In previous centuries Japan was ruled by the emperor and his imperial court, but during the late twelfth century the court began to lose their power to that of clans. Minamoto no Yoritomo, the leader of his clan and victor of the Genpei War, decided to locate his capital in Kamakura, while governing the sharing power of Japan with the Emperor Go-Toba, who gave him the title shogun, which resided in Kyoto. Thus, establishing the first warrior government with a new notion, as stated by Jeffrey P. Mass states in “Identity, Personal Names, and Kamakura Society”, that Minamoto-led bakufu embraced warriors from all clans.
Kamakura is stated by David Spafford, as taking its name from the ocean-side town of the same name in Sagami. (7) On the city’s south side expands the Pacific Ocean, on the other three sides lie fortifiable hills that made the capital a military center. Much like its partner, Kyoto was surrounded but by mountains and rivers (Stavros 12). Nevertheless, Kamakura was a strategic position in that it not only was it connected to Yoritomo’s family, but defensible. According to Pierre Francois Souyri, the author of The World Turned Upside Down: Medieval Japanese Society, “The appointment of stewards and military governors by the Kamakura regime upset the …show more content…
The aristocrats of Kyoto were some of the best educated and skilled men of the imperial court. Improvements to agriculture and markets increased Kyoto’s commerce. In order to sustain its growing military, Kamakura had to rely on China trade routes. Goble states, “—Kamakura has a positive attitude towards the accumulation of wealth through trade and commerce.” (21) Due to the drain on Kamakura’s economy from fighting off the Mongols it was starving for new forms of revenue. Some forms of this new trade would later be connected that of the Japanese
Kamakura is stated by David Spafford, as taking its name from the ocean-side town of the same name in Sagami. (7) On the city’s south side expands the Pacific Ocean, on the other three sides lie fortifiable hills that made the capital a military center. Much like its partner, Kyoto was surrounded but by mountains and rivers (Stavros 12). Nevertheless, Kamakura was a strategic position in that it not only was it connected to Yoritomo’s family, but defensible. According to Pierre Francois Souyri, the author of The World Turned Upside Down: Medieval Japanese Society, “The appointment of stewards and military governors by the Kamakura regime upset the …show more content…
The aristocrats of Kyoto were some of the best educated and skilled men of the imperial court. Improvements to agriculture and markets increased Kyoto’s commerce. In order to sustain its growing military, Kamakura had to rely on China trade routes. Goble states, “—Kamakura has a positive attitude towards the accumulation of wealth through trade and commerce.” (21) Due to the drain on Kamakura’s economy from fighting off the Mongols it was starving for new forms of revenue. Some forms of this new trade would later be connected that of the Japanese