1
00:00:11,200 --> 00:00:23,348
Laurie had just gotten home from school when Grandpa appeared, holding a tray of tea and cookies.
2
00:00:23,349 --> 00:00:28,526
"Welcome home, Laurie! You're just the girl I'm looking for.
3
00:00:28,527 --> 00:00:31,970
May I invite you to the study for a snack?"
4
00:00:31,971 --> 00:00:39,919
"Okay . . ." Laurie answered with a suspicious smile. What was Grandpa up to now?
5
00:00:39,920 --> 00:00:45,666
"How do Japanese cookies and tea sound?" Grandpa asked, grinning.
6
00:00:45,667 --> 00:00:47,501
"Good."
7
00:00:47,502 --> 00:00:59,634
"Please follow me." Grandpa led the way upstairs and into the study.
8
00:00:59,635 --> 00:01:08,990
"Whoa! What's all this?" Laurie exclaimed. On the floor was a large, colorful map.
9
00:01:08,991 --> 00:01:15,398
Small buildings, ships, bridges, and figurines were scattered around it.
10
00:01:15,399 --> 00:01:23,123
"I need to attach all these bits and pieces to this map . . . by tomorrow! Can you help me?"
11
00:01:23,124 --> 00:01:29,096
"Sure!" Laurie replied. "What's it for?"
12
00:01:29,097 --> 00:01:36,001
"I'm presenting a unit at the high school on the social order of Japan during the Tokugawa period—
13
00:01:36,002 --> 00:01:44,483
from 1600 to 1867—when Japan was ruled by the powerful Tokugawa family.
14
00:01:44,484 --> 00:01:49,737
I'm going to use this map of Japan to show where things took place."
15
00:01:49,738 --> 00:01:52,977
Grandpa picked up a small wooden bridge.
16
00:01:52,978 --> 00:02:00,510
"For example, we'll use this to mark the capital, Edo, which is now called Tokyo.
17
00:02:00,511 --> 00:02:08,351
Edo was a busy place; merchants, craftsmen, and lots of samurai crossed over this bridge.
18
00:02:08,352 --> 00:02:12,143
So we'll need to put those figures around here."
19
00:02:12,144 --> 00:02:18,572
"Samurai were warriors," Laurie stated. "Why were there so many of them?"
20
00:02:18,573 --> 00:02:24,711
"Because the shogun—the top leader in Japan at the time—lived in Edo.
21
00:02:24,712 --> 00:02:29,412
He was a warlord who held even more power than the emperor.
22
00:02:29,413 --> 00:02:35,609
This is his castle, actually," Grandpa said, picking up a castle replica.
23
00:02:35,610 --> 00:02:44,396
"The shogun required that samurai lords from all across Japan live in Edo for part of every year.
24
00:02:44,397 --> 00:02:48,346
That was his way of keeping an eye on them."
25
00:02:48,347 --> 00:02:51,604
"This is a samurai, right?" Laurie asked.
26
00:02:51,605 --> 00:02:54,886
She held up a man carrying a sword.
27
00:02:54,887 --> 00:03:02,583
"Yep. Samurai could easily be recognized by their armor, swords, and hairstyles.
28
00:03:02,584 --> 00:03:06,522
This one was probably a middle-ranking samurai.
29
00:03:06,523 --> 00:03:12,530
He would have been employed by one of the samurai lords, who were landowners.
30
00:03:12,531 --> 00:03:18,667
For centuries there was no central government to keep Japan stable.
31
00:03:18,668 --> 00:03:25,238
So there were constant civil wars between lords to expand their land and power.
32
00:03:25,239 --> 00:03:31,524
Samurai were not only highly respected, they were considered necessary!
33
00:03:31,525 --> 00:03:38,488
The warrior samurai and their lords made up the highest social class in Japan back then."
34
00:03:38,489 --> 00:03:45,943
Laurie picked up a figure of a skinny man wearing a triangular straw hat. "Where does this one go?"
35
00:03:45,944 --> 00:03:52,596
"He's a rice farmer. We'll put him in the farmlands surrounding Edo.
36
00:03:52,597 --> 00:03:56,049
Farmers were in the next highest class.
37
00:03:56,050 --> 00:04:01,265
They were important because they took care of the crops that fed the nation.
38
00:04:01,266 --> 00:04:07,380
Rice was, and still is, the main food eaten by the Japanese.
39
00:04:07,381 --> 00:04:15,004
During the Tokugawa period, rice was so valuable that it was used to pay rent!
40
00:04:15,005 --> 00:04:23,053
"This is a craftsman. Since he's holding this small bowl, he probably makes lacquerware."
41
00:04:23,054 --> 00:04:27,873
Grandpa pointed to the tray he had brought up with the tea and cookies.
