Rise of the Kamakura
shogunate
- shugo 守護
- jitō 地頭
- shōgun 将軍
- Jōkyū War 承久の乱
Transformation of the Minamoto power structure
- Yoritomo creates new vassals -- Yoritomo declares that he will
confirm the land claims of anyone who fights as his loyal vassal
(1180)
- Defeats rival family members
- in Eastern Japan (his strong holdhold) -- he attacks the
agents of governors and puts in place his own men on one occasion
in 1180, he avoids attacking the Taira in order to attack the
Satake -- relatives who did not submit to his authority
- some of his greatest problems are with his own family -- he
sends his cousin Yoshinaka to Kyoto where they quickly drive out
the Taira -- but then Yoshinaka begins to set himself up as head
of the Minamoto -- Yoritomo sends his brother (Yoshitsune) to
squash his cousin
Kamakura settlement
- Yoritomo sets up an alternate capital in Kamakura
- IN THIS WAY -- YORITOMO'S WARTIME TACTICS ARE REFLECTED IN
HIS POSTWAR STRATEGIES AS WELL
- the Minamoto, unlike the Taira, do not become enmeshed in
Kyoto politics -- they stick close to their power base, which
is control of the hundreds of shōen in Eastern Japan
- BUT Yoritomo does what imperial titles
- in 1190 he is named (u-konnoe-taishō) general of the right imperial
guard and acting great councillor (gon-dainagon) and Chief of
the Military Police (sō-tsuibushi)
- in retrospect the most important is shōgun -- received in 1192
- full title seiitaishōgun
which translates "barbarian supressing genralissimo"
- the title had been used briefly in the 800s but it had
fallen out of use
- technically the shogun is an officer of the emperor
- not that important in Yoritomo life -- he resigns it in
1195
- Yoritomo himself thought his most prestigious title was
utaishō -- commander of the
inner palace guards
- NOTE HOWEVER -- that Yoritomo wants military titles from
the civil aristocracy
IMPORTANT NEW TITLES
- sō-jitō (chief of jitō)
- jitō -- military land stewards
- technically an old term -- dates to at least the 800
- BUT did not come to meant land steward (or estate steward)
until 1100s
- ALSO NEW: Go-Shirakawa tells Yoritomo he can establish
jitō where he wants
- the exact role of jitō
varied with the precedents of the shōen, but jitō were supposed to serve as local
policemen or tax collectors
- they often, esp. in the late 1100 and 1200s, coexsited with
shōkan (shōen managers)
- this leads to complex litigation -- who does what?
- litigation is extremely important to the expansion of
the rights of jitō
- in return for their services (whatever they were) jito
receive a portion of the shoen's production -- their means of
raising income are diverse but include fees for police
services, tax surchages, designated land
- jitō title (jitō shiki) is, from the outset,
understood as heritable -- this is part of Yoritomo's promise
to secure rights of his vassals
- sō-shugo (chief of shugo)
- shugo -- military governors
- initially a much less important institution than jito --
does not appear until 1190s
- shugo title is, at least initially, not heritable
- shugo, by law, had limited police duties:
- investigate murder and rebellion , apprehend major
criminals such as murderers
- insure mainenance of roads
- also were directed to register vassals of the Minamoto
house (gokenin) -- this appears to give them some leverage
over jitō
- LATER DEVELOPMENTS -- active command of the jitō in the area during time of war
- shugo becomes important not because of what it means in
1190s -- but because powerful families in the 1200s will claim
it -- it becomes a powerful title in the 1300s
Kamakura settlement as a compromise
- the grant by the emperor to Yoritomo of the right to establish
jitō was -- in part -- a marriage
of convenience
- Yoritomo would stop lawless jitō from seizing all of courtier
shōen -- this helps court
- Yortiomo got additional authroity to disposses "freelance"
jitō -- this gives Yoritomo new
authority in consolidating his base
- the intial scope of jitō
placement is limited -- most jitō
are placed in eastern Japan on land seized from the Taira -- the
shoen in Western Japan are left alone
Collapse of the Compromise
- the imperial court grows unhappy with rise of warrior power
- emperor Go-Toba challenges shogunate leading to Jōkyü War
of 1221
- the Kamakaura shogunte now claims nationwide authority
- drafts new, independent legal code -- cf. Lu 1: 109-116.