Samurai

How they formed

Mar 20, 646

The samurai, a class of highly skilled warriors, gradually developed in Japan after the Taika reforms of 646 A.D.

power

Mar 20, 1100

By 1100, the samurai effectively held both military and political power over much of Japan

Emperor Toba

Mar 20, 1156

The weak imperial line received a fatal blow to its power in 1156, when Emperor Toba died without a clear successor. His sons, Sutoku and Go-Shirakawa, fought for control in a civil war called the Hogen Rebellion.

civil war

Mar 20, 1160

During the civil war, the Minamoto and Taira samurai clans rose to prominence. They fought one another in the Heiji Rebellion of 1160. After their victory, the Taira established the first samurai-led government, or shogunate, with the emperor as a figurehead.

Kamakura period

Mar 20, 1180

The two clans fought once more in the Genpei War (1180-1185), which ended in victory for the Minamoto.

external threat

Mar 20, 1268

In 1268, an external threat appeared. Kublai Khan, the Mongol ruler of Yuan China, demanded tribute from Japan. Kyoto refused.

The Mongols invaded

Mar 20, 1274

The Mongols invaded in 1274 with 600 ships, but a typhoon destroyed their armada. A second invasion fleet in 1281 met the same fate.

the Kamakura Shogunate

Mar 20, 1333

Minamoto no Yoritomo established the Kamakura Shogunate, which ruled much of Japan until 1333. While the Kamakura were powerful, they never conquered northern and western areas of the country.

Ashikaga Takauji reasserted samurai rule

Mar 20, 1336

In 1336, the Ashikaga Shogunate under Ashikaga Takauji reasserted samurai rule, but it was weaker than the Kamakura had been. Regional constables called "daimyo" developed considerable power, meddling in the shogunate's succession.

he daimyo

Mar 20, 1460

By 1460, the daimyo were ignoring orders from the shogun, and backing different successors to the imperial throne

Ashikaga Yoshimasa

Mar 20, 1464

When the shogun, Ashikaga Yoshimasa, resigned in 1464, a dispute between backers of his younger brother and his son ignited even more intense bickering among the daimyo.

Onin War.

Mar 20, 1467

In 1467, this squabbling erupted into the decade-long Onin War. Thousands died, and Kyoto was burned to the ground.

daimyo led their clans in a fight for national dominance.

Mar 20, 1467

Between 1467 and 1573, various daimyo led their clans in a fight for national dominance. Nearly all of the provinces were engulfed in the fighting.

The Warring States Period

Mar 20, 1568

The Warring States Period began to draw to a close in 1568, when the warlord Oda Nobunaga defeated three other powerful daimyo, marched into Kyoto, and had his favorite, Yoshiaki, installed as shogun.

Hideyoshi had exiled the large Tokugawa clan from the area around Kyoto to the Kanto region in western Japan

Mar 20, 1598

Hideyoshi had exiled the large Tokugawa clan from the area around Kyoto to the Kanto region in western Japan. The Taiko died in 1598, and by 1600, Tokugawa Ieyasu had conquered the other western daimyo from his castle stronghold at Edo

eyasu's son

Mar 20, 1605

Ieyasu's son, Hidetada, became shogun of the unified country in 1605, ushering in about 250 years of relative peace and stability for Japan.