Editing Samurai (section)

=== Kamakura shogunate ===
[[File:Samurai o-yoroi.jpg|thumb|upright|Samurai ''[[ō-yoroi]]'' armor, [[Kamakura period]]. [[Tokyo National Museum]].]]
Two leading Samurai houses, the Minamoto and the Taira had both gained court positions and became rivals. During the [[Heiji Rebellion]] the Taira gained the upper hand and killed or exiled many members of the Minamoto family. After that, [[Taira no Kiyomori]] practically controlled the court. This lasted till an imperial succession dispute resulted in a rebellion by Prince Mochihito. The exiled Minamoto Yoritomo joined the rebellion, and promised to guarantee lands and administrative rights to warriors who sworn allegiance to him. This usurped the role of the Court, and also effectively created an independent state in eastern Japan. However, Yoritomo did not fight for independence of his state, but negotiated for court recognition of many of the legal powers that he had usurped. At the end of the Gempei War, this resulted in the foundation of the Kamakura regime.<ref name="asianstudies.org"/>

In 1185, Yoritomo obtained the right to appoint ''[[shugo]]'' and ''[[jitō]]'', and was allowed to organize soldiers and police, and to collect a certain amount of tax.<ref name="toyo090616">{{cite web|url=https://toyokeizai.net/articles/-/120599?page=4|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220509123300/https://toyokeizai.net/articles/-/120599?page=4|script-title=ja:鎌倉幕府は何年に成立？正解を言えますか|language=ja|publisher=Toyo keizai|date=9 June 2016|archive-date=9 May 2022|access-date=9 March 2024}}</ref> Initially, their responsibility was restricted to arresting rebels and collecting needed army provisions and they were forbidden from interfering with ''[[Kokushi (official)|kokushi]]'' officials, but their responsibility gradually expanded. Thus, the warrior class began to gradually gain political power.<ref name="asianstudies.org"/>

In 1190 he visited Kyoto and in 1192 became ''[[Shōgun|Sei'i Taishōgun]]'', establishing the Kamakura shogunate, or ''Kamakura bakufu''. Instead of ruling from Kyoto, he set up the shogunate in [[Kamakura, Kanagawa|Kamakura]], near his base of power. "Bakufu" means "tent government", taken from the encampments the soldiers lived in, in accordance with the Bakufu's status as a military government.<ref>Wilson, p. 15</ref>

The [[Kamakura period]] (1185–1333) is seen by some as the rise of the samurai as they were "entrusted with the security of the estates" and were symbols of the ideal warrior and citizen.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kishida |first1=Tom |last2=Mishina |first2=Kenji |title=The Yasukuni Swords: Rare Weapons of Japan, 1933–1945 |date=2004 |publisher=Kodansha International |location=Tokyo; New York |isbn=4-7700-2754-0 |page=42 |edition=1st}}</ref> The shogunate had its powerbase in the east, but also had authority over its warrior vassals all over the country. This allowed a subset of warriors to collaborate instead of just competing against each other. This began a gradual process that weakened the central authority to the advantage of the samurai.<ref name="asianstudies.org"/>

In the late Kamakura period, even the most senior samurai began to wear {{transliteration|ja|dō-maru}}, as the heavy and elegant {{transliteration|ja|ō-yoroi}} were no longer respected. Until then, the body was the only part of the {{transliteration|ja|dō-maru}} that was protected, but for higher-ranking samurai, the {{transliteration|ja|dō-maru}} also came with a {{transliteration|ja|[[kabuto]]}} (helmet) and shoulder guards.<ref name = "o-yoroi"/> For lower-ranked samurai, the {{transliteration|ja|[[Japanese armour|haraate]]}} was introduced, the simplest style of armor that protected only the front of the torso and the sides of the abdomen. In the late Kamakura period, a new type of armor called {{transliteration|ja|[[Haramaki (armour)|haramaki]]}} appeared, in which the two ends of the {{transliteration|ja|haraate}} were extended to the back to provide greater protection.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20211021185717/https://www.touken-world.jp/tips/10955/ 胴丸・腹当・腹巻.] Nagoya Japanese Sword Museum Nagoya Touken World.</ref>