1. Etymology

 

Kanji that make up the word shōgun. https://handwiki.org/wiki/index.php?curid=1741415

The term shōgun (将軍, lit. «army commander»), composed of the kanji 将, which means «commander»^[1] and 軍 which means «army»,^[2] is the abbreviation of the historical title Seii Taishōgun (征夷大将軍, lit. «Great appeasing general of the barbarians»), which was used to refer to the general who commanded the army sent to fight the tribes of northern Japan. After the twelfth century, the term was used to designate the leader of the samurai.^[3]

The administration of a shōgun is called bakufu (幕府) In Japanese and literally means "government from the maku." During the battles, the head of the samurai army used to be sitting in a scissor chair inside a semi-open tent called maku that exhibited its respective mon or blazon. The application of the term bakufu to the shōgun government shows an extremely strong and representative symbolism.^[4]

2. Titles

Historically, similar terms to Seii Taishōgun were used with varying degrees of responsibility, although none of them had equal or more importance than Seii Taishōgun. Some of them were:

• Seitō Taishōgun (征東大将軍, lit. «Commander in chief for the pacification of the East») ^[5]
• Seisei Taishōgun (征西大将軍, lit. «Commander in chief for the pacification of the West») ^[6]
• Chinjufu Shōgun (鎮守府将軍, lit. «Commander in chief of the central peacekeeping headquarters») ^[7]
• Seiteki Taishōgun (征狄大将軍, lit. «Great Barbarian Subjugator General»)
• Mochisetsu Taishōgun (持節大将軍, lit. «Grand general of temporary office»)
• Sekke shōgun (摂家将軍, lit. «Grand General Counselor») ^[8]
• Miya shōgun (宮将軍, lit. «Grand Palace General») ^[9]

3. History

3.1. First Shogun

There is no consensus among the various authors since some sources consider Tajihi no Agatamori the first, others say Ōtomo no Otomaro, other sources assure that the first was Sakanoue no Tamuramaro, while others avoid the problem by just mentioning from the first Kamakura shogun Minamoto no Yoritomo.

3.2. Heian Period (794–1185)

Sakanoue no Tamuramaro (758–811) was one of the first shōgun of the early Heian period. https://handwiki.org/wiki/index.php?curid=1520103

Originally, the title of Sei-i Taishōgun ("Commander-in-Chief of the Expeditionary Force Against the Barbarians")^[10] was given to military commanders during the early Heian period for the duration of military campaigns against the Emishi, who resisted the governance of the Kyoto-based imperial court. Ōtomo no Otomaro was the first Sei-i Taishōgun.^[11] The most famous of these shōguns was Sakanoue no Tamuramaro.

In the later Heian period, one more shōgun was appointed. Minamoto no Yoshinaka was named sei-i taishōgun during the Genpei War, only to be killed shortly thereafter by Minamoto no Yoshitsune.

Sakanoue no Tamuramaro

Sakanoue no Tamuramaro (758-811)^[12] was a Japanese general who fought against the tribes of northern Japan (settled in the territory that today integrates the provinces of Mutsu and Dewa). Tamarumaro was the first general to bend these tribes, integrating its territory to that of the Japanese State. For his military feats he was named Seii Taishōgun and probably because he was the first to win the victory against the northern tribes he is generally recognized as the first shōgun in history.^[12][13][14] (Note: according to historical sources Ōtomo no Otomaro also had the title of Seii Taishōgun).

3.3. Kamakura Shogunate (1192–1333)

 

Minamoto no Yoritomo, the first shōgun (1192–1199) of the Kamakura shogunate. https://handwiki.org/wiki/index.php?curid=1911480

In the early 11th century, daimyō protected by samurai came to dominate internal Japanese politics.^[15] Two of the most powerful families – the Taira and Minamoto – fought for control over the declining imperial court. The Taira family seized control from 1160 to 1185, but was defeated by the Minamoto in the Battle of Dan-no-ura. Minamoto no Yoritomo seized power from the central government and aristocracy and established a feudal system based in Kamakura in which the private military, the samurai, gained some political powers while the Emperor and the aristocracy remained the de jure rulers. In 1192, Yoritomo was awarded the title of Sei-i Taishōgun by Emperor Go-Toba and the political system he developed with a succession of shōguns as the head became known as a shogunate. Yoritomo's wife's family, the Hōjō, seized power from the Kamakura shōguns.^[16] When Yoritomo's sons and heirs were assassinated, the shōgun himself became a hereditary figurehead. Real power rested with the Hōjō regents. The Kamakura shogunate lasted for almost 150 years, from 1192 to 1333.

