Japan 1215 CE

What is happening in Japan in 1215CE

The peace, prosperity and a brilliant court culture continued under the Fujiwara regents. However, the political and social world of the nobility was focused on the sophisticated capital, Kyoto, where they spent their lives. The countryside was unseen and ignored. Increasingly unruly and anarchic, it saw the rise of groups of warriors employed by the nobles to look after their interests in the provinces. These were the early samurai.

Civil wars broke out, resulting, in 1185, in the establishment of a military government. This is called the Kamakura shogunate, after the new capital from which the military dictator (shogun) exercised power. Its rule has re-established peace throughout the country, but henceforth the imperial court and nobility have lost most of their power. This has passed to the shogun and his samurai followers.

Next map, Japan in 1453