Kanrei ( 管領 ) or, more rarely, kanryō , was a high political post in feudal Japan ; it is usually translated as shōgun ' s deputy . After 1349, there were actually two Kanrei , the Kyoto Kanrei and the Kantō Kanrei . But originally from 1219 until 1333, the post was synonymous with the Rokuhara Tandai , and was based in Kyoto . The Hōjō clan monopolized this post, and there were during this period two Deputies – a southern chief, and a northern chief. From 1336 to 1367, the Deputy was called Shitsuji ( 執事 ) . The first to hold this title was Kō no Moronao .
57-593: Following the fall of the Kamakura shogunate and abolition of the Rokuhara Tandai position, both occurring in 1333, Ashikaga Takauji created the post of Kantō Kanrei , or Shogun's Deputy in the East ( Kantō generally refers to the area around and including modern Tokyo ). In 1367, Hosokawa Yoriyuki was chosen by a council to become Deputy (Kyoto Kanrei ). In order to ensure the loyalty of his colleagues,
114-458: A Mongol occupation army garrisoning their country, had sent much intelligence information to Japan, so that along with messages from Japanese spies in the Korean peninsula, the shogunate had a good picture of the situation of the pending Mongol invasion. The shogunate had rejected Kublai's demands to submit with contempt. The Mongol landings of 1274 met with some success, however there was no rout of
171-411: A mansion in Ōkura , where first Kamakura shōgun Minamoto no Yoritomo 's residence had been. Kyoto by then was aware that Takauji had assumed wide powers without imperial permission, for example nominating an Uesugi clan member to the post of Constable of Kōzuke, Nitta Yoshisada's native province. By late 1335 several thousand of the emperor's men were ready to go to Kamakura, while a great army at
228-518: A monastery. In 1219, Sanetomo was assassinated by his nephew Kugyō . Since Sanetomo died childless, the line of shōguns from the Minamoto clan ended with him. From this point onwards, the Hōjō were in total control. With Sanetomo's death in 1219, his mother Hōjō Masako continued to serve as the shogunate's real center of power. As long as she lived, regents and shōguns would come and go, while she stayed at
285-505: A number of other posts, such as the Kyūshū Tandai , who represented the shōgun ' s interests and orders in the southernmost of the main islands. Kamakura shogunate The Kamakura shogunate ( Japanese : 鎌倉幕府 , Hepburn : Kamakura bakufu ) 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
342-524: A plot to overthrow them, but the plot was discovered almost immediately and foiled. The Mongols under Kublai Khan attempted sea-borne invasions in 1274 and 1281. Fifty years before, the shogunate had agreed to Korean demands that the Wokou be dealt with to stop their raids, and this bit of good diplomacy had created a cooperative relationship between the two states, such that the Koreans, helpless with
399-615: A power struggle with the Hōjō clan of his own mother. These conflicts caused considerable tensions within the shogunate. In 1201, the Jo clan unsuccessfully attempted to overthrow the Minamoto clan in the Kennin Rebellion . Eventually, Tokimasa deposed Yoriie, backed up his younger brother, Minamoto no Sanetomo , as a new shōgun, and assumed the post of shikken . Sanetomo was only twelve at this point, and accordingly power factually rested with his mother Hōjō Masako. The Minamoto remained
456-506: A usurper but, since the Ashikaga descended from a branch of the Minamoto clan, rather a restorer of Minamoto power. When the Hōjō garrison at Rokuhara was destroyed in 1333, he immediately stepped in and installed there his office ( bugyōsho ). It kept order in the city and in general took over the original's function. Extending its authority to controlling travel along highways, issuing passports and exercising rights previously belonging to
513-459: A warrior to an important post was intended to show the Emperor that the samurai class was not ready for a purely civilian rule. Later, a third son of Go-Daigo's, Prince Morinaga , was appointed sei-i taishōgun together with his brother Norinaga, a move that immediately aroused Ashikaga Takauji 's hostility. Takauji believed the military class had the right to rule and considered himself not
570-631: The Shugo ( 守護 ) , which controlled military and police power in various regions, and the Jitō ( 地頭 ) , which was in charge of tax collection and land administration. Japanese history textbooks as of 2016 do not specify a year for the beginning of the Kamakura period, as there are various theories about the year the Kamakura shogunate was established. Historically in Japan , the power of civilian government
