Changes

Following the [[Battle of Sekigahara]] and [[Tokugawa Ieyasu|Tokugawa Ieyasu's]] grasp of the realm, Ieyasu was granted the title of ''shôgun'' in [[1603]] as head of the [[Tokugawa Bakufu]] located in [[Edo]], passing the title down to his son [[Tokugawa Hidetada|Hidetada]] two years later. The Tokugawa clan continued to reign as ''shôgun'' throughout the [[Edo Period]] until the Imperial Restoration of [[1867]].

Following the [[Battle of Sekigahara]] and [[Tokugawa Ieyasu|Tokugawa Ieyasu's]] grasp of the realm, Ieyasu was granted the title of ''shôgun'' in [[1603]] as head of the [[Tokugawa Bakufu]] located in [[Edo]], passing the title down to his son [[Tokugawa Hidetada|Hidetada]] two years later. The Tokugawa clan continued to reign as ''shôgun'' throughout the [[Edo Period]] until the Imperial Restoration of [[1867]].

Though the term ''shôgun'' is most commonly used today to refer to them, this term was scarcely used during the Edo period; to the contrary, the term most frequently employed was ''[[kubo|kubô]]'', particularly in interactions with the [[Imperial Court]], or when invoking their legitimacy and connection to Imperial power.<ref>[[Luke Roberts]], ''Performing the Great Peace: Political Space and Open Secrets in Tokugawa Japan'', University of Hawaii Press (2012), 23.</ref> Other terms for the ''shôgun'' used at the time included ''taiju'' ("great tree") and ''[[taikun]]'' ("great prince/lord").<ref>Timon Screech, ''Obtaining Images'', University of Hawaii Press (2012), 169.; the term ''Nihon kokuô'' ("King of Japan") was also used at certain times in diplomatic documents.</ref>

Though the term ''shôgun'' is most commonly used today to refer to such individuals, in the premodern and early modern periods, a number of other terms were quite frequently employed in its place. These included ''[[kubo|kubô]]'', particularly in interactions with the [[Imperial Court]], or when invoking their legitimacy and connection to Imperial power.<ref>[[Luke Roberts]], ''Performing the Great Peace: Political Space and Open Secrets in Tokugawa Japan'', University of Hawaii Press (2012), 23.</ref>; ''[[taiju]]'' ("great tree"); and ''[[taikun]]'' ("great prince/lord")<ref>Timon Screech, ''Obtaining Images'', University of Hawaii Press (2012), 169.</ref>; as well as ''Nihon kokuô'' ("King of Japan"), which was the chief term used to refer to the ''shôgun'' in diplomatic documents.

The shogun claimed legitimacy and authority in a variety of ways. He was, firstly, the head of the [[Tokugawa clan|Tokugawa house]], the premier warrior house to which all other warrior houses were directly or indirectly (through other lords) feudally loyal, and a house which claimed descent from the [[Minamoto clan]]. He was also an Imperial servant, appointed ''shôgun'' by the Emperor, and wielding high-ranking Court posts, albeit honorary ones that entailed no actual obligations. These included Minister of the Right (''[[udaijin]]''), Rector of the Junna and Shôgaku Colleges (''Junna Shôgaku ryôin bettô''), Captain of the Left Imperial Guards (''sa konoe no daishô''), and Inspector of the Left Imperial Stables (''sa meryô no gogen''). Tokugawa Ieyasu, further, was deified as ''Tôshô Daigongen'', a Shinto deity, which made him, by association, also, perhaps, akin to a [[bodhisattva]]. Finally, through the reception of embassies from neighboring polities such as [[Korean embassies to Edo|Korea]] and [[Ryukyuan embassies to Edo|Ryûkyû]], the shogun claimed legitimacy within the Neo-Confucian discourse of the enlightened ruler, source of virtue and center of civilization, whose virtue extends even to foreign realms, inspiring others to come pay homage and bring [[tribute]], for which the enlightened ruler generously bestows gifts in return.<ref>[[Mark Ravina]], ''Land and Lordship in Early Modern Japan'', Stanford University Press (1999), 26.; [[Ronald Toby]], ''State and Diplomacy in Early Modern Japan'', Princeton University Press (1984).</ref>

The shogun claimed legitimacy and authority in a variety of ways. He was, firstly, the head of the [[Tokugawa clan|Tokugawa house]], the premier warrior house to which all other warrior houses were directly or indirectly (through other lords) feudally loyal, and a house which claimed descent from the [[Minamoto clan]]. He was also an Imperial servant, appointed ''shôgun'' by the Emperor, and wielding high-ranking Court posts, albeit honorary ones that entailed no actual obligations. These included Minister of the Right (''[[udaijin]]''), Rector of the Junna and Shôgaku Colleges (''Junna Shôgaku ryôin bettô''), Captain of the Left Imperial Guards (''sa konoe no daishô''), and Inspector of the Left Imperial Stables (''sa meryô no gogen''). Tokugawa Ieyasu, further, was deified as ''Tôshô Daigongen'', a Shinto deity, which made him, by association, also, perhaps, akin to a [[bodhisattva]]. Finally, through the reception of embassies from neighboring polities such as [[Korean embassies to Edo|Korea]] and [[Ryukyuan embassies to Edo|Ryûkyû]], the shogun claimed legitimacy within the Neo-Confucian discourse of the enlightened ruler, source of virtue and center of civilization, whose virtue extends even to foreign realms, inspiring others to come pay homage and bring [[tribute]], for which the enlightened ruler generously bestows gifts in return.<ref>[[Mark Ravina]], ''Land and Lordship in Early Modern Japan'', Stanford University Press (1999), 26.; [[Ronald Toby]], ''State and Diplomacy in Early Modern Japan'', Princeton University Press (1984).</ref>