Shogun ( inglés: / ˈ ʃ oʊ ɡ ʌ n / SHOH -gun ; [1] japonés :将軍, romanizado : shōgun , pronunciado [ɕoːɡɯɴ] ), oficialmente sei-i taishōgun (征夷大将軍, "Comandante en jefede la fuerza expedicionaria contra los bárbaros"),[2]fue el título de losgobernantesmilitares de Japón durante la mayor parte del período comprendido entre 1185 y 1868.[3]Designados nominalmente por elEmperador, los shogunes eran generalmente los gobernantes de facto del país,[4]excepto durante partes delperíodo Kamakurayel período Sengoku,cuando los propios shogunes eran figuras decorativas, con el poder real en manos de los shikken (執権)delclan Hōjōy los kanrei (管領)delclan Hosokawa. Además,Taira no KiyomoriyToyotomi Hideyoshieran líderes de la clase guerrera que no ocupaban el cargo de shogun, el más alto de la clase guerrera, pero sí consiguieron los cargos de daijō-daijin (太政大臣, Canciller del Reino)y kampaku (関白, Regente Imperial), los más altos cargos de la clase aristocrática. Como tales, dirigían sus gobiernos como sus gobernantes de facto.[5][6][7]
El cargo de shogun era en la práctica hereditario, aunque a lo largo de la historia de Japón varios clanes diferentes ocuparon el puesto. El título lo ostentaban originalmente los comandantes militares durante el periodo Heian , en los siglos VIII y IX. Cuando Minamoto no Yoritomo obtuvo ascendencia política sobre Japón en 1185, el título fue restablecido para regularizar su posición, convirtiéndolo en el primer shogun en el sentido habitual.
A menudo se dice que uno debe ser del linaje Minamoto para convertirse en shogun, pero esto no es cierto. Si bien es cierto que el linaje Minamoto era respetado como un linaje adecuado para el puesto de shogun, el cuarto y quinto shogun del shogunato Kamakura eran del linaje Fujiwara (aunque sus madres eran del linaje Minamoto), y los shogunes sexto a noveno eran del linaje imperial. Oda Nobunaga , que afirmaba ser descendiente del clan Taira , fue contactado para el puesto de shogun un mes antes de su muerte. [8] [9] [10]
Los funcionarios del shogun eran denominados colectivamente bakufu (幕府, IPA: [baꜜkɯ̥ɸɯ] ; "gobierno de la tienda") ; eran los que llevaban a cabo las tareas reales de administración, mientras que la corte imperial conservaba solo la autoridad nominal. [11] La tienda simbolizaba el papel del shogun como comandante de campo del ejército, pero también denotaba que tal cargo estaba destinado a ser temporal. Sin embargo, la institución, conocida en inglés como el shogunato ( / ˈ ʃ oʊ ɡ ə n eɪ t / SHOH -gə-nayt ), persistió durante casi 700 años, y terminó cuando Tokugawa Yoshinobu cedió el cargo al emperador Meiji en 1867 como parte de la Restauración Meiji . [12]
El término shogun (将軍, literalmente ' comandante del ejército ' ) es la abreviatura del título histórico sei-i taishōgun (征夷大将軍):
Por lo tanto, una traducción literal de sei-i taishōgun sería 'Comandante en Jefe de la Fuerza Expedicionaria Contra los Bárbaros'. [2]
El término originalmente se refería al general que comandaba el ejército enviado a luchar contra las tribus del norte de Japón, pero después del siglo XII, el término se utilizó para designar al líder de los samuráis . [15] El término a menudo se traduce como generalísimo y también es utilizado por los japoneses para tales líderes militares de naciones extranjeras.
Aunque shogun (将軍) ahora se refiere predominantemente al puesto histórico sei-i taishōgun (征夷大将軍) en japonés, este término simplemente significa "un general" en otros idiomas del este de Asia, como el chino ( chino simplificado :将军; chino tradicional :將軍; pinyin : jiāngjūn ; Jyutping : zoeng1 gwan1 ). De hecho, dado que sei-i taishōgun (征夷大将軍) era originalmente un tipo específico de general, este es un ejemplo de ampliación semántica .
La administración del shogunato se conocía como bakufu (幕府) , que literalmente significa "gobierno desde la cortina ". En este contexto, "cortina" es una sinécdoque de un tipo de tienda semiabierta llamada maku , un cuartel general temporal en el campo de batalla desde el que un general samurái dirigía sus fuerzas, y cuyos costados estaban decorados con su mon . La aplicación del término bakufu al gobierno del shogunato estaba, por lo tanto, cargada de simbolismo, connotando tanto el carácter explícitamente militar del régimen shogunal como su naturaleza (al menos teóricamente) efímera. [16]
Históricamente, se han utilizado términos similares a sei-i taishōgun con distintos grados de responsabilidad, aunque ninguno de ellos ha tenido igual o mayor importancia que sei-i taishōgun . [ cita requerida ] Algunos de ellos fueron:
No hay consenso entre los diversos autores ya que algunas fuentes consideran a Tajihi no Agatamori como el primero, otras dicen que a Ōtomo no Otomaro , [39] otras fuentes aseguran que el primero fue Sakanoue no Tamuramaro , mientras que otras evitan el problema mencionando únicamente del primer shogun de Kamakura a Minamoto no Yoritomo . Originalmente, el título de sei-i taishōgun ("Comandante en jefe de la fuerza expedicionaria contra los bárbaros") [2] se otorgaba a los comandantes militares durante el período Heian temprano durante la duración de las campañas militares contra los Emishi , que se resistían al gobierno de la corte imperial con sede en Kioto .
