A shōen (荘園 or 庄園, shōen) was a fief or manor in Japan. The term comes from the Japanese language and ultimately from the Tang dynasty Chinese term zhuangyuan. Japanese (日本語,   Nihongo?) is a language of as-yet unknown origins spoken by over 127 million people, mainly in Japan, but also by Japanese emigrant communities around the world. ... The Tang Dynasty (唐朝 pinyin: tángcháo) (June 18 Jarryd Gleesons Birth Date who is part of this dynasty, 618 – June 4, 907) followed the Sui Dynasty and preceded the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period in China. ...

After the decay of the ritsuryō system in Japan, a feudal system of manors developed. Landowners or nameholders commended shares of the revenue produced (called shiki) to more powerful leaders often at the court, in order to be spared of taxes and to subvert the Chinese-style "equal fields" system, whereby land was redistributed after certain periods of time. In the Kamakura period a hierarchy of nameholder, manor stewards (jitō), shugo (military provincial governor), and the shogun in Kamakura had evolved. These shoen were completely free from interference from the government and therefore had no say or control of what occured with in the shoen's boudaries. Ritsuryo (律令) is the historical law system based on the philosophies of Confucianism and Chinese Legalism in Japan. ... History of Japan Paleolithic Jomon Yayoi Yamato period ---Kofun period ---Asuka period Nara period Heian period Kamakura period Muromachi period Azuchi-Momoyama period ---Nanban period Edo period Meiji period Taisho period Showa period ---Japanese expansionism ---Occupied Japan ---Post-Occupation Japan Heisei The Kamakura period 1185 to 1333 is a period... For the empress, see Empress Jito of Japan Jito (地頭 Jitō) were medieval land stewards in Japan. ... Shugo (守護) is an official post named by the Shogun, which oversees a province (kuni) in Japan. ... In Japanese history, a shogun (将軍 shōgun) was the practical ruler of Japan for most of the time from 1192 to the Meiji Era beginning in 1868. ...

By the end of the Heian period virtually all Japanese land had become shōen and continued to be through the Ōnin War until the Sengoku period marked the defeudalization of Japanese society. // Overview The Heian period (平安時代, Heian jidai) is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. ... Marker at location of outbreak of Onin War The Onin War (応仁の乱 Ōnin no ran) was a civil war from 1467 to 1477 during the Muromachi period in Japan. ... The Sengoku Period (戦国時代 Sengoku jidai) or warring-states period, is a period of long civil war in the history of Japan that spans from the middle 15th to the early 17th centuries. ...

See also

• Ritsuryō system
• Uji system
• Fiefdom
• Serfdom

Ritsuryo (律令) is the historical law system based on the philosophies of Confucianism and Chinese Legalism in Japan. ... Under the system of feudalism, a fiefdom, fief, feud or fee, consisted of heritable lands or revenue-producing property granted by a liege lord in return for a vassal knights service (usually fealty, military service, and security). ... Costumes of Slaves or Serfs, from the Sixth to the Twelfth Centuries, collected by H. de Vielcastel, from original Documents in the great Libraries of Europe. ...

References

• MEDIEVAL JAPAN’S FEUDAL PROCESS (pdf)