The end of the Kamakura shogunate came when Kamakura fell in 1333, and the Hōjō Regency was destroyed. Two imperial families – the senior Northern Court and the junior Southern Court – had a claim to the throne. The problem was solved with the intercession of the Kamakura shogunate, who had the two lines alternate. This lasted until 1331, when Emperor Go-Daigo (of the Southern Court) tried to overthrow the shogunate to stop the alternation. As a result, Daigo was exiled. Around 1334–1336, Ashikaga Takauji helped Daigo regain his throne.^[17]

The fight against the shogunate left the Emperor with too many people claiming a limited supply of land. Takauji turned against the Emperor when the discontent about the distribution of land grew great enough. In 1336 Daigo was banished again, in favor of a new Emperor.^[17]

During the Kenmu Restoration, after the fall of the Kamakura shogunate in 1333, another short-lived shōgun arose. Prince Moriyoshi (Morinaga), son of Go-Daigo, was awarded the title of Sei-i Taishōgun. However, Prince Moriyoshi was later put under house arrest and, in 1335, killed by Ashikaga Tadayoshi.

3.4. Ashikaga Shogunate (1336–1573)

 

Ashikaga Takauji (1338–1358) established the Ashikaga shogunate. https://handwiki.org/wiki/index.php?curid=1335843

In 1338, Ashikaga Takauji, like Minamoto no Yoritomo, a descendant of the Minamoto princes, was awarded the title of sei-i taishōgun and established the Ashikaga shogunate, which nominally lasted until 1573. The Ashikaga had their headquarters in the Muromachi district of Kyoto, and the time during which they ruled is also known as the Muromachi period.

3.5. Azuchi–Momoyama Period (1573–1600)

While the title of Shōgun went into abeyance due to technical reasons, Oda Nobunaga and his successor, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who later obtained the position of Imperial Regent, gained far greater power than any of their predecessors had. Hideyoshi is considered by many historians to be among Japan's greatest rulers.

3.6. Tokugawa Shogunate (1600–1868)

Ukiyo-e of Tokugawa Ieyasu, founder of the Tokugawa shogunate. https://handwiki.org/wiki/index.php?curid=1347545

Tokugawa Ieyasu seized power and established a government at Edo (now known as Tokyo) in 1600. He received the title sei-i taishōgun in 1603, after he forged a family tree to show he was of Minamoto descent.^[18] The Tokugawa shogunate lasted until 1867, when Tokugawa Yoshinobu resigned as shōgun and abdicated his authority to Emperor Meiji.^[19] Ieyasu set a precedent in 1605 when he retired as shōgun in favour of his son Tokugawa Hidetada, though he maintained power from behind the scenes as Ōgosho [ja] (大御所, cloistered shōgun).^[20]

During the Edo period, effective power rested with the Tokugawa shōgun, not the Emperor in Kyoto, even though the former ostensibly owed his position to the latter. The shōgun controlled foreign policy, the military, and feudal patronage. The role of the Emperor was ceremonial, similar to the position of the Japanese monarchy after the Second World War.^[21]

4. Timelines

4.1. Timeline of the Kamakura Shogunate

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4.2. Timeline of the Ashikaga Shogunate

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4.3. Timeline of the Tokugawa Shogunate

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5. Shogunate

The term bakufu (幕府, "tent government") originally meant the dwelling and household of a shōgun, but in time, became a metonym for the system of government of a feudal military dictatorship, exercised in the name of the shōgun or by the shōgun himself. Therefore, various bakufu held absolute power over the country (territory ruled at that time) without pause from 1192 to 1867, glossing over actual power, clan and title transfers.