627-678: The Genkō War in 1331 against the Kamakura Shogunate but was defeated and forced to exile to the Oki Islands . Go-Daigo launched a second uprising, and with the assistance of the defected Kamakura general Ashikaga Takauji and rebel leader Nitta Yoshisada , defeated the Kamakura Shogunate at the siege of Kamakura in 1333. The Imperial House was restored to power but Go-Daigo's policies failed to satisfy his major samurai supporters and most Japanese people. The Kenmu Restoration
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#1732765527698684-576: 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
741-670: The Hatakeyama and Shiba clans, he proposed that three families share the position of Kanrei , alternating between them every time a new appointment was needed. Thus was born the San-Kan or Three Kanrei . However, in 1379, Yoriyuki's actions attracted the resentment of certain powerful lords, who pressed for his dismissal. After that, the Kyoto Kanrei no longer held the responsibilities of Shogun's Deputy, and merely carried out his orders in an advisory and executive position. In
798-452: The kanrei was the son of the shōgun , ruled Kantō and controlled the military there, the area was usually called Kamakura Bakufu, or Kamakura shogunate, and Motouji Shogun or Kamakura/Kantō Gosho, an equivalent title. When later the habit of calling kubō the shogun spread from Kyoto to the Kantō, the ruler of Kamakura came to be called Kamakura kubō . The Kanrei title was then passed on to
855-458: 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 ,
912-629: The Emperor the title of shōgun in 1192, ruling thereafter from Kamakura . For various reasons, the Kamakura shogunate decided to allow two contending imperial lines—known as the Southern Court or junior line, and the Northern Court or senior line—to alternate on the throne. The method worked for several successions until a member of the Southern Court ascended to the throne as Emperor Go-Daigo. Go-Daigo wanted to overthrow
969-583: The Japanese defenders, who in any case greatly outnumbered the 40,000 combined invasion force of Mongols and Korean conscripts. Noting an impending storm, the Korean admirals advised the Mongols to re-embark so that the fleet could be protected away from shore; however, the typhoon was so destructive that one-third of the Mongol force was destroyed. After the surviving forces returned to Mongol territory, Kublai
1026-482: The Kamakura's shogunate was the greatest and most obvious of the obstacles. Another situation that begged for a solution was the land-ownership problem posed by the manors and their lands (see the article shōen ). The great landowners shugo (governors) and jitō (manor's lord), with their political independence and their tax exemptions were impoverishing the government and undermining its authority, and Kitabatake Chikafusa , Go-Daigo's future chief adviser, discussed
1083-437: The Mongols made no strategic headway. Again, a typhoon approached, and the Koreans and Chinese re-embarked the combined Mongol invasion forces in an attempt to deal with the storm in the open sea. At least one-third of the Mongol force was destroyed, and perhaps half of the conscripted Song forces to the south over a two-day period of August 15–16. Thousands of invading troops were not able to embark in time and were slaughtered by
1140-521: The Prince was kept prisoner until late August 1335. The situation in Kamakura continued to be tense, with Hōjō supporters staging sporadic revolts here and there. In the course of the same year Hōjō Tokiyuki , son of last regent Takatoki , tried to re-establish the shogunate by force and defeated Tadayoshi in Musashi, in today's Kanagawa Prefecture . Tadayoshi had to flee, so before leaving he ordered
1197-688: The Uesugi hereditary shitsuji ( 執事 ) . Members of the Uesugi clan thereafter dominated the Kantō kanrei post until 1552, when it was abolished. The political organization of the Ashikaga shogunate was complex, and shifted from time to time. The responsibilities and official title of the Kanrei or Deputy changed a number of times, as other positions were created or abolished. In addition, they worked alongside
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#17327655276981254-625: The beheading of Prince Morinaga. Kamakura was therefore temporarily in Tokiyuki's hands. Heard the news, Takauji asked the Emperor to make him sei-i tai-shōgun so that he could quell the revolt and help his brother. When his request was denied, Takauji organized his forces and returned to Kamakura without the Emperor's permission, defeating the Hōjō. He then installed himself in Kamakura's Nikaidō neighborhood. When invited to return to Kyoto, he let it be known through his brother Tadayoshi that he felt safer where he was, and started to build himself
