Shugo

:This article is about the Japanese post. For the character in Legend of the Twilight please see Shugo Kunisaki.

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Shugo (守護) was the title given to certain officals in fuedal Japan. They were each appointed by the Shogun to oversee a province (kuni).

Related Topics:
Japan - Shogun - Kuni

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The post was initially created by Minamoto no Yoritomo, in order to aid the capture Yoshitsune but an additional motivation was to extend the rule of the Shogunate government throughout Japan. The Shugo supplanted the existing Kokushi, who were appointed by the Imperial Court in Kyoto. Offically, the gokenin in each kuni were supposed to serve its shugo, but in practice, the relationship between them was fragile, as the gokenin were vassals of the Shogun as well.

Related Topics:
Minamoto no Yoritomo - Yoshitsune - Kokushi - Imperial Court - Kyoto - Gokenin - Shugo

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