Glossary of Japanese history

This is the glossary of Japanese history including the major terms, titles and events the casual (or brand-new) reader might find useful in understanding articles on the subject.

A

*"ashigaru" (足軽) - feudal foot soldiers drawn from the peasant or commoner class, rather than from the samurai hereditary warrior class. Ashigaru were initially seen during the Ōnin War fought in and around the city of Kyoto. This urban conflict required the services of irregular foot soldiers to supplement those of the samurai mounted archers, who were more suited to battle in the open field. During the later Sengoku Period, the feudal warlords organized ashigaru into trained, cohesive units of foot spearmen, archers or matchlockmen. In time, these cheaper and more readily available troops came to comprise the greater portion of feudal Japanese armies.
*Ashikaga - the Ashikaga family ruled Japan as "Shogun" from 1336-1573.

B

*"bakufu" (幕府) - a Shogun's government; commonly called "shogunate" in English.
*"bugyō" (奉行) - a magistrate. Examples include the Edo "machibugyō" who administered the city during the Edo period.
*"bushidō" (武士道) - the "samurai" (noble warriors) code of honor; roughly analogous to Western chivalry.

D

*daimyo (大名) - a feudal lord during the later Muromachi period, Sengoku period, Azuchi-Momoyama period and Edo period.

F

*"fudai" (譜代) - a daimyo who was a hereditary vassal of the Tokugawa during the Edo period

G

*"Gaikoku bugyō" - commissioners appointed to oversee foreign trade and relations between 1858 and 1868.
*"Gosanke" - Three branches of the Tokugawa clan from which a shogun might be chosen if the main line became extinct. Established by Tokugawa Ieyasu in the early Edo period. Daimyo of Owari (or Bishū), Kii (or Kishū), Mito Han.
*"Gosankyō" - Three branches of the Tokugawa clan from which a shogun might be chosen if the main line became extinct. Established by Tokugawa Yoshimune in the middle of the Edo period.

H

*"Haimyō" (俳名) - a "haiku pen-name". It was common in the Edo period for artists, writers, kabuki actors and others to take part in poetry circles and to take on pen-names under which they would compose poetry or create related works, such as "haiga" paintings.
*"han" (藩) - feudal fiefs; the land owned and controlled by a noble lord or clan.
*"Hansatsu" (藩札) - scrip issued by a "han".
*"Heian"
**(a) Heiankyō (平安京) - capital of Japan from 794 to 1185; located in present-day Kyoto.
**(b) Heian period (平安時代) - historical period during which capital was located at Heian

J

*Jōkyū War (承久の乱 Jōkyū no Ran) - a 1221 war between Emperor Go-Toba and the Kamakura Shogunate.

K

*"kaikin" (海禁) - "maritime prohibitions" imposed by the Tokugawa shogunate from roughly 1635 - 1853. See also "hai jin", "sakoku".
*Kanrei (管領) - the high political post in the Ashikaga shogunate (and Kamakura shogunate).
*Kentō-shi (遣唐使) - mission to Tang China (唐) for importing the technologies and culture of China to Japan. (Imperial embassies to China)
*Kenzui-shi (遣隋使) - mission to Sui China (隋) for importing the technologies and culture of China to Japan. (Imperial embassies to China)
*"koku" (石) - an amount of rice equal to the amount one man eats in a year; used in feudal times as a measurement of income and of wealth.

M

*Meiji Restoration - The 1867 restoration of the Emperor to being the true ruler of the country, in practice as well as name, and the downfall of the last shogunate. This event marks the beginning of the conversion of Japan from a medieval feudal country to a modern, industrialized one.
*Minamoto - the Minamoto clan defeated the rival Taira clan in 1185, establishing the first long-running shogunate. They established a government that ruled from 1185-1333 from Kamakura, and thus this rule is usually known as the Kamakura shogunate or Kamakura period.

N

*Nagaokakyō (長岡京) - the capital of Japan from 784 to 794 (after Nara, before Kyoto).

R

*"ritsuryō" (律令) - the east Asian historical law system based on the philosophies of Confucianism and Chinese Legalism. In Japan, ritsuryo's had been in effect during the late Asuka period, the Nara period and the early Heian period. Taihō-ritsuryo (大宝律令, Code of Taihō) is one of the ritsuryo's.
*"Rōjū" (老中) - one of the highest-ranking government posts in the Tokugawa shogunate. There were usually four or five Rōjū.

*"sakoku" (鎖国) - the "Closed Door" policy followed during the Edo period (1603-1867), under which Japan engaged in very little trade or communication with the outside world.
*"samurai" (侍) - the feudal Japanese noble warrior class.
*"sankin kotai" (参勤交代) - the Edo period (1603-1867) policy under which feudal lords ("daimyō") had to travel to the capital in Edo annually, and to leave their families in Edo year-round. This was used by the shogun (warlord leader of the nation) to prevent rebellion.
*"seppuku" (切腹) - honorable ritual suicide. Also called "hara-kiri".One of the death penalties which respected a samurai's honor.The belly was cut ceremonially and the assistant cut the head from back in practice.Honor was kept by committing suicide because it is dishonorable that a samurai is killed by others.
*"shōgun" (将軍) - warlord dictator; the practical head of the nation, having seized power militarily or inherited it from another "shōgun".
*shogunate - see "bakufu"
*Shikken (執権) - the regent for the shogun in the Kamakura shogunate. The Hōjō clan monopolized Shikken and they were the effective rulers of Japan mostly during the period.
*"shizoku" (士族) - literally "warrior families", term used to refer to former samurai after the abolition of the class system following the Meiji Restoration.

T

*Tairō (大老) - the highest-ranking government post in the Tokugawa shogunate. There was usually only one Tairō, or, at times, none.
*Tokugawa - Tokugawa Ieyasu united Japan through force, becoming "Shogun" in 1603. His family ruled in that position until 1867.
*Tozama (外様) - a daimyo viewed as an outsider, not a hereditary vassal of the shogun

ee also

*
*Japanese units of measurement