Changes

==Politics==

==Politics==

The Kamakura period marks a significant stage in the development of samurai rule. While the Taira clan held considerable power from the 1150s-1180s, they did so from within the Imperial court; the establishment of the Kamakura shogunate marks the first time that samurai rule, operating quite separately from the Imperial court, is asserted as a significant authority in itself. The Kamakura shogunate was never as strong as the [[Ashikaga shogunate|Ashikaga]] or [[Tokugawa shogunate]]s which succeeded it, however; it largely ruled over only the samurai, while the Court continued to govern the aristocracy, temples & shrines, and the common people. While the shogunate appointed ''[[shugo]]'' (military governors) to oversee each [[provinces|province]], the court still continued to appoint ''[[kokushi]]'' (civil governors). Further, the shogunate's authority did not extend over the entire archipelago, and there were many regions where shogunal authority was weak or non-existent. As a result, there were a number of areas in western Japan, particularly in Kyushu, but also even around Kyoto, where local groups claimed considerable power, or vied with one another for power, absent any effective control by either the Court or the shogunate. Some of these local groups came to be described as ''[[akuto|akutô]]'' (lit. "bad parties"), though this term was applied to a wide range of types of actors, from brigands, thieves, and those who sought to seize land & power by force, to those who wielded some rightful claim and simply sought to exercise or enforce that authority.<ref>Lorraine F. Harrington. "Social Control and the Significance of Akutô." in [[Jeffrey Mass]] (ed.). ''Court and Bakufu in Japan: Essays in Kamakura History''. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1982. pp221-250. </ref>

The Kamakura period marks a significant stage in the development of samurai rule. While the Taira clan held considerable power from the 1150s-1180s, they did so from within the Imperial court; the establishment of the Kamakura shogunate marks the first time that samurai rule, operating quite separately from the Imperial court, is asserted as a significant authority in itself. The Kamakura shogunate was never as strong as the [[Ashikaga shogunate|Ashikaga]] or [[Tokugawa shogunate]]s which succeeded it, however; it largely ruled over only the samurai, while the Court continued to govern the aristocracy, temples & shrines, and the common people. And powerful land-holders known as ''[[kenmon]]'' - including samurai families, court aristocrat families, temples, and shrines - continued to exert considerable local political and economic power in localities throughout the archipelago.<ref>Richard von Glahn, "The Ningbo-Hakata Merchant Network and the Reorientation of East Asian Maritime Trade, 1150-1350," ''Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies'' 74:2 (2014), 278-279.</ref> While the shogunate appointed ''[[shugo]]'' (military governors) to oversee each [[provinces|province]], the court still continued to appoint ''[[kokushi]]'' (civil governors). Further, the shogunate's authority did not extend over the entire archipelago, and there were many regions where shogunal authority was weak or non-existent. As a result, there were a number of areas in western Japan, particularly in Kyushu, but also even around Kyoto, where local groups claimed considerable power, or vied with one another for power, absent any effective control by either the Court or the shogunate. Some of these local groups came to be described as ''[[akuto|akutô]]'' (lit. "bad parties"), though this term was applied to a wide range of types of actors, from brigands, thieves, and those who sought to seize land & power by force, to those who wielded some rightful claim and simply sought to exercise or enforce that authority.<ref>Lorraine F. Harrington. "Social Control and the Significance of Akutô." in [[Jeffrey Mass]] (ed.). ''Court and Bakufu in Japan: Essays in Kamakura History''. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1982. pp221-250. </ref>

Shogunal retainers are believed to have numbered only around 2,000 in the period from 1185-[[1221]], and around 3,000 afterwards. The total population of the archipelago may have been around 9.75 million in 1300.<ref>Robert Tignor, Benjamin Elman, et al, ''Worlds Together, Worlds Apart'', vol B, Fourth Edition, W.W. Norton & Co (2014), 410.</ref>

Shogunal retainers are believed to have numbered only around 2,000 in the period from 1185-[[1221]], and around 3,000 afterwards. The total population of the archipelago may have been around 9.75 million in 1300.<ref>Robert Tignor, Benjamin Elman, et al, ''Worlds Together, Worlds Apart'', vol B, Fourth Edition, W.W. Norton & Co (2014), 410.</ref>