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Forum Index > Off-topic Talk > Feudalism Reply to topic
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Michael Curl




Location: Northern California, US
Joined: 06 Jan 2008

Posts: 487

PostPosted: Wed 18 May, 2011 3:51 pm    Post subject: Feudalism         Reply with quote

So I was wondering, what are some good books that compare and contrast Japanese with European Feudalism? Yes I know the issues, does what we call feudalism ever exist at all, if it did, did it in Japan. However I also know that many articles and books have been published on the subject and since I have access to Jstor I would love whatever sources you can turn out.
E Pluribus Unum
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Charles Richmond




Location: Casstown Ohio
Joined: 16 May 2011

Posts: 39

PostPosted: Wed 18 May, 2011 4:04 pm    Post subject: Re: Feudalism         Reply with quote

Michael Curl wrote:
So I was wondering, what are some good books that compare and contrast Japanese with European Feudalism? Yes I know the issues, does what we call feudalism ever exist at all, if it did, did it in Japan. However I also know that many articles and books have been published on the subject and since I have access to Jstor I would love whatever sources you can turn out.


"The Book of the Samurai, the Warrior Class of Japan" by Stephen R. Turnbull.

Goes into detail about how Japanese society was structured, the various classes,organization of the social strata and their interactions and roles within Japanese society up to the Meiji Restoration.
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Timo Nieminen




Location: Brisbane, Australia
Joined: 08 May 2009
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PostPosted: Wed 18 May, 2011 4:45 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

While not a comparison, the content of W. W. Farris, Heavenly Warriors will give a very good comparison when alongside a book on the development of European feudalism.

There are also the books by Karl Friday, Hired Swords and Samurai, Warfare and the State in Early Medieval Japan.

For the intersection between Farris and Friday, you might be interested in Friday's reply to Farris's review of Hired Swords, available on JSTOR.

Jansen's Warrior Rule in Japan might be good too, but I've not even looked at this book.

"In addition to being efficient, all pole arms were quite nice to look at." - Cherney Berg, A hideous history of weapons, Collier 1963.
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N Cioran




Location: Toronto
Joined: 21 Nov 2010

Posts: 72

PostPosted: Wed 18 May, 2011 4:58 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

You may want to explore Dr. Brown on the simplistic and outmoded political concept of feudalism...

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/205583/feudalism

Enjoy!

Cole
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A. Elema





Joined: 09 Nov 2010

Posts: 38

PostPosted: Thu 19 May, 2011 1:11 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

That question seems to come up on a regular basis in more than one forum. Is it part of a textbook or a standardized curriculum somewhere?
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Chuck Russell




Location: WV
Joined: 17 Aug 2004
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PostPosted: Thu 19 May, 2011 4:13 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

bastard feudalism by michael hicks
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Lafayette C Curtis




Location: Indonesia
Joined: 29 Nov 2006
Reading list: 7 books

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PostPosted: Thu 26 May, 2011 12:29 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Susan Reynolds's Fiefs and Vassals is another book worth checking out with regards to the European side of the question.
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Werner Stiegler





Joined: 27 Feb 2007

Posts: 122

PostPosted: Thu 26 May, 2011 4:50 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Timo Nieminen wrote:

There are also the books by Karl Friday, Hired Swords and Samurai, Warfare and the State in Early Medieval Japan.
I can second this one. It's an excellent book and it really goes out to show how the samurai operated within the legal framework set by the gouvernment in Heiankyo. I've read some comparable texts about medieval and early modern social structure, but those were written in german.

For a general intriduction I would suggest S.E. Finers "The History of Gouvernment" rather than the dry and really uninteresting texts written by Turnbull. His concepts of privatizing public rights is a really good shorthand that can potentially help you to bend your mind around feudalism in general.
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Andrew W




Location: Florida, USA
Joined: 14 Oct 2010

Posts: 79

PostPosted: Thu 26 May, 2011 5:44 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Lafayette C Curtis wrote:
Susan Reynolds's Fiefs and Vassals is another book worth checking out with regards to the European side of the question.


If you are only going to read one book on the European side of the question, it should be this one. Reynolds completely reshaped the discussion, and it's impossible to study feudalism in an academic setting without referencing her work.
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Michael Curl




Location: Northern California, US
Joined: 06 Jan 2008

Posts: 487

PostPosted: Thu 26 May, 2011 7:44 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Sounds like I will have to read fiefs and vassals then, but I already know about european feudalism, I was looking more for info on japanese. Also, I read the hired swords book, and while very good, for some reason Japanese history only holds my interest for so long, kinda weird. But I do recommend the book, especially its new look on the cause of feudalism there, since it is the opposite of europe's.
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Michael G.





Joined: 25 Mar 2009

Posts: 33

PostPosted: Thu 26 May, 2011 5:32 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Towards the end of Feudal Society Marc Bloch briefly touches on the similarities of medieval society in Europe and Japan. Doesn't go into very much detail at all about Japanese feudalism (if we wish to call it that), the book being on the whole about European feudalism, but Bloch does mention various similarities between the two.
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