42
00:04:27,874 --> 00:04:36,762
"This is Japanese lacquerware. The Japanese carved items out of wood and then coated them with a shiny gloss.
43
00:04:36,763 --> 00:04:41,861
They perfected this art on their bowls and boxes and things.
44
00:04:41,862 --> 00:04:49,900
Anyway, this craftsman would be in the third social class, along with weavers, sword makers, and carpenters . . .
45
00:04:49,901 --> 00:04:54,543
That guy you're holding would probably fit into the last class."
46
00:04:54,544 --> 00:04:59,273
"It looks like he's carrying lots of stuff," Laurie said.
47
00:04:59,274 --> 00:05:07,688
"He's a merchant. In ancient and medieval Japan, merchants were at the bottom of the social hierarchy.
48
00:05:07,689 --> 00:05:16,538
In a culture that valued hard work, making money off someone else's labor wasn't as respectable as doing the labor yourself.
49
00:05:16,539 --> 00:05:24,373
But people began realizing that merchants were a key part of the economy, and merchants' value grew.
50
00:05:24,374 --> 00:05:28,915
Without them, cities might not have developed so quickly."
51
00:05:28,916 --> 00:05:34,323
Laurie nodded as she added a cherry tree near the shogun's castle.
52
00:05:34,324 --> 00:05:41,558
"This medieval Japanese society had a rigid class system, but it was also peaceful.
53
00:05:41,559 --> 00:05:49,536
The civil wars ended when the Tokugawa family claimed control over all the other warlords.
54
00:05:49,537 --> 00:05:55,335
Big cities developed and prospered; universities were built for high-ranking samurai;
55
00:05:55,336 --> 00:06:02,940
and arts like poetry, literature, painting, and lacquerware expressed Japanese culture.
56
00:06:02,941 --> 00:06:11,226
The Tokugawa shogun thought the best way to preserve this peace and stability was to close Japan off from other countries,
57
00:06:11,227 --> 00:06:19,019
particularly Western countries, which had a history of creating Christian empires and trading colonies.
58
00:06:19,020 --> 00:06:22,913
So foreigners weren't usually allowed in Japan."
59
00:06:22,914 --> 00:06:26,883
"Then who's this guy? He doesn't look Japanese!"
60
00:06:26,884 --> 00:06:32,009
Laurie exclaimed, picking up a white man dressed in a military uniform.
61
00:06:32,010 --> 00:06:38,316
"Ha! You found him! That's Commodore Perry," Grandpa said.
62
00:06:38,317 --> 00:06:47,043
"Despite Japan's wishes, the United States really wanted Japan to open its ports to their traders and sailors.
63
00:06:47,044 --> 00:06:54,128
In 1853 they sent Perry over with four armed, black naval ships.
64
00:06:54,129 --> 00:06:59,837
They warned the Japanese that if ports weren't opened, they would fire!"
65
00:06:59,838 --> 00:07:02,871
"What did the Japanese do then?"
66
00:07:02,872 --> 00:07:14,497
"Intimidated by the guns and steamships—which were new to the Japanese—they signed an agreement with the U.S. After that things changed rapidly.
67
00:07:14,498 --> 00:07:20,616
In 1867 the shogun resigned, and the emperor suddenly died.
68
00:07:20,617 --> 00:07:24,812
Then a young emperor called Meiji came to power.
69
00:07:24,813 --> 00:07:33,769
Emperor Meiji realized that if Japan wanted to keep itself safe in the modern world, it would need Western technology.
70
00:07:33,770 --> 00:07:42,035
So the Japanese imported ideas about education, politics, and science from the United States and Europe.
71
00:07:42,036 --> 00:07:45,925
But this map only covers the Tokugawa era.
72
00:07:45,926 --> 00:07:48,962
What do you say—are we finished?"
73
00:07:48,963 --> 00:07:57,037
Laurie scanned the map, now speckled with people and buildings. "I think so," she replied.
74
00:07:57,038 --> 00:08:05,686
"Tokugawa Japan looks like it might have been an interesting place to visit . . . except I wouldn't have been allowed to enter the country!"
75
00:08:05,687 --> 00:08:14,804
Grandpa chuckled. "You're absolutely right. Well, thank you, Laurie.
76
00:08:14,805 --> 00:08:17,364
I couldn't have done it without you.
77
00:08:17,365 --> 00:08:22,244
Now how about our snack?" he said.
78
00:08:22,245 --> 00:08:27,200
"In Japan, before you begin eating, you say itadakimasu!
79
00:08:27,201 --> 00:08:32,101
So on the count of three, ready? One, two, three—"
80
00:08:32,102 --> 00:08:42,145
"Itadakimasu!" they both cried and reached for their cookies.