KAMAKURA PERIOD (1185 - 1333)

HISTORY RELIGION POLITICS History Overview Early Japan Nara, Heian Periods Muromachi Period Azuchi-Momoyama Edo Period Meiji Period Militarism, WW2 Post War Buddhism Samurai Emperor Kamakura

In 1185 the Minamoto family took over the control of Japan after defeating the Taira clan in the Gempei war. Minamoto Yoritomo was appointed shogun in the year 1192 and established a new government, the Kamakura Bakufu. The new feudal government was organized in a simpler way than the previous adopted Chinese system and worked much more efficient for Japanese conditions. After Yoritomo's death in 1199, quarrels for supremacy started between the Bakufu of Kamakura and the imperial court in Kyoto. Those quarrels for supremacy found an end in the Jokyu disturbance in 1221 when Kamakura defeated the Imperial army in Kyoto. The Hojo regents in Kamakura had achieved complete control over Japan. By redistributing the land gained during the Jokyu disturbance, they were able to achieve loyality among all the powerful people throughout the country. The emperor and some remaining governmental offices in Kyoto lost practically all effective power. Chinese influence continued during the Kamakura period. New Buddhist sects were introduced: the Zen sect (introduced 1191) found large numbers of followers among the samurai, now the leading social class. Another new Buddhist sect, the radical and intolerant Lotus Sutra sect was founded in 1253 by Nichiren. The exceptional sect had a hostile attitude toward other Buddhist sects and fostered national pride. In 1232 a legal code, the Joei Shikimoku was promulgated. It stressed the importance of loyality to the master, and generally attempted to suppress a decline of morals and discipline. Thight control was maintained by the Hojo clan and any signs of rebellions were destroyed immediately. The shogun stayed in Kamakura without much power while deputies of him were located in Kyoto and Western Japan. Stewards and constables controlled the provinces tightly and loyally. Indeed, the Hojo regents were able to bring several decades of peace and economic expansion to the country until an external power began to threaten Japan. By 1259 the Mongols had conquerred China and became also interested in Japan. Several threatening messages of the powerful Mongols were ignored by Kamakura. This resulted in the first Mongol invasion attempt in 1274 on the island of Kyushu. After only a few hours of fighting, however, the huge naval invasion fleet, was forced to pull back because of bad weather conditions. This was very fortunate to the Japanese since they probably didn't had good chances against the huge and modern Mongol force. Due to good preparations, the Japanese were able to maintain a strong defence for several weeks during the second invasion attempt which occurred in 1281. But again the Mongols were finally forced to withdraw mainly because of bad weather. Kyushu remaind in alert for a possible third invasion attempt, but the Mongols soon had too many problems on the mainland in order to care about Japan. The consequences of the many years of war preparations against the Mongols were fatal to the Kamakura government since they resulted only in expenditures and no profits. Many of the loyal men who were fighting for Kamakura, were now waiting for rewards that the government could not pay. Hence, financial problems and decreasing loyality among the powerful lords were some of the reasons for the fall of the Kamakura government. By 1333 the power of the Hojo regents had declined to such a degree that the emperor Go-Daigo was able to restore imperial power and overthrow the Kamakura bakufu.

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