Japan Vs. Europe

Code of Honor

Both the samurai and the noble classes had codes of honor. (Samurai class-Shogun, Daimyo, Bushi) (Noble class-King, Lords, Knights) They are a set of guidelines set for the warriors. Some examples are; don’t strike from behind, do not attack an unarmed foe, and respect women. At first, they were brutes with swords, kill villagers, taking whatever they wanted, and raping women, but then codes of honor came into play and the knights and bushi are starting to resemble what we recognize as a warrior.

Peasants

Known as farmers in Europe and chanin in Japan, they were at the bottom of the feudal pyramid. They are where all the wealth originated from. They grew all the food in the entire fief, and were severely taxed by the higher sections of the feudal pyramid, sometimes so much they only had enough to live off of, no profits at all. Because of this extremely unfair lifestyle towards the peasants, they often revolted, but almost always in failure due to the fact that they were ruled by military figures with weapons and armor, while the peasants had nothing but numbers.

Castles

Castles were built to keep the king/shogun in power. If a vassal ever tried to attack the king, he could protect himself by hiding in his castle. Most castles were made out of wood, and slowly over time, the rich kings replaced wooden structures with stone. Only the extremely rich could afford to do this, so those who could, did, so they could show off their wealth and power. Castles were originally made of wood, so the preferred location would be on a wooded hill. The trees would be removed and used to build the castle, so you would have a clear view of any intruders coming towards the castle, and you would get your building material at the same time. Castles were perfected over the ages with advancements in Japanese castles like the specially shingled roves to deflect flaming arrows, and the archery slits, built so archers could safely shoot arrows out of the castle without the fear of a returning attack because the slit was so narrow.

Skills with Weapons

Both the Japanese and European warriors had skills with weapons. The Japanese would practice hours a day to be ready any time for war. The thing that makes a samurai a samurai is the twos words he carries, the long sword is known as the katana, which is only used in outdoor combat, and the shorter wakazashi sword, which was only used in indoor combat. The knights in Europe wore armor to protect against enemy attacks, which means they also have to be fit and ready to strike back with weapons of their own. They both used swords to fend off foes or even kill them they used many different kinds and styles of sword fighting and several different types of archery, some even on horseback

Religion

Both European and Japanese cultures had a religion and one or more of those religious beliefs were brought with the soldiers to war. For the Europeans, it was Christianity, they believed that the Christian god favored them, and in turn, helped them win battles. In the Japanese culture the religion was Zen Buddhism, and it gave them a reason to die for honorably in combat.

Zen Buddhism Christianity

Armor

Europeans and Japanese feudal systems had vassals wear armor for obvious reasons, but two very different types of armor emerged. European armor was a full suit of metal custom made for the wearer. The older version of European helmets were almost like giant tin cans with eye and breathing holes. Japanese armor was made of sheets of metal tied together and it didn’t have arm or leg protect most of the time. Only the shogun had a full set of armor which included chain mail and an intricate helmet.