The shogunate system was originally established under the Kamakura shogunate by Minamoto no Yoritomo. Although theoretically, the state (and therefore the Emperor) held ownership of all land in Japan. The system had some feudal elements, with lesser territorial lords pledging their allegiance to greater ones. Samurai were rewarded for their loyalty with agricultural surplus, usually rice, or labor services from peasants. In contrast to European feudal knights, samurai were not landowners.^[22] The hierarchy that held this system of government together was reinforced by close ties of loyalty between the daimyōs, samurai and their subordinates.

Each shogunate was dynamic, not static. Power was constantly shifting and authority was often ambiguous. The study of the ebbs and flows in this complex history continues to occupy the attention of scholars. Each shogunate encountered competition. Sources of competition included the Emperor and the court aristocracy, the remnants of the imperial governmental systems, the daimyōs, the shōen system, the great temples and shrines, the sōhei, the shugo and jitō, the jizamurai and early modern daimyō. Each shogunate reflected the necessity of new ways of balancing the changing requirements of central and regional authorities.^[23]

6. Relationship with the Emperor

Imperial Seal of Japan. https://handwiki.org/wiki/index.php?curid=2034445

Since Minamoto no Yoritomo turned the figure of the shōgun into a permanent and hereditary position and until the Meiji Restoration there were two ruling classes in Japan: 1. the emperor or tennō (天皇, lit. «Heavenly Sovereign»),^[24] who acted as «chief priest» of the official religion of the country, Shinto, and 2. the shōgun, head of the army who also enjoyed civil, military, diplomatic and judicial authority.^[25] Although in theory the shōgun was an emperor's servant, it became the true power behind the throne.^[26]

No shōgun tried to usurp the throne, even when they had at their disposal the military power of the territory. There were two reasons primarily:^[27]

• Theoretically the shōgun received the power of the emperor, so this was his symbol of authority.
• There was a sentimentalist tradition created by priests and religious who traced the imperial line from the "age of the gods" into an "eternal line unbroken by the times." According to Japanese mythology, the emperor was a direct descendant of Amaterasu, goddess of the sun.

Unable to usurp the throne, the Shoguns sought throughout history to keep the emperor away from the country's political activity, relegating them from the sphere of influence. One of the few powers that the imperial house could retain was that of being able to "control time" through the designation of the Japanese Nengō or Eras and the issuance of calendars.^[28]

This is a highlight of two historical attempts of the emperor to recover the power they enjoyed before the establishment of the shogunate. In 1219 the Emperor Go-Toba accused the Hōjō as outlaws. Imperial troops mobilized, leading to the Jōkyū War (1219-1221), which would culminate in the third Battle of Uji (1221). During this, the imperial troops were defeated and the emperor Go-Toba was exiled.^[29] With the defeat of Go-Toba, the samurai government over the country was confirmed.^[29] At the beginning of the fourteenth century the Emperor Go-Daigo decided to rebel, but the Hōjō, who were then regents, sent an army from Kamakura. The emperor fled before the troops arrived and took the imperial insignia.^[30] The shōgun named his own emperor, giving rise to the era Nanbokuchō (南北朝, lit. «Southern and Northern Courts»).

During the 1850s and 1860s, the shogunate was severely pressured both abroad and by foreign powers. It was then that various groups angry with the shogunate for the concessions made to the various European countries found in the figure of the emperor an ally through which they could expel the Tokugawa shogunate from power. The motto of this movement was Sonnō jōi (尊王攘夷, «Revere the Emperor, Eject the Barbarians») and they finally succeeded in 1868, when imperial power was restored after centuries of being in the shadow of the country's political life.^[31]

7. Legacy

Upon Japan's surrender after World War II, American Army General Douglas MacArthur became Japan's de facto ruler during the years of occupation. So great was his influence in Japan that he has been dubbed the Gaijin Shōgun (外人将軍).^[32]

Today, the head of the Japanese government is the Prime Minister; the usage of the term "shōgun" has nevertheless continued in colloquialisms. A retired Prime Minister who still wields considerable power and influence behind the scenes is called a "shadow shōgun" (闇将軍, yami shōgun),^[33] a sort of modern incarnation of the cloistered rule. Examples of "shadow shōguns" are former Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka and the politician Ichirō Ozawa.^[34]