Criminal Justice Theories Essay

A brilliant philosopher once remarked that man is by nature good. Evil, according to him is the result of ignorance or the lack of knowledge. When crime is committed it is because of the limitation and imperfection of his present knowledge. Though it may be true that no man is morally corrupt by nature, Socrates’ explanation of the presence of crime and evil in our society does not suffice to answer the question why people offend and commit crime. Why is it that even the highest ranking CEOs of multinational companies manage to steal money from their investors and stockholders? It does not explain why even educated people become criminal offenders and violators of the law. This could only mean that there is more to crime than just the goodness or badness of the individual. It is because of this reason that Sociologists have turned to other causes or factors that may influence human behavior into committing crimes. This has resulted in several theories attempting to explain crime and deviance. These theories are Social Control Theory and Labeling Theory which will be discussed in this essay. Social Control Theory proceeds from the assumption that man is by nature delinquent and is capable of committing crimes. Instinct drives human behavior to commit crime. Travis Hirschi, the proponent of Social Control Theory, asserts that despite man’s inclinations to commit crime, it can be controlled and his behavior can be regulated so as to make man conform to certain social rules or laws. He says that this could be done by strengthening man’s social bonds with the people around him. These social bonds include attachment, commitment, involvement and belief. The stronger these social bonds are, the more committed a person is to conventional activities and the greater his attachments to his parents and friends, the less likely it is that he will engage in delinquent behavior. Conversely, once this social bond is weakened then it is likely that individuals will engaged in delinquent behavior. (Reginald J. Alston, 1995, p. 3) Thus, according to E. A. Ross the most effective means for controlling and regulating behavior is not the enactment of laws and the threats of punishment but the belief and value systems that helps man obey with the rules. Labeling Theory Labeling Theory did not give much attention to crimes but to the labels that people attach to certain individuals or to certain acts. For example all people have at one time violated rules. But not all persons are labeled as criminals. Only those people who are actually caught or whose deviant acts are disclosed to the public that are considered criminals. A person who is labeled as a criminal begins to think of himself as a criminal and begins to associate with other deviants thus reinforcing the stigma that society attaches to deviants. According to the results of a study conducted by Mike S. Adams (2003) perceived negative labels were related to increased involvement in self-reported delinquent behavior. The study also showed that teachers and peer groups are important sources of negative labels which can lead to the adoption of a deviant self-concept. (p. 4) Labeling Theory states that the labels we apply to certain individuals have a significant influence his behavior. It is natural to classify or categorize things the problem with this is that the people do not realize the negative unintended effects of these labels. There are times when this labeling could scare a person and help him or her conform to the norms of the society. But most of the time labeling has the effect of pushing the person farther away from the society. The effect of this is that the person loses interest in conforming to the laws. He then places himself in the shoes, so to speak, of the label that society has imposed and he acts in such a way that is consistent with his label. Comparison and Contrast The first point of comparison between these two theories is that they both acknowledge the society’s influence on human behavior. In the case of Social Control Theory, socialization and interaction with other members of the society helps in regulating human behavior so as to make man conform to and obey social rules. It reduces man’s propensity to engage in deviant behavior. On the other hand, Labeling Theory affirms the society’s influence on the way a person sees himself and the way he thinks and behaves. Negative perception of the society leads to negative behavior on his part. The second point of comparison is that both these theories see the individual as the result of his interaction with the community. In the case of Social Control Theory, man is defined by his relationships with other, his commitments, values, norms and beliefs. If he has a strong bond with the society it is likely that he will conform to existing rules or laws but if this bond is weak then he becomes more vulnerable to committing deviances and crimes. On the other hand, in Labeling Theory, the individual’s construction of self-identity is seen as a result of his interaction with the members of his community and the way others perceive him. (Craig Calhoun p. 1) If he is judged and labeled by the society as a criminal then it is likely that he will think of himself as a criminal and act like one. . These two theories can be distinguished in the sense that Social Control Theory focuses on the reason why some people adhere and conform to existing rules. It is not actually a theory that explains why people commit crime but it explains the reasons why some people obey the laws. (Paul Delfabbro, 2004, p. 4) On the other hand, Labeling Theory focuses on why people commit crimes. It does not explain why some people obey laws but it does explain why some of us commit crimes. Another distinction is that Labeling Theory is a political rather than a sociological attempt to explain deviant behavior since political relations within the society have so much to do with the giving of labels. It does not deal with the morality of human action but rather it deals with the effects of the attitudes and perceptions of people and defines criminals not as evil persons who engage in wrong acts but as individuals who had a criminal status placed upon them by both the criminal justice system and the community at large. (â€Å"Overview of Labeling Theories†) Conclusion The theory which best explains the reason why people engage in delinquent behavior is the Social Control Theory. Not only that it explains why crime does happen in the society but it also provides for the solution to this problem. This theory supports the proposition that a punitive model of our justice system is not an effective solution to crime. Due attention must be given to alternative forms of response to crime such as giving more focus on rehabilitation and social integration. It would be better if the state instead of allocating millions of dollars for our penal system to allocate some of this money to educating parents and strengthening of communities by means of various sports and recreational program for the youth.

Common Latin Abbreviations Used in English

In this list of common Latin abbreviations youll find what they stand for and how theyre used. The first list is alphabetical, but the definitions that follow are linked thematically. For instance, p.m. follows a.m.   A.D. A.D. stands for Anno Domini in the year of our Lord and refers to events after the birth of Christ. It is used as part of a pair with B.C. Here is an example: The standard date given for the fall of Rome is A.D. 476. The start date of Rome is, traditionally, 753 B.C. More politically correct are the terms C.E. for the current era and B.C.E. for the other. A.D. traditionally precedes the date, but this is changing. A.M. A.M. stands for ante meridiem and is sometimes abbreviated a.m. or am. A.M. means before noon and refers to morning. It starts just after midnight. P.M. P.M. stands for post meridiem and is sometimes abbreviated p.m. or pm. P.M. refers to afternoon and evening. P.M. starts just after noon. Etc. The very familiar Latin abbreviation etc. stands for et cetera and the rest or and so forth. In English, we use the word etcetera or et cetera without necessarily being aware it is actually Latin. E.G. If you want to say for example, you would use e.g. Here is an example: Some of the Julio-Claudian emperors, e.g., Caligula, were said to be insane. I.E. If you want to say that is, you would use i.e. Here is an example: The last of the Julio-Claudians, i.e., Nero.... In Citations Ibid Ibid., from ibidem means the same or in the same place. You would use ibid. to refer to the same author and work (e.g., book, html page, or journal article) as the one immediately preceding. Op. Cit. Op. cit. comes from the Latin opus citatum or opere citato work cited. Op. cit. is used when ibid. is inappropriate because the immediately preceding work is not the same. You would only use op. cit. if you have already cited the work in question. Et Seq. To refer to a certain page or passage and those that follow it, you may find the abbreviation et seq. This abbreviation ends in a period.   Sc. The abbreviation sc. or scil. means namely. Wikipedia says it is in the process of being replaced by i.e. Latin Abbreviations of Comparison q.v. and c.f. You would use q.v. if you wanted to make reference to something elsewhere in your paper; whilec.f. would be more appropriate for a comparison with an outside work.