The Kamakura period (1185 to 1333): when warriors took power

The Kamakura period (1185 to 1333) is when warriors took over the running of Japan. The shogun’s government sat in Kamakura, while the emperor stayed in Kyoto. The era also holds two Mongol invasions, in 1274 and 1281, and the wrecks of the invading ships, which archaeologists have found on the seabed.

This page follows the turning points in order, then lists the places you can visit. It sits in the history guide, after the Heian period and before Muromachi and Sengoku.

When was the Kamakura period?

It ran from 1185 or 1192 to 1333. Sources set the start in one of two places: 1185, when Minamoto no Yoritomo won the Genpei War, or 1192, when he was named shogun. The first date marks the military win and the second the title. This page treats the start as 1185 to 1192 and the end as 1333.

How did warriors take over?

Yoritomo’s win in 1185 came with a new system. He installed military governors (shugo) and land stewards (jito) across the country, so warrior officials held posts in the provinces.

In 1192 he was named shogun and set up his government in Kamakura. The emperor stayed in Kyoto, so Japan had two centres of power: a court and a warrior government. Who ruled Japan, the emperor or the shogun? covers how the two related.

From 1199, after Yoritomo’s death, the Hojo family held the post of regent (shikken) by inheritance. The shoguns became figureheads, and the regents ran the shogunate.

What happened in 1274 and 1281?

Kublai Khan’s Yuan forces invaded Japan twice, in 1274 and 1281. Typhoons wrecked the invading fleets, and the storms were later called kamikaze. In 1281 the fighting lasted about seven weeks in north-western Kyushu before the storm struck.

Were the Mongol ships ever found?

Yes, on the seabed off Takashima, in Nagasaki Prefecture.

Wait, really? A University of the Ryukyus team confirmed the first Mongol warship there in 2011. A second wreck was reported in 2015, about 200 m off the island’s south coast and about 15 m deep. The team dated it through Chinese pottery from the 12th and 13th centuries.

Timber analysis by R. Sasaki found mixed ship types and origins in the Chinese region, and none confirmed as Korean. Fleet size is quoted from more than 4,000 to about 4,400 ships, depending on the source. These details come from magazine reports of the academic work.

What changed for ordinary people?

Two changes reached farmers and coastal communities.

• Land and farm output: warriors gained rule and land as a class, and local stewards (jito) took a cut of what farms produced.
• Coastal Kyushu: the invasions brought coastal levies and labour on a defence wall, the Genko Borui.

Why did the shogunate fall in 1333?

It fell in 1333, in the event known as the Kenmu Restoration. The strain came from the Mongol wars: the shogunate held its coast, but warriors expected land as a reward and a defensive war left no spoils to hand out.

Three years later, in 1336, Ashikaga Takauji drove Emperor Go-Daigo out of Kyoto. That story opens the Muromachi and Sengoku page.

See it today

Two places carry the story, in different parts of the country, so plan them as separate stops.

• Kamakura is where the shogunate sat from 1192 to 1333, and the Great Buddha at Kotoku-in is the stop with official fees and hours.
• Fukuoka shows what the Mongols faced: the Genko Borui is a line of remains along the coast, free to visit.

The Takashima wrecks lie on the seabed; no visitor access is reported.

Dollar figures use about ¥155 to US$1 and are rounded; you pay in yen, so check the rate.

Kotoku-in sells entry until 15 minutes before closing, and the interior costs under $1 (¥50) extra. Closed days are not stated on its official page. The Hakozaki section of the Genko Borui became a national historic site in 2020, per Fukuoka’s visitor site, and Imazu is the best preserved stretch.

Where next?

• Earlier: Heian. Later: Muromachi and Sengoku.
• The history guide places every era on one timeline.
• Samurai castles and houses covers the warrior sites that survive from later centuries.
• Tokyo, Kamakura and Nikko temples and shrines covers the temples around Kamakura, and the temples and shrines guide lists the main sites with fees and hours.
• The Culture hub holds every culture topic, and the culture guide gives the overview.