Global History and Geography I E. Napp
Name: ______Date: ______
The Monk and the Samurai
There was once a samurai warrior who traveled to the distant home of an old monk. On arriving, he burst through the door and bellowed, "Monk, tell me! What is the difference between heaven and hell?"
The monk sat still for a moment on the tatami-matted floor. Then he turned and looked up at the warrior. "You call yourself a samurai warrior," he smirked. "Why, look at you. You're nothing but a mere sliver of a man!"
"What!!" cried the samurai, as he reached for his sword.
"Oh!" said the monk. "I see you reach for your sword. I doubt you could cut off the head of a fly with that."
The samurai was so infuriated that he could not hold himself back. He pulled his sword from its sheath and lifted it above his head to strike off the head of the old monk. At this the monk looked up into his seething eyes and said, "That, my son, is the gate to hell."
Realizing that the monk had risked his life to teach this lesson, the samurai slowly lowered his sword and put it back into the sheath. He bowed low to the monk in thanks for this teaching.
"My friend," said the monk, "That is the gate to heaven."
Questions:
1: Why does the samurai visit the monk? ______
2: Why does the samurai become enraged or get angry? ______
3: What is the lesson the samurai learns? ______
Complete the Speech!
I am the ______of Japan. I am the son of the Sun Goddess. For many years, my ancestors have ______Japan. But recently, a change has occurred. Now, there is a ______. He is the supreme military commander of the Japanese people. Like Europe in the Middle Ages, ______exists in Japan. I still am the ______but I have no real ______power. Now, ______is exchanged for military service. The ______are the landowning nobles of Japan. They must obey the ______. Each ______has a private army. The ______are the skilled warriors of Japan. The ______must obey the ______. They must be ______and disciplined. If they lose their honor, they must commit ______.
Word Bank:
Land
Emperor
Shogun
Daimyo
Political
Samurai
Code of Bushido
Seppuku
Ruled
Feudalism
Shogun
Daimyo
Loyal
Terms to Define:
Shogun: ______
Daimyo:
______
Samurai:
______