shogunate

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History & Society

shogunate

Q: What was the shogunate?

The shogunate was the hereditary military dictatorship of Japan (1192–1867). Legally, the shogun answered to the emperor, but, as Japan evolved into a feudal society, control of the military became tantamount to control of the country. The emperor remained in his palace in Kyōto chiefly as a symbol of power behind the shogun.

Q: What did Tokugawa Ieyasu accomplish?

The era of the shogunate spanned nearly 700 years. The warlord Tokugawa Ieyasu seized control of the shogunate in 1600 and unified Japan with a combination of organizational genius and military aptitude. The Tokugawa clan would preside over a period of peace and internal stability for more than 250 years.

Q: Where was the capital of the shogunate?

The first capital of the shogunate was Kamakura , the stronghold of the Minamoto clan . The decline of Minamoto led to the rise of the Ashikaga (or Muromachi) clan, who moved their capital to the imperial city of Kyōto . In 1603 Ieyasu Tokugawa moved the capital a final time, to Edo (modern Tokyo ).

Q: Why did the shogunate end?

The shogunate was brought down in the 1860s by a combination of peasant unrest, agitation from the warrior ( samurai ) class, and financial difficulties. The opening of Japan to Western powers was also a significant contributing factor.

Japanese history

Also known as: bakufu, shōgunshoku

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Article History

Category: History & Society

Japanese:: bakufu or shōgunshoku

Key People:: Tokugawa Ieyasu; Minamoto Yoritomo; Oda Nobunaga; Ashikaga Takauji; Tokugawa Yoshinobu

Related Topics:: Japan; government; samurai; shogun; sankin kōtai

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What was the shogunate?

What did Tokugawa Ieyasu accomplish?

Where was the capital of the shogunate?

Why did the shogunate end?

shogunate, government of the shogun, or hereditary military dictator, of Japan from 1192 to 1867. The term shogun appeared in various titles given to military commanders commissioned for the imperial government’s 8th- and 9th-century campaigns against the Ezo (Emishi) tribes of northern Japan. The highest warrior rank, seii taishōgun (“barbarian-quelling generalissimo”), was first attained by Sakanoue Tamuramaro, and the title (abbreviated as shogun) was later applied to all shogunate leaders. Legally, the shogunate was under the control of the emperor, and the shogun’s authority was limited to control of the military forces of the country, but the increasingly feudal character ...(100 of 406 words)

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