Kamakura shogunate

The Kamakura shogunate was the feudal military government of Japan during the Kamakura period from 1185 to 1333. The Kamakura shogunate was established by Minamoto no Yoritomo after victory in the Genpei War and appointing himself as shōgun. Yoritomo governed Japan as military dictator from the eastern city of Kamakura with the emperor of Japan and his Imperial Court in the official capital city of Heian-kyō (Kyoto) as figureheads. The Kamakura shōguns were members of the Minamoto clan until 1226, the Fujiwara clan until 1252, and the last six were minor princes of the imperial family. The Hōjō clan were the de facto rulers of Japan as shikken (regent) of the shōgun from 1203. The Kamakura shogunate saw the Jōkyū War in 1221 and the Mongol invasions of Japan under Kublai Khan in 1274 and 1281. The Kamakura shogunate was overthrown in the Kenmu Restoration under Emperor Go-Daigo in 1333, re-establishing Imperial rule until Ashikaga Takauji and his offsprings overthrew the imperial government and founded the Ashikaga shogunate in 1336 (Nanboku-chō period). Historically in Japan, the power of civilian government was primarily held by the ruling emperor of Japan and their regents, typically appointed from the ranks of the Imperial Court and the aristocratic clans that vied for influence there. Military affairs were handled under the auspices of the civil government. From 1180 to 1185, the Genpei War was fought between the Taira and Minamoto clans as part of a longstanding violent rivalry for influence over the Emperor and his court. Minamoto no Yoritomo defeated the Taira clan, but in his victory seized power from the civil aristocracy, politically relegating the Emperor and his court to symbolic figureheads. In 1192, Yoritomo and the Minamoto clan established a military government in Kamakura. Yoritomo unexpectedly died in an accident in 1199, leaving the Minamoto clan weakened. Hōjō Tokimasa, the father of Yoritomo's widow, Hōjō Masako, and former guardian and protector of Yoritomo, claimed the title of regent (shikken) to Yoritomo's son Minamoto no Yoriie, eventually making that claim hereditary to the Hōjō clan.