Japanese samurai and shoguns
The Japanese word samurai means 'one who serves'. The
first samurai were warriors fighting for the emperor against the
tribes of northern Japan in the late eighth century. From the tenth
century the central government in Kyoto lost interest in governing
the provinces, and samurai began to seize land and wealth and form
private armies. Their leaders demanded absolute loyalty from their
followers. Eventually, two clans, the Minamoto and the Heike faced
each other in the Gempei Wars (1180-85). The victorious Minamoto no
Yoritomo (1147-99) set up his military government in Kamakura and
was made Shogun in 1192. The samurai ethic emphasized austerity,
self-control and a constant readiness for death, and the warriors
favoured the rigorous Zen Buddhist sect.
The title Shogun, or seii taishōgun meaning 'Great
Barbarian-Quelling General', was first used in the eighth century
for the emperor's generals fighting in the north. However, from
1185, the title was given to the military dictators who controlled
the whole country, including the emperor. However, shoguns in
theory still owed their authority to the emperors who reigned as
successors to Amaterasu, the Sun Goddess. The three shogunates were
the Kamakura Shogunate (1185-1333) the Ashikaga or Muromachi
Shogunate (1338-1573) and the Tokugawa Shogunate (1600-1868).
During the period of Warring States (1477-1568) even the shoguns
had little control over lawless warlords who built castles and
attacked their neighbours. However, from 1568 a succession of three
military leaders, Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa
Ieyasu unified the country. In his sword-hunt of 1588, Hideyoshi
disarmed farmers and forced samurai to move to towns where they
were easier to control. Ieyasu became Shogun in 1603.
During the comparatively peaceful Edo period, the samurai headed
the strict class system. Since there were no wars to fight, Yamaga
Sokō wrote The Way of the Warrior to remind samurai of
their traditional role and way of life. However, with the abolition
of the shogunate at the Meiji Restoration, the samurai class too
lost their status.