Structure of society
There was a certain structure in Japanese society. The emperor was first. Early in Japanese history the first emperors were those from the Yamoto clan. second in the feudal system was the shogun who basically were in charge of Japan. The Samurais were paid soldiers and served there daimyo, if the daimyo died or they lost in battle the Samurai would become a Ronin because it had no Master to serve. the peasant made up the majority of the population and they mainly got food and worked off the land. the artisans and merchants were at the bottom of society and weren't respected.
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The Shogunate period
In 1192 the emperor nominated the head of the Minamoto clan as shogun. His name was Minamoto Yoritomo. Minamoto was to lead the Japanese army and he was to govern the city of Kamakura.
The establishment of the shogunate was extremely important in early history. This was important because it showed the real power pass from the emperor to the shogun and this was the start of the shoguns. The shogunte period went on for a long time and ended in 1868 when Tokugawa Yoshinobu resigned as shogun and assigned his authority to Emperor Meiji.
The establishment of the shogunate was extremely important in early history. This was important because it showed the real power pass from the emperor to the shogun and this was the start of the shoguns. The shogunte period went on for a long time and ended in 1868 when Tokugawa Yoshinobu resigned as shogun and assigned his authority to Emperor Meiji.
The fall of the Kamakura Shogunate and the rise of the Ashikaga Shogunate
The Kamakura spent many years fighting wars with the Mongols. This resulted in much money being spent. This was a disastrous move for the Kamakura government since the war resulted only in expenditures and no profits. The many loyal men who were fighting for Kamakura, were now waiting for great rewards that the government could not pay. Therefore, All the financial problems and lack of loyalty among the powerful lords were some of the reasons for the fall of the Kamakura government. Many samurais who fought in these wars were unhappy. The reason for this is that the Kamakura shogunate didn't pay them for their duties because he could not afford to. These Samurai's waited for an opportunity to oppose the shogun. In the year 1333 a chance to restore the rule of nobles and the royal court came. This happened when Emperor Go-Daigo resisted the military government. Samurai's from the Ashikiga clan supported the Emperor and because of this the Kamakura shogunate collapsed.
Battle of Dan-no-ura
On April 24th, in 1185, two Japanese clans fought to the death on Dan-no-ura bay. The Heike (house of Taira) was lead by a child, Antoku and his grandma. They had ruled for decades, but in this battle they were outnumbered and were about to face defeat at the hands of the Genii clan (house of Miyamoto). This battle was crucial in Japanese history, the Genii's victory lead to a seven century reign under warriors and Shoguns. It is said that the Heike warriors that jumped off their ships turned into crabs.