The Gempei War and the Rise of the Kamakura Shogunate (1180–1185)
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Question
What was the Gempei War?
Answer
A civil war (1180–1185) between the Taira and Minamoto clans, ending in the destruction of the Taira and the rise of Minamoto rule.
Question
Who was Taira no Kiyomori and what did he achieve?
Answer
Head of the Taira clan who dominated the imperial court from the 1160s through marriage ties and control of court offices, ruling through a figurehead emperor.
Question
What sparked the Gempei War in 1180?
Answer
Prince Mochihito's call to arms against Taira domination, urging warrior clans across Japan to rise up.
Question
Why did Minamoto no Yoritomo base his power at Kamakura rather than Kyoto?
Answer
To build a secure, independent warrior power base in the east before confronting the Taira, avoiding the corrupting influence of the court.
Question
What happened at the Battle of Dan-no-ura (1185)?
Answer
Minamoto no Yoshitsune's fleet destroyed the Taira navy; the child-emperor Antoku drowned and the Taira clan was wiped out as a political force.
Question
What is the bakufu?
Answer
The 'tent government' — the military government led by the shogun that ran alongside the emperor's court after 1185.
Question
When did Yoritomo become shogun, and what did the title mean?
Answer
1192; 'shogun' means 'great general' and gave legal legitimacy to warrior rule under imperial sanction.
Question
What were shugo and jito?
Answer
Shugo were provincial military governors; jito were estate-level land stewards. Together they extended Kamakura's direct control across Japan.
Question
What were gokenin?
Answer
Samurai 'housemen' who swore personal loyalty to the shogun in exchange for confirmed land rights.
Question
What is meant by 'dual polity' in the Kamakura period?
Answer
A system where the emperor kept ceremonial and religious authority while the shogun's bakufu held real political and military power.
Question
Name three reasons for the Minamoto's victory in the Gempei War.
Answer
Yoritomo's secure eastern power base, rewarding loyal warriors with land, and Yoshitsune's tactical/naval skill, combined with Taira alienation of allies.
Question
How did the Gempei War change the role of the emperor?
Answer
The emperor kept the throne and ceremonial functions but lost real governing power to the shogun, a decline that persisted through the Kamakura period.
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Topic 20.2 hub
Japan in the Age of the Samurai (1180–1333)
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