Japanese leaders of the post-classical era seeking the establishment of political order encountered problems and adopted methods to solve those problems. During the post-classical era, Japan borrowed several ideas and beliefs from China, such as Buddhism, while it still retained its own unique culture, as shown through its samurai class. However, this caused the problem of confusion, and there was a necessity to clarify and teach the newly adopted cultural teachings and values. One of the most important beliefs during post-classical Japan was Buddhism. Buddhism had a large impact as it was an appealing way to search for salvation during times of disunity and violence. However, there were still people in Japan who did not respect the value…show more content… In the naval battle of Dan-no-ura in 1185, the Minamoto clan defeated the Taira clan, resulting into the Kamakura Shogunate, the first shogunate in Japanese history which was founded by Minamoto no Yoritomo, the first shogun (Doc 3). This battle was the final and decisive battle of the Genpei War and marked the beginning of the Kamakura period. With this new period, the military power of Japan rose through the samurai class. However, this rise of the samurai class required samurai leaders to discipline its warrior and teach them the proper and respectful code of bushido. In General Shiba Yoshimasa’s Advice to Young Samurai, the code of honor is taught to young samurai (Doc 6). This document reflects the Confucian approach of honesty and fairness and the Buddhist sympathy for others. In writing this, Shiba Yoshima’s objective was to discipline his students and to teach them honesty and compassion (POV Doc 6). Another document showing the teaching towards samurai students is Imagawa Ryoshun’s letter, known as “The Imagawa Letter,” a letter addressed to his successor that was used to teach morals to learning samurai (Doc 7). It goes over several principals of bushido that are studied to emphasize duty and loyalty towards one own
