In general, non-Japanese people may have heard the term shogun, but not many know what the term means. People imagine shoguns as seen in the movies or as told in various books. The Shogun is a great general, who is in control of the warrior and warrior faction (the samurai)
In Japan, there was often a dispute between various samurai groups (war warriors, warriors), until 1185 when the Emperor appointed Minomoto Yoritomo, the commander of the victorious group, as the highest military commander in Japan based in a seaside village: Kamakura. Then came the Kamakura shogunate. Since then there are actually two centers of government, namely the civilian government under the Emperor with a position in the city of Kyoto, and a military government based on the power of shogun based in Kamakura. Slow-sea civilian government under the emperor is getting weaker and shogun government is getting stronger.
Thus the first shogunate began in 1185 in Kamakura with the first shaman of Minamoto Yoritomo, and ended in 1336 when Ashikaga Takauji conquered the shogun of the Minamoto nation. Ashikaga transferred his military power center to Kyoto, and the beginning of the Ashikaga shamanism (1336-1568).
Culture flourished during the Ashikaga shogunate as its feudal-military samurai could mingle with civilian cultures of the imperial palace in Kyoto. Zen culture became a key element in the era, and encouraged the creation of a variety of distinctive Japanese art such as literary works, Japanese gardens, flower arranging arts, theater ceremony, temple architecture etc.
Unfortunately, there was another conflict between different samurai groups fighting over land and power.
A number of daimyo or heads of samurai groups in the area clashed each other, even to the point of mastering Japan. Then came a general, Tokugawa Ieyasu, who won the battle to rule all of Japan. He was later appointed as a shogun by the Emperor, and established his military rule in Yedo (Edo, later Tokyo). The Tokugawa shogunate began in 1603 and ended in 1867. One by one the shoguns of the Tokugawa nation did not necessarily extend the power of having to conquer a number of groups that remained unwilling to bow, especially the Satsuma and Choshu groups. Tokugawa Ieyasu's grandson, the Tokugawa Iemitsu shogun in 1639 issued an order of self-imposed Japan to the outside world. Japan became closed, the Japanese were banned from Japan and people from other countries were barred from entering Japan. There were, however, exceptions: on the island of Dejima the Portuguese were initially permitted to stay, but then they were no longer allowed, and the Dutch were licensed to live on the island. This island is an artificial island off Nagasaki.
During the reign of the Tokugawa shogunate, one shogun changed with the other shoguns though remaining from the Tokugawa prefecture, strict social rules were applied for the sake of social stability. Everything must be based on specified rules and values. Society is divided into several social classes that is, the top is the Emperor and the princes istanas; then the ruling samurai class, whose supreme leader is the shogun. Well below that then various classes of society, namely rice-producing farmers, craftsmen, artisans, fishermen and under it are the merchants. The lower classes are entertainers, leather processors, beggars and executioners. Social mobility is not recommended because everyone must stay in place and hopefully be there forever. The samurai must be obedient and loyal to the boss, the commander of the group, the daimyo who ruled in the region. And in turn the people were obliged to obey the warrior warriors.
The Japanese alienation ended after the arrival of a squadron of American ships under the command of Commodore Matthew Perry in 1853 who landed in Edo Bay (Tokyo) and came back a year later. Upon his arrival, Japan began to reopen limitedly to the outside world, and especially to America.
In 1868 the fifth shogun of the Tokugawa (Tokugawa family), Tokugawa Yoshinobu, was displaced from his position and was forced to restore power to the Emperor, Emperor Meiji (1868-1912). The Emperor immediately moved his position from Kyoto to Edo (Tokyo), and replaced or abolished many of the regulations made by the shoguns. The shoguns and the samurai and their commanders, the daimyo, were finished.
Bushido
The spirit of bushido actually existed since the emergence of the samurai, but only in the Edo period (1600-1868) the term bushido seems officially used as a code of ethics of the samurai. Bushido includes the spirit of war and the skill of using weapons (swords), as well as the attitude of attitude, that is full of loyalty to the boss, the honor of the self (not doing bad things), serving duty, having great courage, responsible. (Regarding the spirit of bushido, there is a book by Nitobe Inazou that has been translated into English, "The Soul of Japan").
The spirit that has animated the warriors for several centuries, is actually still alive, but not the spirit to fight or serve the commander. The spirit of bushido that has livened up and developed the Japanese economy and industry is a spirit of high discipline, hard work, responsible and shame when doing harmful acts. The spirit of bushido is still alive, although in modern Japan today there are no more samurai.