Sakanoue no Tamuramaro (758–811) [28] fue un general japonés que luchó contra las tribus Emishi del norte de Japón (asentadas en el territorio que hoy integra las provincias de Mutsu y Dewa). Tamarumaro fue el primer general en doblegar a estas tribus, integrando su territorio al del Estado de Yamato . Por sus hazañas militares fue nombrado sei-i taishōgun y probablemente por ser el primero en obtener la victoria contra las tribus del norte es generalmente reconocido como el primer shogun de la historia. [28] [40] [41] (Nota: según fuentes históricas Ōtomo no Otomaro también tenía el título de sei-i taishōgun).
Los shogunes de este período no tenían poder político real, y la corte imperial estaba a cargo de la política. Desde mediados del siglo IX hasta mediados del siglo XI, el clan Fujiwara controló el poder político. Excluyeron a otros clanes del centro político y monopolizaron los puestos más altos de la corte, como sesshō (摂政, Regente Imperial para Emperadores Menores) , kampaku (関白, Regente Imperial para Emperadores Adultos) y daijō-daijin (太政大臣, Canciller del Reino) , alcanzando su apogeo a fines del siglo X bajo Fujiwara no Michinaga y Fujiwara no Yorimichi . [42] [43] [44]
Más tarde, a mediados del siglo XI, el emperador Go-Sanjo debilitó el poder del sesshō y el kampaku al presidir él mismo la política, y cuando el siguiente emperador, Shirakawa , abdicó y se convirtió en un emperador de clausura y comenzó un gobierno de clausura , el sesshō y el kampaku perdieron su autoridad política real y se volvieron nominales, poniendo fin efectivamente al régimen de Fujiwara. [42] [43] [44]
Taira no Masakado , que saltó a la fama a principios del siglo X, fue el primero de la clase guerrera local en rebelarse contra la corte imperial. [45] Había servido a Fujiwara no Tadahira cuando era joven, pero finalmente ganó una lucha de poder dentro del clan Taira y se convirtió en una figura poderosa en la región de Kanto . En 939, Fujiwara no Haruaki, una figura poderosa en la provincia de Hitachi , huyó a Masakado. Fujiwara no Korechika , un Kokushi (国司, funcionario de la corte imperial) que supervisaba la provincia de Hitachi, lo buscaba por tiranía , y Fujiwara no Korechika exigió que Masakado entregara a Fujiwara no Haruaki. Masakado se negó y estalló la guerra entre Masakado y Fujiwara no Korechika, y Masakado se convirtió en enemigo de la corte imperial. Masakado proclamó que la región de Kanto bajo su gobierno era independiente de la corte imperial y se autodenominó Shinnō (新皇, Nuevo Emperador) . En respuesta, la corte imperial envió un gran ejército liderado por Taira no Sadamori para matar a Masakado. Como resultado, Masakado murió en batalla en febrero de 940. Todavía es venerado como uno de los tres grandes onryō (怨霊, espíritus vengativos) de Japón. [45] [46]
Durante los reinados del emperador Shirakawa y el emperador Toba , el clan Taira se convirtió en Kokushi (国司) , o supervisores de varias regiones, y acumuló riqueza al tomar samuráis de varias regiones como sus sirvientes. En la lucha por suceder al emperador Toba, el ex emperador Sutoku y el emperador Go-Shirakawa , cada uno con su clase samurái de su lado, lucharon en la rebelión Hōgen , que fue ganada por el emperador Go-Shirakawa, que tenía a Taira no Kiyomori y Minamoto no Yoshitomo de su lado. Más tarde, Taira no Kiyomori derrotó a Minamoto no Yoshitomo en la rebelión Heiji y se convirtió en la primera clase aristocrática nacida de samuráis, convirtiéndose finalmente en daijō-daijin (太政大臣, Canciller del Reino) , la posición más alta de la clase aristocrática, y el clan Taira monopolizó posiciones importantes en la corte imperial y ejerció el poder. La toma del poder político por parte de Taira no Kiyomori fue la primera instancia en la que la clase guerrera lideró la política durante los siguientes 700 años. [5]
Sin embargo, cuando Taira no Kiyomori usó su poder para que el hijo de su hija Taira no Tokuko y el emperador Takakura fuera instalado como emperador Antoku , hubo una oposición generalizada. El príncipe Mochihito , incapaz de asumir el trono imperial, llamó al clan Minamoto a reunir un ejército para derrotar al clan Taira, y comenzó la Guerra Genpei . En medio de la Guerra Genpei, Minamoto no Yoshinaka expulsó al clan Taira de Kioto, y aunque inicialmente fue bien recibido por el emperador ermitaño Go-Shirakawa, se alejó y aisló debido a la disciplina militar desordenada y la falta de poder político bajo su mando. Dio un golpe de estado, derrocó al séquito del emperador y se convirtió en el primero del clan Minamoto en asumir el cargo de Sei-i Taishōgun (shōgun) . En respuesta, Minamoto no Yoritomo envió a Minamoto no Noriyori y Minamoto no Yoshitsune para derrotar a Yoshinaka, quien fue asesinado un año después de convertirse en shōgun. En 1185, el clan Taira fue finalmente derrotado en la batalla de Dan-no-ura , y el clan Minamoto llegó al poder. [5] [47]
