Editing Shogun (section)

===Governance structure===
The shogunate system was originally established under the [[Kamakura shogunate]] by [[Minamoto no Yoritomo]] after the [[Genpei War]], although theoretically the state, and therefore the Emperor, still held ''[[de jure]]'' ownership of all land in Japan. The system had some [[feudal]] elements, with lesser territorial lords pledging their allegiance to greater ones. [[Samurai]] were rewarded for their loyalty with agricultural surplus, usually rice, or labor services from [[peasant]]s. In contrast to European feudal [[knight]]s, samurai were not landowners.<ref>{{cite book|last=Bentley|first=Jerry|title=Traditions and Encounters|date=15 September 2006 |isbn=978-0-07-325230-8|pages=301–302|publisher=McGraw-Hill Education }}</ref> The hierarchy that held this system of government together was reinforced by close ties of loyalty between the ''[[daimyō]]'', samurai, and their subordinates.

Each shogunate was dynamic, not static. Power was constantly shifting and authority was often ambiguous. The study of the ebbs and flows in this complex history continues to occupy the attention of scholars. Each shogunate encountered competition. Sources of competition included the Emperor and the court aristocracy, the remnants of the imperial governmental systems, the ''daimyōs'', the ''[[shōen]]'' system, the great temples and shrines, the {{lang|ja-latn|[[sōhei]]}}, the ''[[shugo]]'' and ''[[jitō]]'', the ''[[jizamurai]]'' and early modern ''daimyō''. Each shogunate reflected the necessity of new ways of balancing the changing requirements of central and regional authorities.<ref>Mass, J. et al., eds. (1985). ''The Bakufu in Japanese History'', p. 189.</ref>