1311-413: The bloodline pure and give legitimacy to the rule. This succession proceeded for more than a century. As a result, the Kamakura shogunate rested on an unusual pyramid of regents and de facto usurpation: The true rulers, namely the Hōjō regents, had usurped power from the Minamoto, who had usurped it from the Emperor, descending from Emperor Kōkō , who usurped it from the children of Emperor Seiwa . At
1368-655: The capital and the Kenmu Restoration ended. The Kenmu era is in the anomalous condition of having two different durations. Because Japanese era names ( nengō ) change with the Emperor and the Imperial House split in two after 1336, the Kenmu era was counted by the two sides in two different ways. "Kenmu" is the era after the Genkō era, and it is understood to have spanned the years 1334 through 1336 before
1425-468: The civil government in Kyoto. Kamakura also appointed stewards, or jitō , to positions in the manors ( shōen ). These stewards received revenues from the manors in return for their military service. They served along with the holders of similar office, gesu , who delivered dues from the manor to the proprietor in Kyoto. Thus the dual governmental system reached to the manor level. In legal matters,
1482-465: The command of Kō no Moroyasu was rushing there to help it resist the attack. On November 17, 1335, Tadayoshi issued a message in his brother's name asking all samurai to join the Ashikaga and destroy Nitta Yoshisada. The Court, meanwhile, had done the opposite, ordering samurai from all provinces to join Yoshisada and destroy the two Ashikaga. The war started with most samurai convinced that Takauji
1539-480: The exiled emperor's rescue, and in response the Hōjō sent forces again commanded by Takauji to attack Kyoto. Once there, however, Takauji decided to switch sides and support Go-Daigo. At the same time another warlord loyal to the emperor, Nitta Yoshisada , attacked Kamakura and took it. About 870 Hōjō clan, including the last three Regents, committed suicide at their family temple, Tōshō-ji , whose ruins were found in today's Ōmachi. In 1336, Ashikaga Takauji assumed
1596-441: The fact that Go-Daigo, wanting to build a palace for himself but having no funds, levied extra taxes from the samurai class. A wave of enmity towards the nobility started to run through the country, growing stronger with time. The Taiheiki also records that, although Takauji and Yoshisada were richly rewarded, the offices of shugo and jito in more than fifty provinces went to nobles and court bureaucrats, leaving no spoils for
1653-544: 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 . At the same time, Hōjō Masako maneuvered herself into such a powerful, albeit informal, position that people began calling her the "nun shogun" in the place of her son Yoriie. As Minamoto no Yoriie grew older, however, he attempted to exert real power, resulting in
1710-403: The first weeks of 1336 Ashikaga Takauji left Kamakura for Kyoto in pursuit of Nitta Yoshisada . He left behind his 4-year-old son Yoshiakira as his representative in the trust of three guardians: Hosokawa Kiyouji, Uesugi Noriaki, and Shiba Ienaga. In 1349 Takauji called Yoshiakira to Kyoto, replacing him with another of his sons, Motouji , to whom he gave the title of Kantō Kanrei . Because
1767-534: The government promulgated a legal code called Goseibai Shikimoku in 1232 which would continuously be used until the Muromachi period . A court of appeals was also set up during this period, called the Moncho-jo . Source: 35°19′N 139°33′E / 35.317°N 139.550°E / 35.317; 139.550 Kenmu Restoration The Kenmu Restoration ( 建武の新政 , Kenmu no shinsei )
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1824-445: The helm. Since the Hōjō family did not have the rank to nominate a shōgun from among its members, Masako had to find a convenient puppet. The problem was solved by choosing Kujo Yoritsune, a distant relation of the Minamoto, who would be the fourth shōgun and figurehead, while Hōjō Yoshitoki would take care of day-to-day business. However powerless, future shōguns would always be chosen from either Fujiwara or imperial lineage to keep
1881-609: 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 offspring overthrew
1938-416: The imperial government and founded the Ashikaga shogunate in 1336 ( Nanboku-chō period ). There are various theories as to the year in which the Kamakura period and Kamakura shogunate began. In the past, the most popular theory was that the year was 1192, when Minamoto no Yoritomo was appointed Seii Taishōgun ( 征夷大将軍 ) . Later, the prevailing theory was that the year was 1185, when Yoritomo established
1995-408: The man who had destroyed the Kamakura shogunate, and Ashikaga Takauji . In so doing, however, he failed to return control of the provinces to civilians . But he made his greatest error when he failed to properly reward minor warriors who had supported him. The tribunals set up to the purpose were inefficient and too inexperienced for the task, and corruption was rife. Samurai anger was made worse by