Existen varias teorías sobre el año en el que comenzó el período Kamakura y el shogunato Kamakura. En el pasado, la teoría más popular era que el año fue 1192, cuando Minamoto no Yoritomo fue nombrado sei-i taishōgun (征夷大将軍) . Más tarde, la teoría predominante fue que el año fue 1185, cuando Yoritomo estableció el shugo (守護) , que controlaba el poder militar y policial en varias regiones, y el jitō (地頭) , que estaba a cargo de la recaudación de impuestos y la administración de la tierra. Los libros de texto de historia japonesa a partir de 2016 no especifican un año específico para el comienzo del período Kamakura, ya que existen varias teorías sobre el año en que se estableció el shogunato Kamakura. [48]
Minamoto no Yoritomo tomó el poder del gobierno central y de la aristocracia y en 1192 estableció un sistema feudal con base en Kamakura en el que el ejército privado, los samuráis , obtuvieron algunos poderes políticos mientras que el Emperador y la aristocracia siguieron siendo los gobernantes de iure . [49] [50]
En 1192, el emperador Go-Toba le concedió a Yoritomo el título de sei-i taishōgun y el sistema político que desarrolló con una sucesión de shogunes a su cargo pasó a conocerse como shogunato. La familia de Hojo Masako (esposa de Yoritomo), los Hōjō , tomaron el poder de manos de los shogunes Kamakura. [51]
En 1199, Yoritomo murió repentinamente a la edad de 53 años, y Minamoto no Yoriie, de 18 años, asumió como segundo shogun. Para apoyar al joven Yoriie, las decisiones del shogunato eran tomadas por un consejo de 13 hombres, entre los que se encontraban Hojo Tokimasa y su hijo Hojo Yoshitoki , pero este consejo fue desmantelado poco después cuando uno de los miembros clave perdió su puesto político y otros dos murieron por enfermedad. [52] [53]
Cuando Minamoto no Yoriie enfermó en 1203, estalló una lucha de poder entre el clan Hojo y Hiki Yoshikazu , y Hojo Tokimasa destruyó al clan Hiki . Tokimasa entonces instaló a Minamoto no Sanetomo , de 12 años , como el tercer shogun, convirtiéndose en su marioneta mientras él mismo se convertía en el primer shikken (執権, regente) y asumía el control real del shogunato. Hojo Yoshitoki más tarde asesinó a Minamoto no Yoriie. [52] [53]
Sin embargo, Hojo Tokimasa perdió influencia en 1204 cuando mató a Hatakeyama Shigetada , creyendo información falsa de que su yerno Shigetada estaba a punto de rebelarse, y perdió su posición en 1205 cuando intentó instalar a su yerno Hiraga Tomomasa como el cuarto shogun. Hojo Yoshitoki se convirtió en el segundo shikken , y el shogunato fue administrado bajo el liderazgo de Hojo Masako . [52] [53]
En 1219, el tercer shogun, Minamoto no Sanetomo, fue asesinado por razones desconocidas. [53]
En 1221, estalló por primera vez la guerra en Japón entre el gobierno de la clase guerrera y la corte imperial, y en esta batalla, conocida como la Guerra Jōkyū , el shogunato derrotó al ex emperador Go-Toba . [53] El shogunato exilió al ex emperador Go-Toba a la isla de Oki por librar una guerra contra el shogunato. El shogunato aprendió la lección y estableció un organismo administrativo en Kioto llamado Rokuhara Tandai (六波羅探題) para supervisar la corte imperial y el oeste de Japón. [54]
Después de la muerte repentina de Hojo Yoshitoki en 1224, Hojo Yasutoki se convirtió en el tercer shikken , y después de la muerte de Hojo Masako en 1225, la administración del shogunato volvió a un sistema de consejo. [53]
En 1226, Hojo Yasutoki instaló a Kujo Yoritsune , miembro de la familia sekkan , como el cuarto shogun. [53]
En 1232, se promulgó el Goseibai Shikimoku , la primera ley codificada por un gobierno de clase guerrera en Japón. [53]
En 1246, Hojo Tokiyori se convirtió en el quinto shikken , y en 1252 instaló al príncipe Munetaka como sexto shogun. El nombramiento de un miembro de la familia imperial como shogun hizo que el shogun se pareciera cada vez más a una marioneta. Después de retirarse de los shikken, utilizó su posición como jefe de la familia principal del clan Hojo, los tokusō (得宗) , para dominar la política, desplazando así la fuente de poder en el shogunato de los shikken a los tokusō . [53] [55]
Durante el reinado de Hojo Tokimune , octavo shikken y séptimo tokusō , el shogunato derrotó dos veces la invasión mongola de Japón en 1274 y 1281. El shogunato derrotó a los mongoles con la ayuda de samuráis llamados gokenin (御家人) , señores al servicio del shogunato. Sin embargo, dado que la guerra era una guerra de defensa nacional y no se ganó ningún territorio nuevo, el shogunato no pudo recompensar adecuadamente a los gokenin , y su insatisfacción con el shogunato aumentó. [56]
En 1285, durante el reinado de Hojo Sadatoki , el noveno shikken y octavo tokusō , Adachi Yasumori y su clan, que habían sido los principales vasallos del shogunato Kamakura, fueron destruidos por Taira no Yoritsuna, fortaleciendo aún más el sistema de gobierno del tokusō , que enfatizaba las relaciones de sangre. [53] A medida que se fortalecía el sistema de gobierno del tokusō, aumentaba el poder del título de naikanrei (内管領) , el principal sirviente del tokusō , y cuando el tokusō era joven o estaba incapacitado, el naikanrei tomaba el control del shogunato. Taira no Yoritsuna durante el reinado de Hojo Sadatoki, y Nagasaki Takatsuna y Nagasaki Takasuke durante el reinado de Hojo Takatoki , el decimocuarto shikken y el noveno tokusō , fueron naikanrei que tomaron el control del shogunato Kamakura. [55] [57] En otras palabras, la política japonesa era una estructura de títeres múltiples: emperador, shogun, shikken, tokusō y naikanrei.
