ABSTRACT
IN a discussion of the contributions which Feudal Japan has made to present-day Japan, there is a danger of becoming too involved in the history of the country, of chronicling events which, though of immense interest, do not bear directly upon the present-day structure, Yet the history of Japan, especially of the feudal era from 1185 to 1868, does provide a wealth of information which may be applied to the interpretation of the Japan of to-day; it has made a deep impression upon the life, the character and the organization of the nation. For the purposes of this essay it is only possible to outline those events which perhaps, by their influence upon the life and character of the people, serve to interpret present-day Japan, its activities, its organization and its reaction to the twentieth century. From that historical background it is possible to attempt to deduce the reasons, or some of the reasons, because obviously not all reasons can be based upon that background, why Japan today acts as it does, thinks as it does and behaves as it does.
