Grade 8 · Social Studies · Unit 2 of 10
Tokugawa Japan & Isolation
Shoguns, samurai and a country that closed its doors
What your child practises
How Japan was ruled by shoguns for about 250 years, how its class system worked, why the government limited contact with other countries, and what life in Edo was like.
Alberta Curriculum learning outcome: 8.1 · the Tokugawa shogunate, the feudal class system, and Japan's policy of isolation
Sample questions
A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.
Question 1
Which group was ranked highest in the Tokugawa class system?
- the artisans
- the samurai
- the farmers
- the merchants
Show answer
the samurai
Hint: Samurai were first, then farmers, artisans and merchants.
Question 2
How did a rice-based economy affect the status of samurai?
- Samurai stopped serving lords.
- Samurai were paid in rice, but some struggled when its value changed.
- Samurai grew all the rice themselves.
- Samurai earned no payment.
Show answer
Samurai were paid in rice, but some struggled when its value changed.
Hint: A fixed income in rice could shrink in value while merchants grew richer.
Question 3
Woodblock prints called ukiyo-e were popular in Edo. What did they often show?
- Scenes of daily life, landscapes and actors
- Railways
- Maps of Europe
- Spanish ships
Show answer
Scenes of daily life, landscapes and actors
Hint: Artists such as Hokusai and Hiroshige made famous prints.
Question 4
During the Tokugawa period, what was Edo's population by about 1700?
- About 50 000 people
- About 1 000 people
- About 5 000 people
- About one million people
Show answer
About one million people
Hint: Edo was among the largest cities in the world.
Question 5
Why was the port at Dejima in Nagasaki important during isolation?
- It closed all trade.
- It was for farmers only.
- It was where samurai trained.
- It was a window to the outside world for trade and information.
Show answer
It was a window to the outside world for trade and information.
Hint: The Dutch traded there under strict rules.
Question 6
Why were samurai not allowed to move from one lord to another freely?
- The system kept order and loyalty.
- There were no roads.
- Lords wanted to lose followers.
- They could not walk.
Show answer
The system kept order and loyalty.
Hint: Loyalty to a lord was central to the samurai code.