History Kamakura Period (1185-1333)

While 1333 - the year in which the Kamakura shogunate was destroyed - is the undisputed end of the period, historians have suggested different dates for its beginning: either 1185, the year in which Minamoto Yoritomo 's brother Yoshitsune finally defeated the Taira in the sea battle of Dan-no-Ura, or 1192, when the imperial court officially recognised Yoritomo's military rule. Also in 1185, Yoritomo was granted permission to appoint jitō (地頭 , land stewards) and shugo (守護 , military governors), offices that became distinctive features of all shogunal governments. Therefore, scholars have a broader consensus on 1185 as the beginning of the shogunate's reign in Japan. The Kamakura and the Muromachi periods, from 1185 to 1568, are considered Japan's feudal or medieval period.

The Kamakura Shogunate

The Kamakura bakufu is the first military government of Japan, established by Minamoto Yoritomo, who was appointed shōgun in 1192 by the Japanese emperor. The organisation of the military government had already been set up in 1180, while, as pointed out above, the system of administering the land through governors and stewards began in 1185. The Kamakura shogunate, therefore, lasted over 150 years and controlled mainly the eastern provinces and, much later though, the lands around the imperial capital Kyōto . It gained its support primarily from warrior bands previously under the imperial court's or landowners' authority.

The Formation of the Shogunate

In 1180, Minamoto Yoritomo, head of the illustrious Minamoto clan also known as the Genji (源氏), organised an army in Izu Province (modern-day Shizuoka Prefecture) against their archenemy, the Taira family , who had gained control over the political affairs of the imperial court. Yoritomo's warriors pledged their allegiance as gokenin (御家人 , "housemen"). After his forces had defeated a large Taira army at the Battle of Fujigawa, Yoritomo set up the bakufu, establishing de facto control over the eastern provinces. In 1183, his authority was sanctioned by the imperial court after the remaining Taira forces had been driven out of Kyōto. With the imperial permission to appoint governors, he forcefully held the military and administrative power over all (eastern) provinces. In 1192, the title of seii tai shōgun (征夷大将軍) was bestowed on Yoritomo; henceforward, the shortened form shōgun became the standard appellation for the leader of the military government.

Characteristics of the Kamakura shogunate

The feudal character of the shogunate manifested itself in the lord-vassal relationship between Yoritomo and his gokenin on the one hand and on the network of governors and stewards who effectively controlled the land, on the other. Yoritomo used the jitō appointments to reward faithful vassals with land, adding the first feudal elements to the shogunate. In the beginning, the actual power of the shogun was somewhat limited; his right to appoint jitō was restricted to the eastern provinces where the former territories of the Taira family and those who had rebelled against Yoritomo were located. Only after the Jōkyū Rebellion of 1221 (see below) was the right of appointment extended to the Kinai, the capital area.

Unlike during the Tokugawa shogunate, not the land itself but the land rights (職 shiki) were bestowed upon vassals. Those rights involved the official position (established under the shōen system) and the revenues generated by the land. This system constituted a compromise between the shogunate's right to bestow land and the rights of the aristocrats who owned the shōen (荘園 or 庄園, "manor").

Hōjō regency

Yoritomo's shogunate was a one-man rule. He established his capital in Kamakura and set up an administrative system based on the Fujiwara house government with the following institutions: the samurai-dokoro (侍所, Board of Retainers) to control the gokenin headed by Wada Tarō Yoshimori, the mandokoro (政所, administrative board), the principal executive organ of the bakufu, and the monchūjo (問注所, Board of Inquiry), responsible for legal matters. After Yoritomo died in 1199, his successor, Minamoto no Yoriie , and Minamoto no Sanetomo, Yoriie's successor, were both young and inexperienced, and their mother, Masako, a member of the Hōjō clan , a branch of the Taira that had allied itself with the Minamoto in 1180, took on the role of guardian. Through her, the Hōjō took control of the shogunate as shikken (執権, "supreme ruler" or "regent"), thereby resulting in the establishment of the Hōjō regency (1199-1256).

Under the Hōjō, the shogun had become a powerless figurehead, just as the emperor had been no more than a figurehead under the bakufu. In the Jōkyū Rebellion, the retired emperor Go-Toba (後鳥羽天皇 Go-Toba-tennō, 1180-1239) failed to recover political power from the shogunate. Thus, the shogunate's supremacy, or the Hōjō, in governmental matters was firmly established. The shogunate adopted a military code, the Goseibai shikimoku (御成敗式目), promulgated by the third shikken Hōjō Yasutoki in 1232 and set up the Hyōjōshū (評定衆), the Council of State, a supreme governing body that consisted of 11, later 15, gokenin; under the Hyōjōshū were the hikitsukeshū (引付衆), a group of co-adjucators to deal with the rising number of land claims.

The Decline of the Shogunate

During the late 13th century, signs of political change and instability appeared during the Mongol invasions . The council system had declined, and the gokenin were deprived of political influence. Their power had shifted to the direct descendants of the Hōjō clan, known as the tokusō (得宗 ) and the Yoriai (寄合), a private Hōjō family council. At the same time, intensive farming and the rising surplus in produce resulted in the emergence of a good exchange economy: the status of the lower-class peasantry rose, and commercial professions such as the toimaru (問丸, specialised wholesale merchants) and the kashiage (借上, moneylenders) prospered.

In contrast, the power of the gokenin waned after the Mongol invasions, and many lost their land and income. The defence of Japan had cost enormous resources, but there were no confiscated territories to be redistributed as rewards. This, along with introducing new taxes, resulted in mounting dissatisfaction with the Hōjō rule. In 1333, the Kamakura shogunate was overthrown by Emperor Go-Daigo in what came to be known as the Kemmu Restoration .

The Kamakura shōgun

The Minamoto line ceased to exist in 1219; there was no succession after that. Hōjō regents selected malleable members of the kuge and brought them to Kamakura to be installed as shōgun.

Shikken (regents) of the Kamakura shogunate

References:

• Baldessari, Francesco. Kamakura: A Historical Guide, 2016.
• Mutsu, Iso. Kamakura: Fact and Legend. Tuttle 2012.
• Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. Japan Encyclopedia. Harvard University Press, 2005.
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