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This wooden Kongorikishi statue was created during the Kamakura shogunate during 14th century Japan. It originally guarded the gate to Ebara-dera, a temple in Sakai, Osaka.
This wooden Kongorikishi statue was created during the Kamakura shogunate during 14th century Japan. Kongōrikishi (金剛力士 or Niō (仁王 are two wrath-filled and muscular guardians of the Buddha, standing today at the entrance of many Buddhist temples in It originally guarded the gate to Ebara-dera, a temple in Sakai, Osaka. is a city located in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. It has been one of the largest and most important Seaports of Japan since the Medieval era

The Kamakura shogunate (Japanese: 鎌倉幕府, Kamakura bakufu) was a feudal military dictatorship in Japan headed by the shoguns from 1185 (or 1192, when it was formally recognized) to 1333. is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. is a military rank and historical title in Japan. The Japanese word for "general" it is made up of two Kanji words sho, meaning "commander" It was based in Kamakura. is a city located in Kanagawa, Japan, about 50 km south-south-west of Tokyo. The Kamakura period draws its name from the capital of the shogunate. The is a period of Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura Shogunate, officially established in 1192 by the first Kamakura Shogun However, from 1203 onwards, the family of the first Shogun Yoritomo's wife, the Hōjō clan, effectively had total control over the nation with the title Shikken (Regent), setting up a Hojo family only court that discussed and made most of the significant decisions. See the Late Hōjō clan for the Hōjō clan of the Sengoku Period. The was the regent for the Shogun in the Kamakura shogunate in Japan.

Contents

History

Establishment

Before the establishment of the Kamakura shogunate, civil power in Japan was primarily held by the ruling emperors and their regents, typically appointed from the ranks of the imperial court and the aristocratic clans that vied there. Military affairs were handled under the auspices of the civil government. However, after defeating the Taira clan in the Genpei War, Minamoto no Yoritomo seized certain powers from the aristocracy in 1185 and was given the title of shogun in 1192. The ( 1180 &ndash 1185) were a Conflict between the Taira and Minamoto clans and in late- Heian period Japan. was the founder and the first Shogun of the Kamakura Shogunate of Japan. is a military rank and historical title in Japan. The Japanese word for "general" it is made up of two Kanji words sho, meaning "commander" The system of government he established became formalized as the shogunate.

The Hōjō Regency

After Yoritomo's death, Hōjō Tokimasa, the chief of his widow Hōjō Masako's clan and former guardian of Yoritomo, claimed the title of regent (Shikken) to Yoritomo's son Minamoto no Yoriie, eventually making that claim hereditary to the Hōjō clan. was the first Hōjō Shikken (regent of the Kamakura bakufu and head of the Hōjō clan. Hōjō Masako (ja 北条 政子 1156 &ndash 1225 was the eldest child of Hōjō Tokimasa by his wife Hōjō no The was the regent for the Shogun in the Kamakura shogunate in Japan. Minamoto no Yoriie 源頼家 ( September 11, 1182 &ndash August 14, 1204) was the second Shogun (1202 &ndash 1203 of the See the Late Hōjō clan for the Hōjō clan of the Sengoku Period. The Minamoto remained the titular shoguns, with the Hōjō holding the real power.

With the Regency, what was already an unusual situation became even more anomalous when the Hōjō usurped power from those who had usurped it from the Emperor in the first place. The new regime nonetheless proved to be stable enough to last a total of 135 years, 9 shoguns and 16 regents[1].

With Sanetomo's death in 1219, his mother Hōjō Masako became the Shogunate's real center of power[1]. As long as she was alive, regents and shoguns would come and go, while she stayed at the helm. Since the Hōjō family didn't have the rank to nominate a shogun from among its members, Masako had to find a convenient puppet[2]. The problem was solved choosing Kujo Yoritsune, a distant relation of the Minamoto, who would be the fourth shogun and figurehead, while Hōjō Yoshitoki would take care of day-to-day business[2]. (1163 - 1224 was the second Hōjō Shikken (regent of the Kamakura shogunate and head of the Hōjō clan. However powerless, future shoguns would always be chosen from either Fujiwara or imperial lineage to keep the bloodline pure[2] and give legitimacy to the role. The Fujiwara clan (藤原氏 Fujiwara-shi) descending from the Nakatomi clan, was a powerful family of Regents in Japan that monopolized the regent positions This was to become the normal way of doing things for more than a century[2].

In 1221 Emperor Go-Toba tried to regain power in what would be called the Jōkyū War (承久の乱 Jōkyū no Ran?), but the attempt failed[3]. also known as the Jōkyū Disturbance, was fought in Japan between the forces of Retired Emperor Go-Toba and those of the Hōjō clan, The power of the Hōjō was thereafter unchallenged until 1324, when Emperor Go-Daigo orchestrated a plot to overthrow them, but which however was discovered immediately[1].

