The Kamakura Shogunate

Question 1

Where did Yoritomo Minamoto move the capital to in this period?

Answer 1

Kamakura! A little fishing village that was easy to defend.

Question 2

What title did Minamoto take after winning the Genpei War?

Answer 2

‘Seii tai-shogun’. A shogun is a military dictator.

Question 3

What power did the emperor have after the Genpei War?

Answer 3

None really. He was a spiritual and symbolic figurehead. Minamoto stripped him of power and put a 3 year old on the throne after he won the Genpei War. This marks the start of the shogunate rule in Japan.

Question 4

What kind of government did Minamoto form at Kamakura?

Answer 4

A military government. He ruled from a military tent (bakufu), and this period of military dictatorship is called the Kamakura bakufu.

Question 5

What were the political features of the Kamakura shogunate? (3 things)

Answer 5

1. Feudalism
2. Increasing power of daimyo
3. The start of the shogunate (military) rule and the loss of the emperor’s power.

Question 6

What were the economic features of the Kamakura shogunate? (2 things)

Answer 6

1. Bankrupt government due to the cost of building the fortifications against the Mongols.
2. The rise in wealth of the samurai class

Question 7

What were the cultural/social features of the Kamakura shogunate? (4 things)

Answer 7

1. Strict Confucian social order.
2. Shift in art style to realism.
3. More intertwining of Buddhist and Shinto.
4. Women’s roles are more restrictive under feudalism.

Question 8

Who were the daimyo?

Answer 8

• Provincial LANDOWNERS/FEUDAL LORDS who led bands of warrior armies and administered the major domains. - They reported to the shogun.
• Their power depended upon the strength of their private armies.

Question 9

What was the arrangement between the shogun and the emperor?

Answer 9

The emperor gave the shogun LEGITAMACY in his role rather than only for his military power. The shogun gave the emperor PROTECTION whilst maintaining prestige.

Question 10

What were the 3 powers that the emperor gave to the shogun?

Answer 10

1. The right to choose his own men to ADMINISTER the provinces.
2. The right to raise TAXES.
3. The right to appoint MILITARY protectors in each province.

Question 11

How many invasions did the Mongols attempt? And were any successful? Why?

Answer 11

• TWO attempts.
• NOT successful.
• TYPHOONS destroyed their boats.

Question 12

How did the Japanese prepare for the 2nd invasion? (3 things)

Answer 12

1. Built a stone wall FORTIFICATION around Hakata Bay.
2. Amassed a large number of TROOPS.
3. TRAINED troops in the technique of group fighting used by the Mongols.

Question 13

How did the Kamakura shogunate end?

Answer 13

1. Emperor Go-Daigo had decided to return to imperial rule of Japan.
2. Ashikaga sided with the Emperor while another army loyal to Go-Daigo conquered the city of Kamakura.
3. The Hōjō (the shogun at the time) response was a mass suicide of 870 clan members in their family temple.
4. Despite the Emperor’s return to power, disputes with Ashikaga would soon lead to a new Shogunate.