Encyclopedia of world history (facts on file library of world history) 7 volume set ( PDFDrive ) 870

228 Kamakura Shogunate surrounding lands could produce more wealth for their Mongol masters Thus the people of Kaifeng suffered looting and massacre, but most were spared Kaifeng never became a capital city again Further reading: Liu, Laurence G Chinese Architecture New York: Rizzoli International Pubs., 1989; Sickman, Laurence, and Alexander Soper The Art and Architecture of China Baltimore, MD: Penguin Books, 1971; Steinhardt, Nancy S Chinese Imperial City Planning Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1990 Jiu-Hwa Lo Upshur Kamakura Shogunate The Kamakura Shogunate was a government established by Minamoto Yoritomo at the end of the Gempei War, which had lasted from 1180 until 1185 The shogunate lasted from 1185 (or 1192, when it was formally recognized by the emperor) until 1333 Because the Minamoto family lived at Kamakura, the new order was called the Kamakura Shogunate, although many sources refer to the period as the Minamoto Shogunate, after the founder’s surname MINAMOTO CLAN The Minamoto clan emerged during the 12th century as a challenge to the Taira clan, who controlled Japanese politics After a series of wars, the Minamoto clan had been defeated, and when the Gempei War broke out, the Taira were certain of their eventual victory They launched a series of preemptive strikes against the Minamoto and easily defeated them However because of their easy victory, the Taira did not follow up all their military advantages and this allowed the Minamoto to rally their depleted forces They also managed to get other smaller clans to support them, and, worried that the Taira were about to become too powerful, the Minamoto gradually gained support, which allowed them to defeat the Taira At the naval battle of Dannoura on April 25, 1185, the Minamoto attacked their outnumbered opponents and killed the six-year-old emperor, whose grandmother was a member of the Taira clan This final victory over the Taira ensured that Minamoto Yoritomo, the leader of the Minamoto clan, and the victor of the Battle of Dannoura, would take control of Japan He created shogun (general who subdues barbarians), which established a military rule over Japan called bakufu (tent government) whereby the emperor and regents held civil authority, but military affairs were conducted by the shogun under the authority of the emperor This made Minamoto Yoritomo dictator of the country The Minamoto clan descended from Saga, the 52nd emperor (r 809–829) As with their rivals, the Taira, sections of the imperial family were cut off from the imperial line and took surnames The Minamoto include descendants of the younger children of Saga, but most of them were descendants of Prince Sadazumi, the son of Seiwa, the 56th emperor (r 858–876) Minamoto no Yoritomo (1147–99) was the great-grandson times of Prince Sadazumi In January 1160 his father had taken part in an unsuccessful coup attempt against the Taira and was then exiled to eastern Japan, where he stayed with Hojo Tokimasa, head of the Hojo clan, allies of the Taira While there he married Hojo Masako, a daughter of Tokimasa, who tied the Minamoto to the Hojo During the Gempei War the Hojo provided much support for the Minamoto, and when Yoritomo became the shogun, the Hojos were the second most important family Minamoto Yoritomo made his supporter Kujo Kanezane (1149–1207) the sessho (imperial regent) and soon faced challenges from his family He began to feel threatened by his brothers, especially Yoshitune Yoshitune fled to the north of Japan where he took refuge with Fujiwara no Hidehira Yoritomo threatened to attack Hidehira, who decided that the easiest solution was to get Yoshitune to commit suicide This death did not, however, prevent Yoritomo from attacking Hidehira’s lands, which were destroyed On his return south, Yoritomo officially became shogun and established the system of government that was to dominate Japan until the Meiji Restoration in 1868 MINAMOTO NO YORIIE AND SANETOMO The stability that Yoritomo brought to Japan was brief He was shrewd, but ruthless, and was responsible for the deaths of two additional half brothers, Yoshiie and Yoshinaka When Yoritomo died in 1199, his eldest son was only 17 In 1202 when Minamoto Yoriie was 20, he became shogun However the Hojo clan usurped his power in the following year when they established the head of the Hojo clan as the shikken (hereditary regent), a system that operated until 1333 In 1203 Yoriie became ill and his lands were divided between his infant son Ichiman and his brother Sanetomo Angered by the power of the Hojo clan, in spite of his mother’s being Hojo Masako, Minamoto Yoriie tried to reassert himself He started conspiring with Hiki Yoshikazu, who was, in fact, the adopted son of Minamoto