En respuesta a la insatisfacción de los gokenin con el shogunato, el emperador Go-Daigo planeó levantar un ejército contra el shogunato, pero su plan se filtró y fue exiliado a la isla de Oki en 1331. En 1333, el emperador Go-Daigo escapó de la isla de Oki y nuevamente convocó a los gokenin y samuráis para levantar un ejército contra el shogunato. Kusunoki Masashige fue el primero en responder al llamado, lo que desencadenó una serie de rebeliones contra el shogunato en varios lugares. Ashikaga Takauji , a quien el shogunato le había ordenado reprimir las fuerzas del emperador Go-Daigo, se puso del lado del emperador y atacó Rokuhara Tandai . Luego, en 1333, Nitta Yoshisada invadió Kamakura y el shogunato de Kamakura cayó, y el clan Hōjō fue destruido. [54] [56]
Alrededor de 1334-1336, Ashikaga Takauji ayudó al emperador Go-Daigo a recuperar su trono en la Restauración Kenmu . [58]
El emperador Go-Daigo rechazó el régimen enclaustrado y el shogunato y abolió el sesshō y el kampaku en favor de un gobierno dirigido por el emperador. También comenzó a construir un nuevo palacio y estableció cuatro nuevos cuerpos administrativos. Sin embargo, los nobles que llevaban mucho tiempo apartados de la política y los samuráis recién nombrados no estaban familiarizados con las prácticas administrativas, y la corte no pudo manejar el drástico aumento de los pleitos. El emperador Go-Daigo otorgó altos cargos y recompensas solo a los nobles, y los guerreros comenzaron a jurar lealtad a Ashikaga Takauji, quien estaba dispuesto a renunciar a su fortuna personal para darles tales recompensas. [54]
Durante la Restauración Kenmu, tras la caída del shogunato Kamakura en 1333, surgió otro shogun de corta duración. El príncipe Moriyoshi (Morinaga), hijo de Go-Daigo, recibió el título de sei-i taishōgun . Sin embargo, el príncipe Moriyoshi fue posteriormente puesto bajo arresto domiciliario y, en 1335, asesinado por Ashikaga Tadayoshi .
Al emperador Go-daigo no le gustó la creciente fama de Ashikaga Takauji y ordenó a Nitta Yoshisada y a otros que derrotaran a Ashikaga Takauji. En respuesta, Takauji lideró un grupo de samuráis contra el nuevo gobierno y derrotó a las fuerzas de la corte imperial. Esto puso fin al nuevo régimen del emperador Go-Daigo en 1336 después de solo dos años. [54] [58]
After the failure of the Kenmu Restoration, Emperor Go-Daigo fled to Enryaku-ji Temple on Mount Hiei with the Three Sacred Treasures (Imperial regalia, 三種の神器). On the other hand, Ashikaga Takauji installed Emperor Kōmyō as the new emperor without the Three Sacred Treasures in 1336.[54]
Ashikaga Takauji tried to make peace with Emperor Go-Daigo, but the negotiations failed when Emperor Go-Daigo refused. Emperor Go-Daigo moved to Yoshino, and the country entered the Nanboku-cho period (1336-1392), in which two emperors existed at the same time in two different imperial courts, the Southern Court in Yoshino and the Northern Court in Kyoto.[54]
In 1338,[54][59][60] Ashikaga Takauji, like Minamoto no Yoritomo, a descendant of the Minamoto princes,[59] was awarded the title of sei-i taishōgun by Emperor Kōmyō and established the Ashikaga shogunate, which nominally lasted until 1573. The Ashikaga had their headquarters in the Muromachi district of Kyoto, and the time during which they ruled is also known as the Muromachi period.
Between 1346 and 1358, the Ashikaga shogunate gradually expanded the authority of the shugo (守護), the local military and police officials established by the Kamakura shogunate, giving the shugo jurisdiction over land disputes between gokenin (御家人) and allowing the shugo to receive half of all taxes from the areas they controlled. The shugo shared their newfound wealth with the local samurai, creating a hierarchical relationship between the shugo and the samurai, and the first early daimyo (大名, feudal lords), called shugo daimyo (守護大名), appeared.[61]
Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, the third shogun, negotiated peace with the Southern court, and in 1392 he reunited the two courts by absorbing the Southern court, ending the 58-year Nanboku-cho period. Yoshimitsu continued to hold power after passing the shogunate to his son Ashikaga Yoshimochi in 1395, becoming daijō-daijin (太政大臣, Chancellor of the Realm), the highest rank of the nobility, and remaining in power until his death in 1408.[62]
In 1428, Ashikaga Yoshimochi, the fourth shogun, was ill and the question of his succession arose. Ashikaga Yoshikazu, the 5th shogun, died of illness at the age of 19, so the 6th shogun was chosen from among Yoshimochi's four brothers, and to ensure fairness, a lottery was held. The sixth shogun was Ashikaga Yoshinori. However, he was not educated to be a shogun, and his temperamental and despotic behavior caused resentment, and he was assassinated by Akamatsu Mitsusuke during the Kakitsu Rebellion. This led to instability in the Ashikaga shogunate system.[63][64]
Ashikaga Yoshimasa, the 8th shogun, tried to strengthen the power of the shogun, but his close associates did not follow his instructions, leading to political chaos and increasing social unrest. Since he had no sons, he tried to install his younger brother Ashikaga Yoshimi as the ninth shogun, but when his wife Hino Tomiko gave birth to Ashikaga Yoshihisa, a conflict arose among the shugo daimyo as to whether Yoshimi or Yoshihisa would be the next shogun. The Hatakeyama and Shiba clans were also divided into two opposing factions over succession within their own clans, and Hosokawa Katsumoto and Yamana Sōzen, who were father-in-law and son-in-law, were politically at odds with each other.[63][65]
In 1467, these conflicts finally led to the Ōnin War between the Eastern Army, led by Hosokawa Katsumoto and including Hatakeyama Masanaga, Shiba Yoshitoshi, and Ashikaga Yoshimi, and the Western Army, led by Yamana Sōzen and including Hatakeyama Yoshinari, Shiba Yoshikado, and Ashikaga Yoshihisa. In 1469, the war spread to the provinces, but in 1473, Hosokawa Katsumoto and Yamana Sōzen, the leaders of both armies, were dead, and in 1477, the war ended when the western lords, including Hatakeyama Yoshinari and Ōuchi Masahiro, withdrew their armies from Kyoto.[63][65]
