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Haimyō
This is the glossary of Japanese history including the major terms, titles and events the casual (or brand-new) reader might find useful in understanding articles on the subject. A *'' ashigaru'' (足輕) – feudal foot soldiers drawn from the peasant or commoner class, rather than from the samurai hereditary warrior class. *''Ashikaga'' – ''bushi'' clan from Kamakura whose members ruled as ''shōguns'' over Japan from 1336 to 1573. B *'' bakufu'' (幕府) – a ''shōgun''s government; commonly called "shogunate" in English. * '' bettō'' (別當) – the head of a civilian, military or religious institution. *'' bugyō'' (奉行) – a magistrate. Examples include the Edo period ''machibugyō'' who administered the city during the Edo period. *'' bushi'' (武士) – a member of the warrior class (a samurai). *'' bushidō'' (武士道) – purported warrior code of honor, analogous to Western chivalry. C *''chōnin'' (町人, "townsman") - a social class that emerged i ...
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Ashigaru
were infantry employed by the samurai class of feudal Japan. The first known reference to ''ashigaru'' was in the 14th century, but it was during the Ashikaga shogunate (Muromachi period) that the use of ''ashigaru'' became prevalent by various warring factions. Origins Attempts were made in Japan by Emperor Tenmu (673–686) to have a conscripted national army, but this did not come about, and by the 10th century Japan instead relied on individual landowners to provide men for conflicts and wars. These horse-owning landowners were the beginnings of the samurai class and the men who worked the land for the landowners became the common foot soldiers during times of war. These foot soldiers could have long ties and loyalty to the landowners which went back many generations. Land-owning samurai, together with peasant foot soldiers, fought in many wars and conflicts including the Mongol invasions of Japan in 1274 and 1281. Constant warfare between the 14th and 16th centuries made ...
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Fudai Daimyō
was a class of ''daimyō'' (大名) in the Tokugawa Shogunate (徳川幕府) of Japan who were hereditary vassals of the Tokugawa before the Battle of Sekigahara. ''Fudai daimyō'' and their descendants filled the ranks of the Tokugawa administration in opposition to the ''tozama daimyō'' and held most of the power in Japan during the Edo period. Origins ''Fudai daimyōs'' originated from the families and clans who had served the prominent Tokugawa clan before its rise to national primacy during the Azuchi–Momoyama period in the late Sengoku period, including the Honda, Sakai, Sakakibara, Ii, Itakura, and Mizuno clans. A number of other clans which were not retainers of the Tokugawa before the Azuchi–Momoyama period also came to be counted as ''fudai'', such as the Ogasawara and the Doi. Honda Tadakatsu, Sakakibara Yasumasa, Sakai Tadatsugu, and Ii Naomasa — Tokugawa Ieyasu's " Four Great Generals" — were all pre-Edo period ''fudai'' who went on to become ''fudai ...
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Wakayama Domain
Wakayama may refer to: *Wakayama Prefecture, a prefecture of Japan *Wakayama (city), the capital city of Wakayama Prefecture, Japan *Wakayama Station, a train station in Wakayama, Wakayama *Wakayama University , or , is a national university located in Wakayama, Japan. It was founded in 1949 and is organized in four faculties. Organization The university is divided into the following four faculties. *Faculty of Education & Graduate School of Educatio ..., a national university in Wakayama, Wakayama People with the surname *, Japanese writer *, Japanese voice actor and actor *, Japanese voice actresses *, Japanese actor *, Japanese idol {{disambiguation, geo, surname Japanese-language surnames ...
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Owari Domain
The was a feudal domain of Japan in the Edo period. Located in what is now the western part of Aichi Prefecture, it encompassed parts of Owari, Mino, and Shinano provinces. Its headquarters were at Nagoya Castle. At its peak, it was rated at 619,500 ''koku'', and was the largest holding of the Tokugawa clan apart from the shogunal lands. The Daimyō of Owari was the Owari Tokugawa family, the first in rank among the ''gosanke''. The domain was also known as History Until the end of the Battle of Sekigahara in September 1600, the area that makes up the Owari Domain was under the control of Fukushima Masanori, head of nearby Kiyosu Castle. After the battle, however, Masanori was transferred to the Hiroshima Domain in Aki Province. Leaders Sub-domains The Owari Domain was supported by the Yanagawa Domain in Mutsu Province and the Takasu Domain in Mino Province. Yanagawa Domain The Yanagawa Domain provided 30,000 ''koku'' to the Owari Domain annually from 1683 to 1730, ...
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Tokugawa Ieyasu
was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan, which ruled Japan from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was one of the three "Great Unifiers" of Japan, along with his former lord Oda Nobunaga and fellow Oda subordinate Toyotomi Hideyoshi. The son of a minor daimyo, Ieyasu once lived as a hostage under daimyo Imagawa Yoshimoto on behalf of his father. He later succeeded as daimyo after his father's death, serving as a vassal and general of the Oda clan, and building up his strength under Oda Nobunaga. After Oda Nobunaga's death, Ieyasu was briefly a rival of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, before declaring his allegiance and fighting on his behalf. Under Toyotomi, Ieyasu was relocated to the Kanto plains in eastern Japan, away from the Toyotomi power base in Osaka. He built his castle in the fishing village of Edo (now Tokyo). He became the most powerful daimyo and the most senior officer under the Toyotomi regime. Ieyasu preserved his strength i ...
