Madison Howard
The Kamakura Period
October 3rd, 2019
1192 Minamoto Yoritomo and the Beginning of Feudalism
In 1192, feudalism was officially established in Japan. This period was known as the Kamakura period. It marked the end of the Heian period and was named after the city where Minamoto Yoritomo set up the Headquarters of the Kamakura Shogunate inside of the city of Kamakura. After his victory against the Taira family in the Battle of Dannoura in 1185, Minamoto created the Bakufu, or more commonly known as Shogunate, to serve the imperial court. Afterward, in 1192 he was given an imperial sanction with his officially appointed rank of Shogun meaning “barbarian-quelling generalissimo”.
1192 Minamoto Yoritomo and the Beginning of Feudalism In 1192, feudalism was officially established in Japan. This period was known as the Kamakura period. It marked the end of the Heian period and was named after the city where Minamoto Yoritomo set up the Headquarters of the Kamakura Shogunate inside of the city of Kamakura. After his victory against the Taira family in the Battle of Dannoura in 1185, Minamoto created the Bakufu, or more commonly known as Shogunate, to serve the imperial court. Afterward, in 1192 he was given an imperial sanction with his officially appointed rank of Shogun meaning “barbarian-quelling generalissimo”.
1193 Yoritomo Kills His Brother Before He Becomes Suspicious
In 1193, Noriyori was assassinated by the orders of Yoritomo for presumably no real reason. For context, in 1185 Yoritomo got into a dangerous dispute with his brother, Yoshitsune, that became so heated that Yoritomo ordered one of his other brothers, Noriyori a general, to arrest him for treasonous behavior. Noriyori tried to persuade his brother to take back the order and then resorted to refusing completely. Unfortunately, he was exiled at the Shuzenji Temple for his insubordination. His brother Yoshitsune however, was killed anyway by murder-suicide after being ambushed in Mutsu in 1189.
Just by voicing his suspicions of the nature of his brother’s death, Noriyori was killed
1274 The Bun’ei War/ Battle of Bun’ei
The Battle of Bun'ei started on Hakata Bay was the first evasion attempt by the Mongols (known as the Yuan Dynasty). Multiple battles took place during this time, most of which the Yuans won. However, after the final Japanese victory they had lost around an estimated 3,500 men and had exhausted their army. As they withdrew their ships the Japanese engaged in night attacks and killed even more of the Yuan soldiers. As the Yuan retreated a typhoon appeared, seemingly from out of nowhere, and sunk most of their ships. The Japanese named this wind the Kamikaze or “Divine Wind”.
1281 The Second Mongolian Invasion Attempt
In 1274, when the Mongols tried a second invasion attempt the Japanese army was more prepared. Most of the battles did not last long, with the entire war lasting 2 months and every battle ending in a Japanese victory. In the final battle, Japan had captured around 30,000 prisoners and made the commanders of the Mongols flee to their home country.
1293 The Kamakura Earthquake
On the may of 1293, an estimated 7.1 magnitude earthquake triggered an enormous tsunami that crashed into the city of Kamakura and caused around 20,000 to die.
1333 The End of The Kamakura Era
After the second war with the Mongolian invasion the Japanese had exhausted most of their funds. To compensate, the Shogunate started to raise the taxes of the villages to the point where even landowners had to go to money lenders for help. No one was happy with this and it lead to the Kamakura Shogunate system being destroyed by the revolt of Ashikaga Takauji, Kusunoki Masashige and Nitta Yoshisada who then established the imperial rule of Emperor Go-Daigo. The resulting financial strain led to the inevitable collapse of the Bakufu military system. These events are what ends the Kamakura era.
Sources
Nagahara, Keiji. “Minamoto Yoritomo.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., https://www.britannica.com/biography/Minamoto-Yoritomo.
“Kamakura Period.” Preceden, https://www.preceden.com/timelines/289480-kamakura-period-.
Seal, F. W. “Minamoto Noriyori.” Minamoto Noriyori, https://www.samurai-archives.com/noriyori.html.
“Battle of Bun'ei.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 26 May 2019, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Bun'ei.
“Kamakura Period.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 21 June 2019, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamakura_period.
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