The Samurai and the Rise of the Shogunate

In 1185, after winning the Genpei War against the rival Taira clan, Minamoto no Yoritomo established the Kamakura Shogunate in 1192 — the first military government (bakufu) in Japanese history. The emperor in Kyoto retained his title and religious authority, but real political and military power shifted to the shogun and his samurai warriors. This dual structure — a divine but powerless emperor and a military ruler who governed in his name — would define Japanese politics for nearly 700 years, through the Kamakura (1185-1333), Muromachi (1336-1573), and Tokugawa (1603-1868) shogunates. The samurai code of bushido — emphasizing loyalty, martial skill, self-discipline, and honor unto death — became the defining ethic of the ruling class. The Kamakura period also saw the attempted Mongol invasions of 1274 and 1281, both thwarted by typhoons that the Japanese called kamikaze ("divine wind") — a term that would resurface in World War II.