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Gosanke
The , also called simply , or even , were the most noble three branches of the Tokugawa clan of Japan: Owari, Kii, and Mito, all of which were descended from clan founder Tokugawa Ieyasu's three youngest sons, Yoshinao, Yorinobu, and Yorifusa, and were allowed to provide a shōgun in case of need.Iwanami Nihonshi Jiten, ''Tokugawa Gosanke'', ''Tokugawa Owari-ke'', ''Tokugawa Kii-ke'', and ''Tokugawa Mito-ke'' In the Edo period the term ''gosanke'' could also refer to various other combinations of Tokugawa houses, including (1) the shogunal, Owari and Kii houses and (2) the Owari, Kii, and Suruga houses (all with the court position of ''dainagon''). Later, ''Gosanke'' were deprived of their role to provide a ''shōgun'' by three other branches that are closer to the shogunal house: the ''Gosankyō''. Even after the fall of the Tokugawa shogunate and the abolition of the Edo-period system of administrative domains (''han'') the three houses continued to exist in some form, a ...
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Tokugawa Shogunate
The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 978.Nussbaum"''Edo-jidai''"at p. 167. The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil wars of the Sengoku period following the collapse of the Ashikaga shogunate. Ieyasu became the ''shōgun,'' and the Tokugawa clan governed Japan from Edo Castle in the eastern city of Edo (Tokyo) along with the ''daimyō'' lords of the ''samurai'' class.Nussbaum"Tokugawa"at p. 976. The Tokugawa shogunate organized Japanese society under the strict Tokugawa class system and banned most foreigners under the isolationist policies of ''Sakoku'' to promote political stability. The Tokugawa shoguns governed Japan in a feudal system, with each ''daimyō'' administering a ''han'' (f ...
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Gokenin
A was initially a vassal of the shogunate of the Kamakura and the Muromachi periods.Iwanami Kōjien, "Gokenin" In exchange for protection and the right to become ''jitō'' (manor's lord), a ''gokenin'' had in times of peace the duty to protect the imperial court and Kamakura. In times of war, he had to fight with his forces under the shōgun’s flag. From the mid-13th century, the fact that ''gokenin'' were allowed to become ''de facto'' owners of the land they administered, coupled to the custom that all ''gokenin'' children could inherit, brought the parcelization of the land and a consequent weakening of the shogunate. The ''gokenin'' class ceased to be a significant force during the Muromachi period and was supplanted by the figure of the ''daimyō''. During the successive Edo period, the term finally came to indicate a direct vassal of the shōgun, below an , meaning that they did not have the right to an audience with the shōgun. Etymology The terms ''gokenin'' and ''ke ...
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Genrō
was an unofficial designation given to certain retired elder Japanese statesmen who served as informal extraconstitutional advisors to the emperor, during the Meiji, Taishō, and Shōwa eras in Japanese history. The institution of ''genrō'' originated with the traditional council of elders (''Rōjū'') common in the Edo period; however, the term ''genrō'' appears to have been coined by a newspaper only in 1892. The term is sometimes confused with the ''Genrōin'' (Chamber of Elders), a legislative body which existed from 1875–1890; however, the ''genrō'' were not related to the establishment of that body or its dissolution. Experienced leaders of the Meiji Restoration were singled out by the Emperor as ''genkun'', and asked to act as Imperial advisors. With the exception of Saionji Kinmochi, all the ''genrō'' were from medium or lower ranking ''samurai'' families, four each from Satsuma and Chōshū, the two former domains that had been instrumental in the overthrow o ...
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Genpei War
The was a national civil war between the Taira and Minamoto clans during the late Heian period of Japan. It resulted in the downfall of the Taira and the establishment of the Kamakura shogunate under Minamoto no Yoritomo, who appointed himself as ''Shōgun'' in 1192, governing Japan as a military dictator from the eastern city of Kamakura. It followed a ''coup d'état'' by the Taira in 1179 with the removal of rivals from all government posts, and subsequently banishing them, and a call to arms against the Taira, led by the Minamoto in 1180. The ensuing Battle of Uji took place just outside Kyoto, starting a five-year-long war, concluding with a decisive Minamoto victory in the naval Battle of Dan-no-ura. However, it has been pointed out that the Battle of Ōshū in 1189 was the last battle during this period of civil war, as it completed Yoritomo's nationwide domination through the annexation of Northeast Japan. The name "Genpei" (sometimes romanized as ''Gempei'') come ...
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Genkō War
The , also known as the , was a civil war fought in Japan between the Emperor Go-Daigo and the Kamakura Shogunate from 1331 to 1333. The Genkō War was named after Genkō (second), Genkō, the Japanese era name, Japanese era corresponding to the period of 1331 to 1334 when the war occurred. Background Go-Daigo became Emperor of Japan in 1318 and sought to remove the Kamakura Shogunate, which had ruled Japan as a ''de facto'' military government from the city of Kamakura since the Genpei War in 1185, and restore power to civilian government under the Imperial House of Japan, Imperial House in Kyoto. The Kamakura Shogunate was indirectly ruled by the Hōjō clan as ''shikken'' – the regents of the ''Shōgun'' – and actively blocked the Emperor's manoeuvres to restore Imperial rule. Conflict First uprising In 1331, Go-Daigo plotted to seize power through force and overthrow the Kamakura Shogunate by encouraging his vassals and other anti-Hōjō ''samurai'' to rebel. However, Go ...
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