The war devastated Kyoto, destroying many aristocratic and samurai residences, Shinto shrines, and Buddhist temples, and undermining the authority of the Ashikaga shoguns, greatly reducing their control over the various regions. Thus began the Sengoku period, a period of civil war in which the daimyo of various regions fought to expand their own power.[63][65] Daimyo who became more powerful as the shogunate's control weakened were called sengoku daimyo (戦国大名), and they often came from shugo daimyo, shugodai (守護代, deputy shugo), and kokujin or kunibito (国人, local masters). In other words, sengoku daimyo differed from shugo daimyo in that sengoku daimyo was able to rule the region on his own, without being appointed by the shogun.[61]
In 1492, Hosokawa Masamoto, the kanrei (管領), second in rank to the shogun in the Ashikaga shogunate, and the equivalent of Shikken (執権) in the Kamakura shogunate, staged a coup, banished the 10th shogun, Ashikaga Yoshitane, from Kyoto, and installed Ashikaga Yoshizumi as the 11th shogun, making the shogun a puppet of the Hosokawa clan.[66] Hosokawa Takakuni, who came to power later, installed Ashikaga Yoshiharu as the 12th shogun in 1521.[67] In 1549, Miyoshi Nagayoshi banished the 12th shogun and his son Ashikaga Yoshiteru from Kyoto and seized power. From this point on, the Miyoshi clan continued to hold power in and around Kyoto until Oda Nobunaga entered Kyoto in 1568.[68]
By the time of the 13th shogun, Ashikaga Yoshiteru, the shogun already had few direct fiefs and direct military forces, and his sphere of influence was limited to a few lands around Kyoto, losing both economic and military power. As a result, Ashikaga Yoshiteru was often chased out of Kyoto by the sengoku daimyo Miyoshi Nagayoshi and his forces, and was finally killed in an attack by the forces of Miyoshi Yoshitsugu and Matsunaga Hisahide. Ashikaga Yoshiteru was known as a great swordsman and was a student of Tsukahara Bokuden, who was known as one of the strongest swordsmen.[69] According to Yagyū Munenori, a swordsmanship instructor in the Tokugawa Shogunate, Ashikaga Yoshiteru was one of the five best swordsmen of his time. According to several historical books, including Luís Fróis' Historia de Japam, he fought hard with naginata and tachi during a raid, defeating many of his enemies, but eventually ran out of strength and was killed.[70]
The Azuchi-Momoyama period refers to the period when Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi were in power.[71] They and Tokugawa Ieyasu are the three unifiers of Japan.[72] The name "Azuchi-Momoyama" comes from the fact that Nobunaga's castle, Azuchi Castle, was located in Azuchi, Shiga, and Fushimi Castle, where Hideyoshi lived after his retirement, was located in Momoyama.[71] Although the two leaders of the warrior class during this period were not given the title of sei-i taishōgun (征夷大将軍, shogun), Oda Nobunaga was given a title almost equal to it, and Toyotomi Hideyoshi a higher one.[7][73]
This era began when Oda Nobunaga expelled Ashikaga Yoshiaki from Kyoto and destroyed the Ashikaga shogunate. Adopting an innovative military strategy using tanegashima (種子島, matchlock gun) and an economic policy that encouraged economic activity by the common people, he rapidly expanded his power, defeating a series of sengoku daimyo and armed Buddhist temple forces to unify the central part of Japan.[74]
Nobunaga was given the title of udaijin (右大臣, Minister of the Right), an official position as the number three in the imperial court since ancient times, and the title of ukon'e no taishō (右近衛大将, Major Captain of the Right Division of Inner Palace Guards), which meant leader of the warrior class. This title was a highly prestigious title given to the leader of the warrior class, similar to the title sei-i taishōgun (征夷大将軍, shogun). This was the first time since Minamoto no Sanetomo in 1218 that a member of the warrior class had been appointed udaijin. Previously, the only warrior class members appointed to higher positions than udaijin were Taira no Kiyomori and Ashikaga Yoshimitsu as daijō-daijin (太政大臣, Chancellor of the Realm), and Ashikaga Yoshinori and Ashikaga Yoshimasa as sadaijin (左大臣, Minister of the Left).[75][73][76] Nobunaga was betrayed by his vassal Akechi Mitsuhide, who died in the Honnō-ji incident. It is believed that about a month before his death, Nobunaga was approached by the imperial court to accept one of the following positions: kampaku (関白, Imperial Regent), daijō-daijin, or shogun.[77][78][9][10] As a result, he was posthumously promoted to daijō-daijin in 1582.[10]
Toyotomi Hideyoshi, a general under Nobunaga, conquered Shikoku, Kyushu, Kantō, and the Tohoku after Nobunaga's death, completing Nobunaga's attempt to unify Japan.[79] Despite his peasant background, he rose through the ranks under Nobunaga, becoming ashigaru (足軽, infantry), samurai, sengoku daimyo, and finally, after Nobunaga's death, kampaku and daijō-daijin. It was the first time in history that a non-aristocrat by birth became a kampaku. He obtained these titles, the highest ranks of the aristocracy, by being adopted into the Konoe family and formally becoming an aristocrat. He then passed the position and title of kampaku to his nephew, Toyotomi Hidetsugu. He remained in power as taikō (太閤), the title of retired kampaku, until his death. There are various theories as to why he refused or failed to receive the title of shogun, but the fact that he came from a peasant background seems to have had something to do with it. Hideyoshi died of illness at Fushimi Castle at the age of 63.[6][7][80]
Before his death, Hideyoshi ordered that Japan be ruled by a council of the five most powerful sengoku daimyo, go-tairō (五大老, Council of Five Elders), and Hideyoshi's five retainers, go-bugyō (五奉行, Five Commissioners), until his only heir, the five-year-old Toyotomi Hideyori, reached the age of 16.[80] However, having only the young Hideyori as Hideyoshi's successor weakened the Toyotomi regime. Today, the loss of all of Hideyoshi's adult heirs is considered the main reason for the downfall of the Toyotomi clan.[81][82][83]Hideyoshi's younger brother, Toyotomi Hidenaga, who had supported Hideyoshi's rise to power as a leader and strategist, had already died of illness in 1591, and his nephew, Toyotomi Hidetsugu, who was Hideyoshi's only adult successor, was forced to commit seppuku in 1595 along with many other vassals on Hideyoshi's orders for suspected rebellion.[81][82][83]
