'Rule by the Military Houses'
Towards the end of the twelfth century, Japan's government underwent a transformation
that would determine its character for the next seven hundred years. The change was
brought about in the 1180's by a shift in the balance of power within Japan to the
military houses. This new age of military rule could be considered as having been feudal.
The civil aristocracy that existed as the leading power prior to this feudalism was
dislocated by the institution of vassalage and particularly by the loyalty of individual
vassals to the heads of military houses. These vassals were men from the provinces, "men
of substance", that answered to the call of order and security. What actually transformed
the fighting men into vassals was the unbreakable bond between military leaders and
followers, which was kept vivid by the loyal service of the warrior and the rewards of
the leader. It was through these rewards that the provincial shoen manager class could
hope to better themselves and cease to be subordinates of the civilian families at the
court.
As the influence of the military houses started to grow rapidly throughout Japan, the
dispute over the leadership of the warrior class was eminent between the Minamoto and the
Taira clans. The Heiji Disturbance (1156) marked the success of the Taira over the
Minamoto. However, the power of the Taira lasted only twenty years as the Minamoto
quickly recovered sweeping the Taira into stupor. The power of the Taira clan rested
under the hands of Taira Kiyomori. Although not known for having been too clever,
Kiyomori is recognized for having strengthened the connection with China through the
improvement of ports and navigation. He is also recognized for having been very human in
character in being more responsive to feminine appeal than to his advisers' petitions in
sparing the lives of the young sons of his defeated foe, Minamoto Yoshitomo (1123-60).
This act of forbearance would return to haunt him as these predecessors were soon turned
into the Regents of the Minamoto clan. Before his death, Yoshitomo was witness to the
beginning of the fall of the House of Taira. Four years later, the Minamoto forces
defeated the Taira.
The Heike Monogatari (Tale of the House of Taira) is the literary commemoration of the
rise and fall of the House of Taira and is one of Japan's greatest war tale. It is often
compared to the European epic The Song of Roland as they share much in common. They are
both considered heroic tales of battle with religious emphasis. The Japanese version is
"suffused with Buddhist attitudes towards an 'unhallowed and degenerate age' and the
'impermanence of all things'". The two great figures of the story are Taira Kiyomori and
Yoshitune of the Minamoto. The former is pictured as having grown arrogant with power
and thus, having met a terrible death which was credited to the evil karma he had
accumulated. The later is considered one of Japan's greatest heroes and is compared to
Roland in the European epic. He was a brilliant warrior who capped a succession of
victories, which allowed for attributes such as loyalty, self-confidence and naive
egotism to be assigned to him. Ironically, this very egotism that made him a hero of one
of the greatest war tales in Japanese history was the cause of his fatal quarrel with his
older brother Yoritomo, the head of the Minamoto clan. This tale serves as a model of
what Japan was like in the early period of the rule by the military houses.
"A History of Japan: Rule by the Military Houses"
Due to a shift in the balance of power within Japan in the 1180's, a change that would
alter the country's character for time to come was brought about by the rule of the
military houses. The military leaders were empowered by their loyal warriors throughout
Japan and kept them loyal through constant rewards. As the rule of the military rose, the
warriors no longer considered themselves subordinates to the court. The two major clans
of the military that eventually confronted themselves for leadership were the Taira and
the Minamoto. 1156 marked the short, twenty-year defeat of the Taira over the Minamoto.
The Tale of the House of Taira (Heike Monogatari) is one of Japan's utmost war tales, as
it is the vivid tribute to the rise and fall of the House of Taira. In essence, it is
quite religious as it makes continuous reference to Buddhist attitudes. The two major
figures of the story are the leader of the Taira clan called Kiyomori, and his bane, the
foreman of the Minamoto called Yoshitune. Kiyomori is depicted as having been quite
arrogant in nature and having fallen victim of his own pride and success. His dreadful
death is said to have been the result of a lifetime of bad karma rather than old age. His
counterpart, Yoshitune is highly elated throughout the tale and is thus considered one of
Japan's most popular heroes. He is said to have had the elements of a true epic hero,
which made him capable of attaining all of his successive triumphs. The tale ends with
the death of Kiyomori's daughter, thus marking the fall of the House of Taira and the
rise of the House of Minamoto.
The history of the rule of Japan's military houses continued for several hundred years
after the fall of the House of Taira. As Yoshitune captured the victory over the Taira
clan, the House of Minamoto took over the military rule of Japan. The head of the
Minamoto was Yoritomo, Yoshitune's brother. In believing that his brother trivialized the
Minamoto solidarity by his overwhelming defeat over the Taira, he decided to hound him
and his family to death four years later. He felt threatened by all the attention that
Yoshitune had been getting and rejecting repeated declaration of loyalty from him, he
decided to put and end to his brother "subversive" power. As several epic tales suggest,
the contrast between Yoshitune and Yoritomo could not have been greater. Although
Yoritomo is considered as having destroyed many of his own blood relations, he is also
seen as having been the wise builder of institutions of government that worked quite well
for Japan. For example, the bakufu was a system of military government that Yoritomo and
his associates devised and that represented the core of the rule of the military houses.
His success was in part due to his ability to convert men and institutions from a wartime
function to a peacetime one. As it is characteristic of Japanese government through the
majority of its history that institutions have been controlled by a succession of men
from great families who "served" nominal leaders, so it was with the Kamakura bakufu.
After the death of Yoritomo, two of his sons successively held the title of shogun and
thereafter, the office was filled by persons adopted by into the Minamoto family, known
later as the Hojo Regency. Under this Regency, several threats such as the Mongol
invasions were withstood, while others such as the need to regain power from the reigning
emperor Go-Daigo weakened the rule of the military houses.
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