Between 1192 to 1333 – Kamakura Period
Minamoto no Yoritomo, having become shogun and ruling from Kamakura, began a period of shogunate rule that lasted until the Meiji Restoration in the second half of the 19th century. Despite this great achievement Yoritomo ruled only until 1199 when he died suddenly. His son, Minamoto no Yoriie, who was 17 when he died, became the shogun at age in 1202 but was not as strong as Yoritomo. Soon thereafter and all the way to the end of the Kamakura period Yoritomo’s wife’s family, the Hojo, took control through the office of shikken (執権) a special regent for the Shogun. Their power was greater than the shogun himself throughout the period.
Tairano Kiyomori (the head of the Taira clan at the end of the Heian period) having introduce money started a shift to a land based economy having military rule with a hierarchy of fiefdoms. The shift solidified with separate groups in the north and the west that were not willing to follow the shogun. However, within the central region commerce flourished and the Sake brewed at the Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines became widely available. Continue reading “Japanese History – Part 4, 1185AD to 1333”