In this politically unstable situation, Maeda Toshiie, one of the go-tairō, died of illness, and Tokugawa Ieyasu, one of the go-tairō' who had been second in power to Hideyoshi but had not participated in the Imjin War, rose to power, and Ieyasu came into conflict with Ishida Mitsunari, one of the go-bukyō and others. This conflict eventually led to the Battle of Sekigahara, in which the tō-gun (東軍, eastern army) led by Ieyasu defeated the sei-gun (西軍, western army) led by Mitsunari, and Ieyasu nearly gained control of Japan.[80]
Ruled by 15 Tokugawa shoguns, the Edo period (1603–1868) saw dramatic economic and cultural development, fostered by a relatively peaceful society. Edo (now Tokyo) became the largest city in the world at the time, Genroku and Kasei cultures flourished, and chōnin (町人, townspeople) enjoyed a variety of cultural activities such as ukiyo-e, kabuki, bunraku, rakugo, kōdan, haiku, and literature.[84][85]
The Edo period began in 1603 when Tokugawa Ieyasu was given the title of sei-i taishōgun (征夷大将軍, shogun) and established the Tokugawa shogunate in Edo (now Tokyo).[86] Ieyasu set a precedent in 1605 when he retired as shogun in favour of his son Tokugawa Hidetada, though he maintained power from behind the scenes as Ōgosho (大御所, cloistered shogun).[87]
In order to establish the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate, he exchanged the fiefdoms of various daimyo to increase or decrease their areas of control. The fudai daimyo (譜代大名) who had sided with Tokugawa Ieyasu before the Battle of Sekigahara were reassigned to various locations between Edo, the base of the Tokugawa shogunate, and Osaka, where Toyotomi Hideyoshi's concubine, Yodo-dono, and his son, Toyotomi Hideyori, were located. On the other hand, he reassigned the tozama daimyo (外様大名) who had submitted to Tokugawa Ieyasu after the Battle of Sekigahara, to remote areas separated from politically important regions. Then, in 1614 and 1615, he twice attacked Osaka Castle, forcing Yodo-dono and Toyotomi Hideyori to commit suicide and destroying the Toyotomi clan (Siege of Osaka), thereby eliminating any resistance that might have stood in the way of Tokugawa rule in Japan and consolidating the power of the Tokugawa shogunate.[86]
In 1615, the Tokugawa shogunate enacted the Kinchu narabini kuge shohatto (禁中並公家諸法度, Laws for the Imperial and Court Officials) to control the imperial court. The first article implied that the emperor should not be involved in politics and that what he did should be academic. The following articles regulated the appointment of the sesshō (摂政, Imperial Regent for Minor Emperors) and kampaku (関白, Imperial Regent for Adult Emperors), as well as detailed regulations on the dress of the emperor and the court nobles. It also stipulated that the shogunate could intervene in the revision of the era name, which had originally been the prerogative of the imperial court. It also stipulated that nobles could be exiled if they disobeyed the orders of the shogunate.[88] During the Edo period, effective power rested with the Tokugawa shogun, not the Emperor in Kyoto, even though the former ostensibly owed his position to the latter. The shogun controlled foreign policy, the military, and feudal patronage. The role of the Emperor was ceremonial, similar to the position of the Japanese monarchy after the Second World War.[89]
In 1617, a month before his death, Ieyasu was appointed daijō-daijin (太政大臣, Chancellor of the Realm).[90]
The fifth shogun, Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, enforced an animal protection law called the Shōrui awaremi no rei (生類憐みの令) from 1685 to 1709. According to earlier theories, this was a bad law that demanded extreme animal protection and severe punishment for violators. Today, however, the law is seen as less extreme and more protective of human life, and is credited with sweeping away the rough and tumble spirit of the people that had persisted since the Sengoku period and improving the sense of ethics among the Japanese people.[91][92]
In the early Edo period, Japan was the world's largest producer of gold and silver, but by the second half of the 17th century, these resources had been almost completely depleted, and most of the gold and silver produced was shipped out of the country, leaving the shogunate in financial difficulties. The eighth shogun, Tokugawa Yoshimune, implemented a series of reforms known as the Kyōhō Reforms. He reduced the shogunate's expenses while increasing revenue by requiring feudal lords to contribute rice to the shogunate in exchange for cutting the length of sankin-kōtai (参勤交代) in half. He increased the revenue of the shogunate by 20% by encouraging the development of new rice fields. He also encouraged the cultivation of cash crops such as sweet potatoes and sugar cane, which allowed agriculture to flourish and increased tax revenues. He issued new money with a reduced gold content to prevent price increases. He learned from the Great Fire of Meireki, which killed 100,000 people, and built extensive roads and firebreaks around the city. He established a meyasubako (目安箱, complaints box) to receive petitions from the common people, which led to the formation of a firefighting organization by the townspeople and the establishment of a Koishikawa Yojosho (Koishikawa Hospital) where the common people could receive medical care.[93]
Tanuma Okitsugu, who held the position of rōjū (老中, Elder), during the reign of Tokugawa Ieharu, the 10th shogun, adopted a policy of mercantilism. Since the Kyōhō Reforms of Tokugawa Yoshimune had already made it impossible to collect more taxes from the peasants, Okitsugu began collecting taxes in exchange for granting exclusive business rights to the kabunakama (株仲間, merchant guilds). To stimulate commerce, he also attempted to unify the monetary system by minting a large number of new coins that could be conveniently used in both eastern Japan, where gold coins were widely used, and western Japan, where silver coins were widely used, and distributing them throughout Japan.[94]
