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The Kamakura Shogunate was a feudal military dictatorship ruled by
the shoguns of the Minamoto family from 1185 to 1333 AD. Based in Kamakura,
Japan, this period draws its name from the capital and is known as the
Kamakura period.
Before the establishment of the Kamakura bakufu, civil power in Japan was
primarily held by the ruling Emperors and their regents. Military affairs
were handled under the auspices of the civil government.
However, after defeating the Taira clan in the Genpei War, Minamoto no
Yoritomo seized power in 1185 and became the dictator and the de facto ruler
of the country. He asserted the primacy of the military side of the
government and was given the title of shogun in 1192 while the system of
government he established became formalized as the bakufu. The Japanese
provinces became semi-autonomous under the daimyo, although in theory they
were still obligated to the central government through their allegiance to
the shogun.
After Yoritomo's death, his widow Hojo Masako essentially usurped the
real ruling power from his Minamoto clan to her own Hojo clan. The Minamoto
remained the titular shoguns, with the Hojo holding the real power - thus
ruling through a puppet shogun and a titular emperor. The Emperor attempted
to reverse the situation in a 1221 rebellion (called Jokyu incident), but
failed to wrest power away from the Shogunate. A second attempt was made by
the Imperial court in 1331, and was much more successful, particularly as
the Kamakura's most powerful general, Ashikaga Takauji, chose to side with
the Emperor. The Kamakura bakufu came to an end in 1333 with the defeat and
destruction of the Hojo clan. This triumph was, however, short-lived, as
Ashikaga Takauji promptly assumed the position of shogun himself,
establishing the Ashikaga Shogunate.
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