Far East Kingdoms

Shoguns of Japan

The title of shogun in Japan meant a military leader equivalent to general, and at various times in the first millennium shoguns held temporary power, but it became a symbol of military control over the county. The establishment of the shogunate (or bakufu) at the end of the twelfth century saw the beginning of samurai control of Japan for 700 years until the Meiji Restoration in the middle of the nineteenth century.

Heian Period

During the early Heian Period the title of shogun was given for the duration of military campaigns against the north-eastern Emishi people who resisted the governance of the Kyoto-based Imperial court. The title was abandoned in the later Heian period after the northern island Ainu had been either subjugated or driven to Hokkaido.

Otomo no Otomaro

797 - 811?

Sakanoue no Tamuramaro

813

Funya no Watamaro

940

Fujiwara no Tadabumi

1184

Minamoto no Yoshinaka

Minamotos (Kamakura Era)
AD 1192 - 1219

The Kamakura shogunate era lasted from the inception of the position in 1192 until 1338.

1192 - 1199

Yoritomo

1199

After Yoritomo's death, quarrels for supremacy start between the bakufu of Kamakura and the Imperial court in Kyoto.

1201 - 1203

Yoriie

1203 - 1219

Sanetomo

1221

The quarrels for supremacy between the shoguns and the Imperial court reach an end in the Jokyu War (or Incident) when the imperial army is defeated in Kyoto, and the Hojo Regents in Kamakura achieve complete control over Japan.

Fujiwaras
AD 1226 - 1252

1226 - 1244

Yoritsune

1244 - 1252

Yoritsugu

Imperial Princes
AD 1252 - 1336

1252 - 1266

Prince Munetake

1266 - 1289

Prince Koreyasu

1274

The first Mongol invasion is defeated through bad weather conditions, with the outnumbered Japanese facing superior and much more modern forces.

1281

The second Mongol invasion is again defeated through bad weather conditions.

1289 - 1308

Prince Hisa-akira

1308 - 1333

Prince Morkuni

1333

Prince Moriyoshi

1335 - 1336

Prince Nariyoshi

After Hojos
AD 1333 - 1338

1333 - 1334

Morinaga

1334 - 1338

Narinaga

Hojo Pretenders
AD 1331 - 1392

1331 - 1333

Kogon

1336 - 1348

Komyo

1348 - 1351

Suko

1351 - 1352

Interregnum.

1352 - 1371

Go-Kogon

1371 - 1382

Go-En'yu

1382 - 1392

Go-Komatsu

Ashikaga Pretenders
AD 1336 - 1392

1336 - 1348

Komyo

1349 - 1352

Sukô

1353 - 1371

Go-Kogon

1372 - 1381

Go-En-yu

1383 - 1392

Go-Komatsu

Ashikaga Shoguns
AD 1338 - 1573

The Hojo Regents were defeated by the Imperial court, but almost immediately the Ashikaga Shoguns seized power under Ashikaga Takauji who appointed himself shogun and held the stronger north of Japan. The imperial court was reunited in 1392, and the following Muromachi Period was dominated by the Ashikaga shogunate.

1338 - 1358

Takauji

1358 - 1367

Yoshiakira

1367 - 1395

Yoshimitsu

1395 - 1423

Yoshimochi

1423 - 1425

Yoshikazu

1428 - 1441

Yoshinori

1441 - 1443

Yoshikatsu

1449 - 1474

Yoshimasa

1474 - 1489

Yoshihisa

1490 -1493

Yoshitane

1493 - 1508

Yoshizumi

1508 - 1521

Yoshitane

1521 - 1545

Yoshiharu

1543 - 1550

The Portuguese arrive in Japan, probably the first Europeans to do so, although there are other candidates for the claim. Within seven years they establish a trading base at Nagasaki.

1545 - 1565

Yoshiteru

1568

Yoshihide

1568 - 1573

Yoshiaki

1573

The Ashikaga shogunate is ended when Yoshiaki is driven out of the capital in Kyoto by Oba Nobunaga.

Tokugawa Shoguns
AD 1603 - 1867

The Tokugawa were officially established in 1603 by the first Edo shogun, Tokugawa Ieyasu. He was the main beneficiary of the achievements of Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi.

1603 - 1605

Ieyasu

1605 - 1623

Hidetada

1623 - 1651

Iemitsu

1651 - 1680

Ietsuna

1680 - 1709

Tsunayoshi

1709 - 1712

Ienobu

1712 - 1716

Ietsugu

1716 - 1745

Yoshimune

1745 - 1760

Ieshige

1760 - 1786

Ieharu

1786 - 1837

Ienari

1837 - 1853

Ieyoshi

1853

US Commodore Matthew Perry arrives with a fleet of ships on 8 July and forces Japan to end its period of isolation. This contributes to the weakening of the shogunate, and internal factions eventually bring about its termination.

1853 - 1858

Iesada

1858 - 1866

Iemochi

1886 - 1867

Keiki / Yoshinobu

Last shogun. Died 1903.

1867

The shogun resigns. While being part of a movement which had aimed to reform the aging shogunate, Yoshinobu is ultimately unsuccessful. The Modern Period begins in Japan.