Tokugawa Ienari, the 11th shogun, ruled the shogunate for 54 years, first as shogun from 1787 to 1837 and then as Ōgosho from 1837 to 1841. His 50-year reign was the longest of any shogun. Prior to his reign, Japan had suffered major earthquakes, several volcanic eruptions, droughts, floods and urban fires, and the finances of the shogunate were strained. Therefore, during Ienari's reign, from 1787 to 1793, Matsudaira Sadanobu led the Kansei Reforms to improve the finances of the shogunate. After Ienari's death, from 1841 to 1843, Mizuno Tadakuni led the Tenpo Reforms, but the effects of these reforms were limited.[85]
Successive shoguns held the highest or near-highest court ranks, higher than most court nobles. They were made Shō ni-i (正二位, Senior Second Rank) of court rank upon assuming office, then Ju ichi-i (従一位, Junior First Rank), and the highest rank of Shō ichi-i (正一位, Senior First Rank) was conferred upon them upon their death. The Tokugawa shogunate established that the court ranks granted to daimyo by the imperial court were based on the recommendation of the Tokugawa shogunate, and the court ranks were used to control the daimyo.[95]
The beginning of the Bakumatsu era at the end of the Edo period is the subject of various theories, and can be dated to the 1820s and 1830s, when the shogunate's rule became unstable, or to the Tenpō Reforms of 1841–1843, or to Matthew C. Perry's arrival in Japan in 1853 and his call for the opening of the country. On the other hand, the end point is clear, when the 15th Shogun, Tokugawa Yoshinobu, returned the authority to govern Japan to Emperor Meiji.[96]
During this period, the shogunate, the imperial court, the various han (藩, daimyo domains), and the samurai were deeply divided into two factions: the Nanki faction (南紀派), which favored the shogunate's leadership in dealing with domestic and foreign crises, and the Hitotsubashi faction (一橋派), which recommended that the shogunate form a coalition with the powerful han (daimyo domain) and the imperial court. The Nanki faction favored Tokugawa Iemochi as the successor to the 13th shogun, Tokugawa Iesada, while the Hitotsubashi favored Tokugawa Yoshinobu. When the shogunate concluded the Convention of Kanagawa in 1854 and the Treaty of Amity and Commerce in 1858, the Hitotsubashi faction opposed these treaties, but the shogunate captured and executed them in the Ansei Purge. In retaliation, Hitotsubashi samurai assassinated Ii Naosuke, the tairō (大老, Great Elder) in the Sakuradamon Incident. To win over the Hitotsubashi faction, the shogunate advocated a Kōbu gattai (公武合体, Union of the Imperial Court and the Shogunate) and welcomed Kazunomiya, the younger sister of Emperor Komei, as the wife of the 14th shogun, Tokugawa Iemochi, but the Hitotsubashi faction condemned this political marriage.[96][97]
The Chōshū Domain was the most radical, advocating the overthrow of the shogunate, emperor-centered politics, and the defeat of foreign powers. They expanded their political power through exchanges with Sanjo Sanetomi and others in the imperial court who shared their ideology. In response, the Satsuma and Aizu domains and some aristocrats who supported the Kōbu gattai expelled Sanjo Sanetomi and the Chōshū Domain from Kyoto in a political uprising on August 18 of the lunar calendar in 1863. In 1864, some forces of the Chōshū Domain marched toward Kyoto in the Kinmon incident, but the combined forces of the shogunate, the Satsuma Domain, and the Aizu Domain defeated the Chōshū Domain. In 1864, the Shogunate sent a large force against the rebellious Chōshū Domain in the First Chōshū expedition. The Shogunate won the war without a fight, as the leaders of the Chōshū Domain committed seppuku. Meanwhile, the Chōshū Domain was defeated by foreign allied forces in the Shimonoseki campaign, and the Satsuma Domain engaged the British forces in the Bombardment of Kagoshima. Both domains realized that Japan was militarily behind the Western powers, and they promoted reforms within their domains while strengthening their will to overthrow the shogunate.[96][97]
In 1866, Sakamoto Ryōma brokered a dramatic reconciliation between the previously hostile Chōshū and Satsuma domains, and the Chōshū and Satsuma domains formed the Satchō Alliance. In 1866, the shogunate launched the Second Chōshū expedition, but was defeated by the Chōshū Domain, severely damaging the shogunate's prestige. The Satsuma Domain refused the shogunate's order to go to war. In 1867, the 15th shogun, Tokugawa Yoshinobu, finally returned power to Emperor Meiji, ending the Edo period and 700 years of shogunate rule over Japan.[96][97][98]
From 1868 to 1869, the imperial forces, led by the Chōshū and Satsuma domains, and the former shogunate forces, led by the Aizu Domain, fought the Boshin War, which the imperial forces won. With this war, the domestic pacification of the imperial forces was nearly complete, and with the Meiji Restoration, Japan began to rapidly modernize and emerge as an international military and economic power. The rapid modernization of Japan during the Meiji era (1868–1912) was aided by the fact that, under the rule of successive Tokugawa shoguns, many Japanese were educated in terakoya (寺子屋, private elementary schools) and had a thriving publishing culture.[97][99]
The Satsuma Rebellion of 1877 was the last battle between the imperial forces and the disenfranchised ex-samurai and the last civil war in Japan. As a result of this war, the warrior class ended its history.[100]
The Honjō Masamune was inherited by successive shoguns and it represented the Tokugawa shogunate.[101] It was crafted by swordsmith Masamune (1264–1343) and recognized as one of the finest Japanese swords in history. After World War 2, in December 1945, Tokugawa Iemasa gave the sword to a police station at Mejiro and it went missing.[102][103]
