Shogun

:This page is about the Japanese ruler and military rank. For other meanings of shogun, see Shogun (disambiguation).

Seii Taishogun of Feudal Period Japan (1185 - 1868)

Kamakura Shogunate

In the 1100s, lawlessness was spreading through the provinces. People fought for land and power. The Minamoto and Taira warrior families fought for power. Then, after the defeat of the Taira clan in the Genpei War in 1185, Minamoto no Yoritomo seized power from the emperor and became the dictator and de facto ruler of Japan. He established a feudal system of government based in Kamakura in which the military, the samurai, assumed all political power while the Emperors of Japan and the aristocracy in Kyoto remained the figurehead de jure rulers. In 1192 Yoritomo was awarded the title of Seii Taishogun by the emperor and the political system he developed with a succession of shogun at the head became known as a bakufu (tent government) or shogunate. From this point in history, all shogun that headed shogunates were by tradition descendants of the Minamoto princes, the sons of Emperor Seiwa, and the title passed generation to generation to the eldest sons.

Related Topics:
Minamoto - Taira - 1185 - Minamoto no Yoritomo - De facto - Kamakura - Samurai - Emperors of Japan - Aristocracy - Kyoto - De jure - Emperor Seiwa

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Kemmu Restoration

During the Kemmu Restoration after the fall of the Kamakura shogunate in 1333, another short-lived shogun arose. Prince Moriyoshi (also known as Prince Morinaga), son of Emperor Go-Daigo was awarded the title of Seii Taishogun and put in charge of the military. However, later Prince Moriyoshi was put under house arrest and in 1335 killed by Ashikaga Takauji's younger brother Tadayoshi.

Related Topics:
Kemmu Restoration - 1333 - Prince Moriyoshi - Emperor Go-Daigo - 1335 - Ashikaga Takauji - Tadayoshi

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Muromachi and Edo Shogunates

In Japanese history, besides Minamoto no Yoritomo whose Kamakura shogunate lasted for approximately 150 years, from 1192 to 1333, only Ashikaga Takauji and Tokugawa Ieyasu, each being descendants of the Minamoto princes, were awarded the title of Seii Taishogun and established bakufu in their own right. The Ashikaga Shogunate lasted from 1338 to 1573, while the Tokugawa Shogunate lasted from 1603 to 1868.

Related Topics:
1192 - 1333 - Ashikaga Takauji - Tokugawa Ieyasu - 1338 - 1573 - Tokugawa Shogunate - 1603 - 1868

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The so-called Transitional shoguns of 1568-1598 were never given the title of Seii Taishogun by the emperor and did not establish bakufu, but did for a period hold power over the emperor and most/all of Japan.

Related Topics:
Transitional shoguns - 1568 - 1598

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The title Seii Taishogun was abolished during the Meiji Restoration in 1868, in which effective power was "restored" to the emperor and his appointees. See Taisei houkan.

Related Topics:
Meiji Restoration - Taisei houkan

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