2052-466: The military and the financial expenditures weakened the regime considerably. Additionally, the defensive war left no gains to distribute to the warriors who had fought it, leading to discontent. Construction of defensive walls added further expenses to the strained regime. In 1331, Emperor Go-Daigo took arms against Kamakura, but was defeated by Kamakura's Ashikaga Takauji and exiled to Oki Island , in today's Shimane Prefecture . A warlord then went to
2109-406: The political capital of the Kantō region , but its supremacy as political centre was over. When Emperor Go-Daigo ascended the throne in 1318, he immediately manifested his intention to rule without interference from the military in Kamakura. Historical documents show that, disregarding evidence to the contrary, he and his advisers believed that a revival of the Imperial House was possible, and that
2166-472: The position of shōgun himself, establishing the Ashikaga shogunate . The Kamakura shogunate functioned within the framework of the Heian system of Imperial rule. Yoritomo established a chancellery, or mandokoro , as his principal organ of government. Later, under the Hōjō, a separate institution, the hyōjōshū became the focus of government. The shogunate appointed new military governors ( shugo ) over
2223-438: The provinces/states. These were selected mostly from powerful families in the different provinces, or the title was bestowed upon a general and his family after a successful campaign. Although they managed their own affairs, in theory they were still obliged to the central government through their allegiance to the shōgun. The military governors paralleled the existing system of governors and vice-governors ( kokushi ) appointed by
2280-617: The rights of tenants and workers, whose complaints poured into the monasteries. He did not understand the importance to him of the warrior class either, because he never properly rewarded his minor samurai supporters, as he could have done using lands from the confiscated Hōjō lands, indulging instead in favoritism. These errors are the key to understanding the events of the next few decades. After rewarding religious institutions, he prepared to redistribute Hōjō lands, and samurai came to him in great numbers to lay their claims. The biggest rewards were given to samurai, among them Nitta Yoshisada ,
2337-475: The same time, the regents, shoguns, and emperors all still maintained their nominal positions and existed alongside each other. The regime nonetheless proved to be stable enough to last a total of 135 years, 9 shōguns and 16 regents. In 1221, Emperor Go-Toba tried to regain power in what would be called the Jōkyū War ( 承久の乱 , Jōkyū no Ran ) , but the attempt failed. The power of the Hōjō remained unchallenged until 1324, when Emperor Go-Daigo orchestrated
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2394-399: The samurai. Such losses in men, material, and the exhaustion of the Korean state in provisioning the two invasions put an end to the Mongols' attempts to conquer Japan. The "divine wind", or kamikaze , was credited for saving Japan from foreign invasion. For two further decades the Kamakura shogunate maintained a watch in case the Mongols attempted another invasion. However, the strain on
2451-447: The shogunate and openly defied Kamakura by naming his own son his heir. In 1331 the shogunate exiled Go-Daigo but loyalist forces, including Kusunoki Masashige , rebelled and came to his support. They were aided by, among others, future shōgun Ashikaga Takauji , a samurai who had turned against Kamakura when dispatched to put down Go-Daigo's rebellion. At roughly the same time, Nitta Yoshisada , another eastern chieftain, attacked
2508-504: The shogunate was Prince Morinaga. Prince Morinaga, with his prestige and his devotion to the civilian government cause, was Takauji's natural enemy and could count therefore on the support of his adversaries, among them Nitta Yoshisada, whom Takauji had offended. Tension between the Emperor and the Ashikaga gradually grew, until Takauji had Morinaga arrested on a pretext and first confined him in Kyoto , then transported him to Kamakura, where
2565-482: The shogunate's capital. The shogunate tried to resist his advance: Yoshisada and shogunate forces fought several times along the Kamakura Kaidō , for example at Kotesashigahara ( 小手差原 ) , Kumegawa ( 久米河 ) (both near today's Tokorozawa , Saitama Prefecture ), and Bubaigawara , in today's Fuchū , ever closer to Kamakura. The city was finally reached, besieged , and taken. Kamakura would remain for one century