During the reign of the third shogun, Tokugawa Iemitsu, the ōoku (大奥, great interior) at Edo Castle was expanded at the suggestion of his nanny, Lady Kasuga, to ensure the birth of a male heir to the shogun's lineage, and became a vast shogun's harem with nearly 1,000 women working as maidservants. The women of ōoku were highly hierarchical, with the official wife (御台所, midaidokoro) of the shogun, who was of aristocratic lineage, ruling at the top, and the older women who had served her for a long time actually controlling ōoku. The women who worked as maidservants in ōoku were daughters of the hatamoto (旗本), a high-ranking class of samurai, and they had servants from the chōnin (町人, townspeople) and peasants who worked for them. Even low-ranking servants were treated as concubines of the shogun if they bore his children. One such example was Otama, the daughter of a grocer, who gave birth to the fifth shogun, Tokugawa Ietsuna. The ōoku was also used to ensure the Tokugawa shogun's rule over the country by arranging political marriages between the shogun's children and the children of daimyo in various regions. The ōoku continued until 1868, when the Tokugawa shogunate was dissolved.[104][105][106]
The Owari, Kishū (Kii), and Mito Tokugawa families, called the gosanke (御三家, the Three Houses of the Tokugawa), founded by the children of Tokugawa Ieyasu, were the second most prestigious family after the shogun's family, and if the shogun's family failed to produce an heir, a male member of one of the three families was installed as shogun. For example, the 8th shogun, Tokugawa Yoshimune, and the 14th shogun, Tokugawa Iemochi, were originally heads of the Kishū Tokugawa family.[107]
In order to keep the shogun's lineage alive, the 8th Shogun, Yoshimune, had his children establish the Tayasu, Hitotsubashi, and Shimizu Tokugawa families, which were called the gosankyō (御三卿, Three Lords) and were treated as the second most prestigious daimyo after the Gosanke. Of these, the Hitotsubashi Tokugawa family produced the 11th shogun, Tokugawa Ienari. His son Tokugawa Ieyoshi became the 12th shogun, and Ieyoshi's son Tokugawa Iesada became the 13th shogun. Tokugawa Yoshinobu became the 15th shogun after being adopted by the Hitotsubashi Tokugawa family from the Mito Tokugawa family.[107] The head of Gosankyō had the privilege of entering the ōoku, where men were forbidden.[105]
The term bakufu (幕府, "tent government") originally meant the dwelling and household of a shogun, but in time, became a metonym for the system of government dominated by a feudal military monarchy, exercised in the name of the shogun or by the shogun himself.[108][109] Therefore, various bakufu held absolute power over the country (territory ruled at that time) with limited interruptions between 1192 and 1867, glossing over actual power, clan and title transfers.
The shogunate system was originally established under the Kamakura shogunate by Minamoto no Yoritomo after the Genpei War, although theoretically the state, and therefore the Emperor, still held de jure ownership of all land in Japan. The system had some feudal elements, with lesser territorial lords pledging their allegiance to greater ones. Samurai were rewarded for their loyalty with agricultural surplus, usually rice, or labor services from peasants. In contrast to European feudal knights, samurai were not landowners.[110] The hierarchy that held this system of government together was reinforced by close ties of loyalty between the daimyō, samurai, and their subordinates.
Each shogunate was dynamic, not static. Power was constantly shifting and authority was often ambiguous. The study of the ebbs and flows in this complex history continues to occupy the attention of scholars. Each shogunate encountered competition. Sources of competition included the Emperor and the court aristocracy, the remnants of the imperial governmental systems, the daimyōs, the shōen system, the great temples and shrines, the sōhei, the shugo and jitō, the jizamurai and early modern daimyō. Each shogunate reflected the necessity of new ways of balancing the changing requirements of central and regional authorities.[111]
Since Minamoto no Yoritomo turned the figure of the shogun into a permanent and hereditary position and until the Meiji Restoration, there were two ruling classes in Japan:
No shogun tried to usurp the throne, even when they had at their disposal the military power of the territory. There were two reasons primarily:[115]
Unable to usurp the throne, the shoguns sought throughout history to keep the emperor away from the country's political activity, relegating them from the sphere of influence. One of the few powers that the imperial house could retain was that of being able to "control time" through the designation of the Japanese Nengō or Eras and the issuance of calendars.[116]
Emperors twice tried to recover the power they enjoyed before the establishment of the shogunate. In 1219 the Emperor Go-Toba accused the Hōjō as outlaws. Imperial troops mobilized, leading to the Jōkyū War (1219–1221), which would culminate in the third Battle of Uji (1221). During this, the imperial troops were defeated and the emperor Go-Toba was exiled.[117] With the defeat of Go-Toba, the samurai government over the country was confirmed.[117] At the beginning of the fourteenth century the Emperor Go-Daigo decided to rebel, but the Hōjō, who were then regents, sent an army from Kamakura. The emperor fled before the troops arrived and took the imperial insignia.[118] The shogun named his own emperor, giving rise to the era Nanboku-chō period (南北朝, lit. "Southern and Northern Courts").
During the 1850s and 1860s, the shogunate was severely pressured both abroad and by foreign powers. It was then that various groups angry with the shogunate for the concessions made to the various European countries found in the figure of the emperor an ally through which they could expel the Tokugawa shogunate from power. The motto of this movement was Sonnō jōi (尊王攘夷, "Revere the Emperor, Eject the Barbarians") and they finally succeeded in 1868, when imperial power was restored after centuries of being in the shadow of the country's political life.[119]
Today, the head of the Japanese government is the Prime Minister. The usage of the term "shogun" has nevertheless continued in colloquialisms. A retired Prime Minister who still wields considerable power and influence behind the scenes is called a "shadow shogun" (闇将軍, yami shōgun),[120] a sort of modern incarnation of the cloistered rule. Examples of "shadow shoguns" are former Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka and the politician Ichirō Ozawa.[121]
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