The Regime: The Unification Of Japan

How did the rulers of shogunate Japan gain and maintain their political power? The Shogun were very advanced for their time. They had some great leaders throughout their period, who started and fought some important wars/battles. Minamoto no Yoritomo was a very important figure as he was the very first shogun, started the feudal system which gave all the people of Japan their place in society.

By the 900’s, the Japanese government began losing control over rural areas due to its weak ruler and the samurai warrior class stepped in to take control. This was due to a civil war called the “Hogen Rebellion” in 1156. This rebellion was due to conflicts regarding Imperial Japanese succession and unexpectedly laid the groundwork for the samurai clans to gain dominance. With both “would-be emperors” losing the Hogen Rebellion, the imperial government of Japan lost all of its remaining power. This led to the Heiji Rebellion in 1160 which was fought between two samurai clans, the Minamoto and Taira. With the victory of the Taira clan, the first samurai-led government (Shogunate) was formed. This type of government was controlled by the samurai clans, and the Emperor of Japan was only used as a figurehead to the government.

It is clear that Japan’s ‘three unifiers’ were beneficial to the development of Japan in three fundamental areas: social, economic and political. Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu are known for unifying Japan after the sengoku period (c. 1467 – c. 1603), a time of internal conflict. While each unifier had a different approach to developing Japan, the corroboration of each new policy resulted in an improved Japan which set foundations for lasting central rule.

Name: Carolyn Ma Period 9 AP World COT Japan Essay Japan is a small island nation off the coast of Eastern Asia. Despite its size, Japan has proved to be formidable both economically and militarily. Since the expedition of Commodore Matthew Perry in 1853 opened up the past feudalistic and reclusive Japan, this nation has expanded and adopted many imperialistic policies as well as taken a more aggressive military stance. Japan has changed in many ways, but has also continued upholding traditional practices throughout 1853 and 1941.

The Minamotos won, and the emperor made Minamoto Yoritomo shogun, the head of the military. Yoritomo however wanted more and took all power away from the emperor and made himself dictator. At this time the samurai gained power, through land given to them by the new shogun. Their rise in status was beginning.

In Japan, during the end of the first millennium, the samurai went to war with the emperor. This war is known as the Genpei War and the Emperor was defeated by the Samurai. This led to the first established shogunate. During the Edo period (1603-1868) or also known as the Tokugawa shogunate, there was an era of stability that led to the rise of shoguns. Shoguns were considered the single ruler of Japan although, the emperor was above the shoguns on the social class. Tokugawa Ieyasu ruled Japan for 15 generations, controlling about 25% of the peoples land, leaving the rest of the 75% to be put into domains, ruled by 275 daimyos. The shogun of Japan controlled government, however, when the Meiji Restoration began in the 19th century, Japans stable society ended and the Shoguns lost all power, due to Matthew Perry. Matthew Perry was a Christian who was seen as a threat to Japan as he wanted to create a divide within Japan. Japan was split into two sections, one being the shogunate and its supporters to remain in power and the Japanese nationalists who wanted the Emperor to regain power. This divide in Japan led to a civil war known as the Boshin war or the

By the nineteenth century Western nations had developed superior military technology than other countries. Western countries were able to control other nations by coercing them into unfair trading treaties which would leave the country economically dependent on them. The countries rarely resisted successfully due to their insufficient military power.

Every leadership position was hereditary, passing the same titles down the lines of esteemed Japanese families. Only the Shogun could give favor and titles to families, completely cutting off any chance at social mobility. This strategic move kept daimyo competing with each other to please the Shogun, losing the chance to band together and overthrow the government instead (Lecture, 2013 Feb 12). This decentralized government was inefficient for any kind of domestic and foreign affairs to be handles quickly. There was no sense of nationalism and profits circulated only among the elite, who controlled trade. The large degree of separation between the domains ultimately resulted in civil war, permanently bringing down Tokugawa

Kon'nichiwa! I’m Japan! You probably know me for my aesthetic cherry blossoms and splendid anime, but let me tell you, things weren’t always as kawaii as they seemed. For a loooong time, I was isolated from other countries by my own shoguns and daimyos, my militaristic dictators and their warrior landlords respectively. We got along fine at first, but my common people were becoming increasingly unhappy with their little political power and heavy taxes. Then, on a fateful day in July of 1853, I met… the West.

Showa: The Japan of Hirohito, edited by Carol Gluck and Stephen R. Graubard, seeks to find the answers to many questions that are commonly asked about Japan and its history. As stated in the title, this book focuses on the Hirohito era in Japanese history from 1926 to 1989. In the Introduction, Gluck states that there were two main issues for Japan in the twentieth century, “how Japan came to aggressive war and then to macroeconomic might” (xi). The unstable relationship between Japan and the United States is also an underlying theme of the book. The three chapters to be examined in this paper are, “The Useful War,” “The People Who Invented the Mechanical Nightingale,” and “Japan Meets the United States for the Second Time.”

Japan was ultimately beneficial over its time span of its existence because of its many advances and benefits to the people who were a part of the empire. Though there were negative and harmful aspects of its rule, the good of the empire outweighed the bad. The Japanese were among the last to develop a complex society and completely isolated itself from outside influence. An era occurred where they began to borrow many things from China. They adopted their writing and imitated their literature. By the late 1800s, however, an imperial restoration occurred with Commander Perry in charge . In order to stop westernization in Japan, the country adopted western culture. The Empire of Japan emerged and was more reformed than ever. By rapidly expanding under the slogan Fukoku Kyōhei (“Enrich the Country, Strengthen the Army”), Japan began its journey to beginning a world power. Japan began to seek profits overseas increasing their exposure to the outside world and their cultures. With all of these advancements, the overall success and benefit to its people of the empire of Imperial Japan came from its militarization.

The shogunate period was the time in Japan from 794 CE to 1867 CE when the Shoguns ruled. A Shogun is a title that was given by the Emperor to the country’s top military commander. During the Heian period (794CE – 1185CE) the members of the military slowly became more powerful than the court officials and they eventually took control of the whole government. “In 1192 the Emperor appointed the head of the Minamoto clan, Minamoto no Yoritomo, as Shogun, to lead the Japanese armed forces.” (History Alive 8). He established the first shogunate or bakufu at his Kamakura headquarters. For 700 years after that, Japan was mainly ruled by Shoguns whose title had been passed on from father to son. Sometimes the Shogun’s family would become weak and a rebellious leader would seize power from them, after which he would start a new ruling family.

To back up my first statement, the Shogunate’s had many large armies around Japan, this did help the Shogunate’s protect their land from the Mongol Empire, who at the time were one of the biggest empires in the world. This compared to the puny Polynesian armies which mostly consisted of twenty to thirty warriors from different tribes on the islands. These small armies could never put up such a fight like the Shogunate’s did and also win. The Polynesian would of been finished as quick as a fire spreading through a dried out forest. The Shogunate armies consisted of about 5,000 to 10,000 footman and cavalry, this let the Shogunate’s attack from different angles and fight in different terrains which helped let them win their wars. The Polynesian’s

Introduction The Tokugawa shogunate was a very important and stable government in Japanese history. It was the connection of the feudalism and capitalism of Japan. For over two hundred years, challenges to Tokugawa authority were few, and this era was known as the time of Great Peace. In general, its appearance

Japan then enters its feudal phase called the Kamakura period, from 1185 to 1333. The emperor was not playing much than a passive role in the management of the country, mainly present for ceremonies. Civilian and military functions were in the hands of the samurai. The most powerful of these is the samurai shogun... It was the first military government called Bakufu.