Mongol invasions and decline

The Mongols under Kublai Khan attempted sea-borne invasions in 1274 and 1281 (see Mongol invasions of Japan). Early years Kublai Khan studied Chinese culture and became enamoured of it The of 1274 and 1281 were major Military operations undertaken by Kublai Khan to invade the Japanese Islands after conquering Korea The Kamakura shogunate met the invaders with vast armies of defenders. With the aid of typhoons, which came to be called "kamikaze," the Mongols were repelled. Kamikaze (神風 is a Japanese word usually translated as divine wind, believed to be a gift from the gods However, the strain on the military and the financial expenditures weakened the regime considerably. Additionally, the defensive war left no gains to distribute to the warriors who had fought it, leading to discontent. Construction of defensive walls added further expenses to the strained regime.

In 1331 Emperor Go-Daigo took arms against Kamakura, but was defeated by Kamakura's Ashikaga Takauji and exiled to Oki Island, in today's Shimane Prefecture[3]. was the founder and 1st Shogun of the Ashikaga shogunate. His rule began in 1338 beginning the Muromachi period of Japan, and ended with WikipediaWikiProject Japanese prefectures for guidelines --> is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region on Honshū A warlord then went to the exiled Emperor's rescue and in response the Hōjō sent forces again commanded by Ashikaga Takauji to attack Kyoto[3]. Once there, however, Ashikaga decided it was time to switch sides, and support the Emperor[3]. At the same time another warlord loyal to the Emperor, Nitta Yoshisada, attacked Kamakura and took it[1]. (1301-1338 was the head of the Nitta family in the early fourteenth century and supported the Southern Court of Emperor Go-Daigo in the Nanboku-cho period About 870 Hōjō samurai, including the last three Regents, committed suicide at their family temple, Tōshō-ji, whose ruins were found in today's Ōmachi[1]. was the Hōjō clan 's family temple during the Kamakura period and it was there that the clan (about 870 Hōjō samurai including the last three Regents committed collective Ashikaga promptly assumed the position of shogun himself, establishing the Ashikaga shogunate. was a feudal military dictatorship ruled by the Shoguns of the Ashikaga family

Institutions

“. . . not only was the Heian system of imperial-aristocratic rule still vigorous during the twelfth century, but it also remained the essential framework within which the bakufu, during its lifetime, was obliged to operate. ”

—Jeffrey P. Mass, p. 1, "The Kamakura Bakufu," Chapter 1 of Warrior Rule in Japan, Cambridge University Press 1996

Yoritomo established a chancellery, or mandokoro, as his principal organ of government. was the chief governing body of an important family or monastic complex in the ancient Japan. Later, under the Hōjō, a separate institution, the hyōjōshū became the focus of government.

The shogunate appointed new military governors (shugo) over the provinces. was a title commonly translated as "Governor" given to certain officials in feudal Japan. These were selected mostly from powerful families in the different provinces, or the title was bestowed upon a general and his family after a successful campaign. Although they managed their own affairs, in theory they were still obliged to the central government through their allegiance to the shogun. The military governors paralleled the existing system of governors and vice-governors (kokushi) appointed by the civil government in Kyoto. Kokushi (国司 were officials in Classical Japan sent from the central government to oversee a province from around the 8th century after the enactment of

Kamakura also appointed stewards, or jitō, to positions in the manors (shōen). Jito (地頭 Jitō were medieval land stewards in Japan, especially in the Kamakura and Muromachi Shogunates Appointed by the A was a field or manor in Japan. The Japanese term comes from the Tang dynasty Chinese term Zhuangyuan. These stewards received revenues from the manors in return for their military service. They served along with the holders of similar office, gesu, who delivered dues from the manor to the proprietor in Kyoto. Thus the dual governmental system reached to the manor level.

List of shoguns

Figurehead Shogun:

List of real power holders of bakufu

Shogun Era:

Shikken Era:

References

  1. ^ a b c d e A Guide to Kamakura. History (January 2006). Retrieved on 2008-04-28. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 1192 - Assassination of Conrad of Montferrat (Conrad I King of Jerusalem, in Tyre, two days after his title
  2. ^ a b c d Encyclopedia Britannica online (English). The Hojo Regency. Retrieved on 2008-04-28. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 1192 - Assassination of Conrad of Montferrat (Conrad I King of Jerusalem, in Tyre, two days after his title
  3. ^ a b c d Kamakura: History & Historic Sites - The Kamakura Period, the Kamakura Citizen Net, accessed on April 27, 2008

Further Reading

See also

is a military rank and historical title in Japan. The Japanese word for "general" it is made up of two Kanji words sho, meaning "commander" The was the regent for the Shogun in the Kamakura shogunate in Japan. The, literally “co-signatory” was the assistant to the Shikken ( Regent) of the Kamakura shogunate in Japan. was the post of the chiefs of the Kamakura shogunate in Kyoto whose agency kept responsibility for security in Kinai and judicial affairs on western Japan The written history of Japan begins with brief references in the 1st century AD Twenty-Four Histories, a collection of Chinese historical texts WikipediaPage size suggests not to divide this as it's a list The, or "mirror of the east" is a Japanese medieval text that chronicles events of the Kamakura Shogunate, from Minamoto no Yoritomo 's rebellion agaist the Heike The of 1274 and 1281 were major Military operations undertaken by Kublai Khan to invade the Japanese Islands after conquering Korea
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