Kamakura Period (1185-1333)

The Kamakura Shogunate was the beginning of feudal Japan. It was established by Minamoto no Yoritomo, who consolidated power in Japan with the support of the Hojo clan. The Emperor became a figurehead, and would remain a figurehead until Meiji in the late 1800s. Yoritomo ruled from his city of Kamakura. He appointed stewards and constables (who would later become daimyo) over areas of land. Towards the later part of the shogunate, the Hojo clan would act as regents for the shogun, making even the shogun a figurehead. There was much tension between the Imperial Court in Kyoto and the Shogunate in Kamakura, and wars would occasionally break out.

The Kamakura Shogunate saw a rise in popularity of Buddhism, and the set of warrior ideals that we know call Bushido originated in this era. The Mongols under Kublai Khan twice attempted to invade Japan during the Kamakura Shogunate, but their fleets were destroyed by typhoons, which the Shinto priests called kamikaze, which means "divine wind." The Shogunate ended when Emperor Go-Daigo and his supporters, including Kusunoki Masashige, Nitta Yoshisada, who personally laid siege to Kamakura, and Ashikaga Takauji, who would set up his own shogunate, rebelled against the shogun and deposed him, leading to the Kenmu Restoration prior to the Muromachi Era.

Locations to Visit Related to the Kamakura Period:

• Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gu
• Kotoku-in/The Great Buddha
• Kamakura's Great Zen Temples
• Tomb of Minamoto Yoritomo
• Moto Hachiman