The , also translated loosely as “commander-in-chief of the defense of the north”, was a military post in classical and feudal Japan. Under the command of the ''
seii taishōgun'', the ''chinjufu shōgun'' was primarily responsible for the pacification of the
Ezo people
The Ainu are the indigenous people of the lands surrounding the Sea of Okhotsk, including Hokkaido Island, Tōhoku region, Northeast Honshu Island, Sakhalin Island, the Kuril Islands, the Kamchatka Peninsula and Khabarovsk Krai, before the arri ...
of northern
Honshū
, historically called , is the largest and most populous island of Japan. It is located south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Straits. The island separa ...
and
Hokkaidō
is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel.
The la ...
, and Japan's defense against them.
The post was originally created during the
Nara period. A military district, called was established as the ''chinjufu shōgun's'' area of authority. It was originally located in the fortress of
Tagajō in what is now
Miyagi Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. Miyagi Prefecture has a population of 2,305,596 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of . Miyagi Prefecture borders Iwate Prefecture to the north, Akita Prefecture to the nort ...
. However, it was moved further north in 801, after the ''chinjufu shōgun'' at the time,
Sakanoue no Tamuramaro achieved a series of victories against the natives, pushing them further north. Once all of Honshū was conquered, or pacified, by the Japanese, the new base at
Isawa came to be controlled by the various samurai clans of that region. The castle, along with the ''chinjufu'' military district and the position of ''chinjufu shōgun'', was abandoned in the early 14th century.
Notable ''chinjufu shōgun''
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See also
* Frederic, Louis (2002). "Japan Encyclopedia." Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.
* "Chinjufu" was also the name of a naval station (depot), an admiralty port. During the
Meiji era
The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912.
The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization b ...
, of the naval bases at
Sasebo,
Maizuru, and
Yokosuka.
* "Chinju" or "chinju no
kami" - a local (tutelary) deity, a guardian god, a tutelary god protecting a specific geographical area. "Chinju no kami" are found in imperial residences, large mansions, Buddhist temples, and in the territories and castles of aristocratic families. They have come gradually to be worshipped as "
ujigami" or "ubusuna no kami"
[''Basic Terms of Shinto'', Kokugakuin University, Institute for Japanese Culture and Classics, Tokyo, 1985, p.4-5]
References
* ''Shin-meikai-kokugo-jiten'', Sanseido Co., Ltd, Tokyo 1974
Bibliography
* Adolphson, Mikael; Edward Kamens, Stacie Matsumoto (2007). Heian Japan: Centers and Peripheries. University of Hawaii Press. .
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chinjufu shogun
Shōguns