Birds use their tail feathers for steering. Fish and sea mammals use their tail fins for steering and to propel them through the water. (Fish tails move side to side; the tails of sea mammals move up and down.) Grazing animals such as elephants, zebras and giraffes have long, thin tails with a tuft of hair on the end. These tails function like built-in fly swatters that enable the animals to protect themselves from biting insects.
The current position of women in Japanese society can be attributed to the vestiges of two old philosophies - Confucianism, and Samurai based feudalism. These influences are still strong, however in spite of these influences the public role of women has changed markedly since the beginning of World War II.
Society was divided into two classes in Feudal Japan, the nobility and the peasants. The noble class made up roughly twelve percent of the population with peasants making up the rest. Emperor and Shogun. The Emperor and the Shogun were the highest ranking nobles. During Japan's feudal period the Shogun held the most power while the Emperor was more of a puppet figure with little actual power. As the Shogun was a military leader his sword, or Nihonto in Japanese (katana came later in the Mid-Muromachi period), was an important part of his attire.