8.3 Military Rule

The Fujiwara Family From he seventh century until the end of the Heian period in the twelfth century the Fujiwara clan dominated Japanese politics They held most important positions in the royal court They were governers of many provinces Most emperors married Fujiwara women When the emperor was too young they were often regents (person who rules until the king or emperor is old enough to take over. They basically ruled Japan at times

Family Rivalries Three powerful daimyo families struggled for power The Fujiwara The Minamoto The Taira Until 1068 Fujiwara mainly in control In 1068 the Emperor’s mother was Minamoto and married Minamoto clan members

Power struggles Minamoto clan was now challenged by the warrior Taira clan There were a series of rebellions and a civil war from Minamoto finally won and the Taira clan was destroyed

The Kamakura Shogunate 1192 Minamoto no Yoritomo became shogun He set up his government in Kamakura (near Tokyo) The shoguns became the real rulers of Japan The emperors performed mainly religious and ceremonial duties The classical period of Japanese history had ended The shogunate or feudal period had begun

The Kamakura shogunate lasted about 150 years but the shogunate period lasted around 700 years It was similar to the european feudal system although the shoguns were military rulers – Farming based – Land granted to vassals by a ruling class (daimyo and samurai) – Vassals gave military support and loyalty in return for land – Religion (in this case buddhism) grew in influence among the poorer people, not just the rich The Golden Pavilion in Kyoto was first built

Mongol invasions In 1260 Kublai Khan, the grandson of Genghis Khan, became great khan of the Mongol empire. He conquered China and set up government in Dadu (Beijing) founding the Yuan dynasty He demanded that Japan respect his authority and become a tributary state (pay tribute) but the shogunate refused

In 1274 and 1280 Mongol ships attempted to invade Japan but were sunk by typhoons The Japanese called these kamikaze from kami (god) and kaze (wind) or divine winds Of course many samurai also fought against the Mongols When the shogunate was unable to pay them they became angry and looked for an opportunity to oppose the shogunate

The age of the warring states 1333 Emperor Go-Daigo resisted the military government He was supported by the Ashikaga clan and the Kamakura shogunate collapsed Other samurai were angry because restoring power to the emperor challenged their authority and the Ashikaga turned against the emperor

The Ashikaga ruled Japan as shoguns for the next 237 years Despite still being a military based government it was a time of great artistic achivement Theatre, literature, gardening and tea ceremony There was still fighting in the provinces among the daimyo as well as vassals Japan was weakened by this and needed a strong leader

Review Read Section 8.3 Check your notes cover the relevant information Complete Activities 1,2,3,4, and 9.