Warrior Rule in Japan

Abstract

Japan was ruled by warriors for the better part of a millenium. From the twelfth to the nineteenth century its political history was dominated by the struggle of competing leagues of fighting men. This paperback volume, comprised of chapters taken from volumes 3 and 4 of The Cambridge History of Japan, traces the institutional development of warrior rule and dominance. Fourteenth-century warfare weakened the aristocratic and clerical control over provincial estates, and the power of military governors grew steadily. By the eighteenth century, however, warrior rule had come full circle. Centuries of peace brought a transformation and bureaucratization of the samurai class. Although samurai malcontents resisted the Meiji Restoration, many of the Meiji government's leaders were former samurai, and warrior values remained central to the ethical code of modern Japan.

The Emperor is dead! Long live the Emperor!: a study of institutional persistence

“…This led to the Era of Warring States (1573 -1603), an extended period of civil war. Three warlords from this period shaped the course of Japanese society until the Meiji Restoration (Jansen 1995b, Hall et al 1988Bowman 2000). Figure 2 provides a timeline of these events.…”

“…As such, these data are subject to variations in historians' interpretations and translation. To the extent possible, the 'generally accepted' account of events based upon a combination of sources (Monbusho 1893;Okuma 1909;Norman 1940;Akamatsu 1972;Beasley 1972;Westney 1987;Hunter 1989;Jansen 1995aJansen , 1995bJansen , 2000Hall et al 1988 -99;Bowman 2000) has been used. Notwithstanding this potential limitation, the events that transpired and the actions of key actors form part of the historical record, and are used accordingly as data for this study.…”

“…In the 1160s, warlord Taira-no-Kiyomori managed to seize control of the Imperial court and thereby political control. The Great Civil War (or Gempei War) between the Taira and Minamoto clans began in 1180, with the Minamoto clan ultimately victorious (Jansen 1995b). Minamoto no Yoritomo would usher in the age of the Shoguns in 1185 (Shogun means 'supreme military commander').…”

“…Moreover, dormant delegitimated structures may later be recovered and restored through relegitimation (Suchman 1995). I use the example of the Meiji Restoration in Japan (Norman 1940;Beasley 1972;Jansen 1995aJansen , 1995b to illustrate the relegitimation of a delegitimated, but not deinstitutionalized structure (Imperial rule under the Emperor). The Meiji Restoration represented a societal-level transformation of Japan from an agrarian feudal system under samurai military rule, into a modern nation state (Okuma 1909), with the consequential creative destruction (Biggart 1977) of the samurai class.…”

Covert Actions, Military

“…The greater availability of refined metal did allow a domestic firearms industry to develop, but the extent of their use varied. Jansen (1995: xiv) writes that the employment of the new technology revolutionized warfare and was the key behind military victories of the three warlords who unified Japan: Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu.…”