2622-434: The shogunate's deputies (the Rokuhara Tandai ), Takauji showed he believed that samurai political power must continue. His setting himself apart as a representative of the military made him an aggregation point for the warriors' discontent. Samurai saw him as the man who could bring back the shogunate's heyday, and therefore his strength was superior to that of any other samurai, Nitta Yoshisada included. His only obstacle to
2679-462: The situation in his works on succession. Chikafusa admitted that nobody had any intention of abolishing those privileges, so the hope of success on this front was from the beginning clearly very dim. What he planned to replace shugo and jitō with is unclear, but he surely had no intention of sharing power with the samurai class. However serious the land ownership problem, Go-Daigo and his advisers made no serious effort to solve it, partly because it
2736-554: The south to Aomori Prefecture in the north) and nominated him Governor-General of the Mutsu and Dewa Provinces . In an obvious reply to this move, Ashikaga Takauji's younger brother Tadayoshi without an order from the Emperor escorted another of his sons, eleven-year-old Nariyoshi (a.k.a. Narinaga) to Kamakura, where he installed him as Governor of the Kōzuke Province with himself as a deputy and de facto ruler. The appointment of
2793-439: The titular shōguns, with the Hōjō holding the real power. In 1204, loyalists of Yoriie attempted an uprising to topple the Hōjō domination, but the latter defeated the rebels and assassinated Yoriie. In 1205, Hōjō Tokimasa attempted to depose Sanetomo, hoping to install his son-in-law as new shogun. However, his daughter Hōjō Masako saw this as threat to her own status; she arranged the pretender's murder and banished her father to
2850-435: The warriors. By the end of 1335 the Emperor and the nobility had lost all support of the warrior class. Go-Daigo wanted to re-establish his rule in Kamakura and the east of the country without sending a shōgun there, as this was seen as still too dangerous. As a compromise, he sent his six-year-old son Prince Norinaga to Mutsu Province (the eastern part of today's Tōhoku region , stretching from Fukushima Prefecture in
2907-630: Was a three-year period of Imperial rule in Japanese history between the Kamakura period and the Muromachi period from 1333 to 1336. The Kenmu Restoration was an effort made by Emperor Go-Daigo to overthrow the ruling Kamakura Shogunate ( de facto ruled by Hōjō clan ) and restore the Imperial House to power in Japan, returning to civilian government after 148 years of de facto military government from Kamakura . Go-Daigo launched
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#17327655276982964-408: Was not dissuaded from his intentions of bringing Japan under Mongol control, and once again sent a message demanding submission, which infuriated the Hōjō leadership, who had the messengers executed. They responded with decisive action for defense—a wall was built to protect the hinterland of Hakata Bay, defensive posts were established, garrison lists were drawn up, regular manning of the home provinces
3021-530: 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
3078-458: Was redirected to the western defenses, and ships were constructed to harass the invaders' fleet when they appeared. The Mongols returned in 1281 with a force of some 50,000 Mongol-Korean-Chinese along with some 100,000 conscripts from the defeated Song empire in south China. This force embarked and fought the Japanese for some seven weeks at several locations in Kyushu, but the defenders held, and
3135-442: Was samurai from the manors in the western provinces that had defeated the shogunate for him. In such a situation, any effort to regulate the manors was bound to cause resentment among key allies. The Emperor reclaimed the property of some manors his family had previously lost control of, rewarding them with, among others, Buddhist temples like Tō-ji and Daitoku-ji in the hope to obtain their support. He however failed to protect
3192-431: Was the man they needed to have their grievances redressed, and most peasants were persuaded that they had been better off under the shogunate. The campaign was therefore enormously successful for the Ashikaga, with huge numbers of samurai rushing to join the two brothers. By February 23 of the following year Nitta Yoshisada and the Emperor had lost, and Kyoto itself had fallen. On February 25, 1336, Ashikaga Takauji entered
3249-630: Was ultimately overthrown when Takauji became Shōgun and founded the Ashikaga Shogunate in 1336, beginning the " Northern and Southern Courts " period and the Muromachi period . The Kenmu Restoration was the last time the Emperor of Japan held significant power until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. The Emperor's role had been usurped by the Minamoto and Hōjō families ever since Minamoto no Yoritomo had obtained from
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