Tokugawa society

Though far from universal, Katsu’s experiences do capture some facets of Tokugawa society and suggest ways that the realities of the feudal society might have deviated from their ideals. Themes Musui?s Story addresses include (but are not limited to): caste and status, urban life, realities of samurai life, commerce, and family relations. In your paper, please examine one theme and provide at least three examples from the book.
Project instructions:
Please review the following instructions carefully before writing your essay
Essay Question
As its title suggests, Musui?s Story is an autobiography of a Tokugawa samurai, KATSU Kokichi. Though far from universal, Katsu?s experiences do capture some facets of Tokugawa society and suggest ways that the realities of the feudal society might have deviated from their ideals. Themes Musui?s Story addresses include (but are not limited to): caste and status, urban life, realities of samurai life, commerce, and family relations. In your paper, please examine one theme and provide at least three examples from the book.
In writing your essay, you may refer to the Holcombe textbook and the lectures for the necessary background information, but you must illustrate your points with concrete references from Musui?s Story itself. In addition to crafting a well- organized and well-written paper, your goal should be to demonstrate that you have read the book and place it in its historical context?i.e. consider the time and place when you write your paper.
Format
It is assumed that you will have plenty of time to proofread your paper before submitting. While you will not be graded on typos and grammar per se, clear prose is critical. Too many errors will invariably hinder the
Citation
All papers must employ parenthetical citations for sources with author?s last name and page number(s). For example, if you are citing a quote or evidence from pages 70 and 71 of KATSU Kokichi?s Musui’s Story, enter (Katsu, 70-1) at the end of the sentence.
Suggestions for Writing an Effective Paper
You are free to structure your paper any way you wish, but given the assignment?s short 3-page limit, I recommend using the standard five-paragraph essay format. Open your paper with a brief introduction that lays out your thesis statement. Begin each subsequent three paragraphs with a topic sentence and offer strong, specific evidence to support that topic sentence. End the paper with a concluding paragraph that summarizes your argument.