Kamakura (1185AD-1333AD)
The period is named Kamakura since the core of the government shifted to this city, just south of modern Tokyo. During the Kamakura Era, (about 1200 AD) Japan had their Medieval Times, not much unlike the Medieval Times in Europe. The royalty lived in impressive castles and owned large feudal estates wtih peasant tenants. Also, as the European knight defended the European lord, so the Japanese samurai defended the Japanese royalty under a strict code of honor. Japan's Middle Ages lasted until the Meiji period when feudalism was abolished.
How the Kamakura Era came about
There was a great feud between two of the most powerful warrior clans of that time, the Taira and the Minamoto. In the 1150s, the Taira defeated the Fujiwara in the Gempei War. In 1180, the emperor begged for help from the provinces, since the Taira family had taken all the high court positions and Taira-no-Kiyomori was grand minister. This sparked Minamoto Yoritomo, one of the few Minamoto leaders still surviving, to gather a large army and in 1185, his armies drove Taira out of Kyoto. The Kamakura period began as a result of the Minamoto family defeating the Taira and setting up their own military government. The emperor was very pleased and named Minamoto Yoritomo was the first shogun, or military governor. The formation of this military government, known as the bakufu ("tent government" since the sodiers lived in tents) transformed Japanese government forever. The bakufu itself was basically only concerned with issues involving the military or the police. The emperor was still technically the head of the state but the real power rested in the hands of the shogun. They controlled Japan and even though Japan's provinces were basically independent, the local lords, known as daimyo, were loyal to the shogun. Later these loyalty ties would not still hold as seen in later wars, namely the Onin War (1467-1477).
After Yoritomo died in 1199, his widow, a member of the Hojo clan and a Buddhist nun, took control from the Minamoto clan. She was known as the "Nun Shogun" and installed a different son of Yoritomo to the throne, but he was assassinated soon afterwards. These fights for supremacy ended in 1221 with the Jokyu disturbance when the Hojo defeated the Imperial army in Kyoto. The Hojo redistributed the land that was gained during the disturbance and through that action, gained the loyalty of the most influential people in the country. The Hojo, then, had the real power in the bakufu while the Minamoto, emperor and some of the governmental offices still left only held the power nominally.
Chinese Influence and Invasions
During this period, Zen and Nichiren. Buddhism are introduced from China. Zen Buddhism had a huge impact on Japan. For instance, tea became the national drink because the Zen priests drank tea to help their meditation. As for national safety, Kublai Khan and his Chinese mongols twice tried to invade Japan, in 1274 AD and 1281 AD respectively. The first attempt was stopped by strong winds and the Japanese samurai but without the strong winds, the Japanese would have surely lost to the powerful Chinese army. The second time, the Mongols were crushed by a typhoon. The Japanese called these storms, kamikaze, or divine winds.
Though the Japanese might have won, they suffered from these attacks since they were obligated to pay the fighting men but didn't gain any money or land from the fighting. So, the government had very little money and the loyalty of the fighting men was wearing thin. By 1333, their power over the country was so small that emperor Go-Daigo managed to overthrow it.
Ashikaga/Muromachi (1333AD-1568AD)
General Ashikaga Takauji became the new shogun after rebelling in 1333 against the last shogun from the Hojo clan. The capital moves to Kyoto, to the Muromachi district of which this period would receive one of its names. Kyoto will be the center of attention during this period since the Golden Pavilion of Kyoto was built during in 1397 and the Onin civil war would leave this new capital in a state of devastation. The Onin war was only the first in a string of civil wars that would occur throughout the century. This period was a time of civil unrest. Peasant uprisings and discontent only fueled the chaos.
Emperor Go-Daigo ascended the throne but between Go-Daigo and Takauji, there was a conflict of interests so Takauji rebelled against him and made a rival emperor who appointed him shogun. This resulted in civil wars until 1392 when one of the successors to Go-Daigo's throne decided to give up his claim to the throne. The Ashikaga then tried to put the civil wars behind them and reunify the country but could never fully get the full loyalty of the daimyo.
Religion and Arts
The Ashikaga period produced a a new contender for the souls of the Japanese. Portuguese traders, the first Europeans to visit Japan, in addition to introducing new Western supplies, brought the Western religion, Christianity. Sir Francis Xavier created a Jesuit mission in Japan and introduced Roman-Catholicism. Christianity had a large impact, especially on the provincial Japanese.
Though there was almost constant warfare, there was also a flourishing of the arts during this time. Zen Buddhists brought new styles of art while calligraphy became an art in itself during this time. Clothing and women's hairstyles became elaborate. Fancy gardens and music were popular in aristocratic circles.