Japan's history, social structure and socio-cultural background, compared to Europe, seen and experienced through the eyes of a Daimyo Lord family for more than 2,650+ years
Power structure; Shogun - absolute king, Lord Daimyo, Samurai function and jobs
The Japanese power structure from 1185-1582, - with relevant jumps up to 1868 - the perspective
It is appropriate to describe what the power structure was like in Japan - in very broad terms. Otherwise, it may be difficult to understand what is written.
Japan is the world's oldest empire, but for the past 1,200+ years the real power of the emperor and court nobility has been very severely limited.
Periodically, the emperor and the court nobility (Kuge) have succeeded in "putting a stick in the wheel" or putting "lice in the fur coat", but otherwise the real power has always belonged to other rulers. These other rulers have been, since 1185, the Shogun's and the feudal lords - the Daimyos.
In practice from 1185 to just under the 16th century, Japan was divided into 66 provinces with a total of 26,000,000 Koku, which is the Japanese unit of measurement for "harvest yield - income per year". In Denmark we had the same. It was called hartkorn measuring unit. However, the two measuring units differ in economic size.
Read more in the section: How can we compare Danish and Japanese nobility.
Feudal Japan divided into provinces
Like Denmark and Europe, Japan consisted of a noble landowning elite that was strongly rooted locally.
After several different attempts, the power structure was roughly determined as follows; The shogun appointed a provincial sheriff Daimyo and one administrative chief - governor for each sub-province, whose task was to optimize economic returns, taxes and ensure a loyal network of all the local landowners who worked in the "same direction and interests".
That is one CEO and up to four divisional directors and members of the executive board, from each province.
A quick calculation gives it for Japan as a whole; 66 managing directors, 224 division directors, and a group manager at the top; The shogun and a board chairman to provide the spiritual strategic guidance. It is a power structure that repeats itself throughout world history and regardless of where you are in the world.
The military power was held by the sheriff and could only intervene in a "state of emergency", the shogun had decided to maintain his power base upon the establishment of the shogunate in 1185 onwards.
In addition, the sub-province governors were from different families and completely different from the lord daimyo.
The shogun did EVERYTHING to undermine both the provincial sheriff and the sub-provincial governors through a Machiavellian power play, which did not exactly promote unity and loyalty between the shogun and the Daimyo sheriffs.
It was unsustainable in the long run and the discontent was very great among the sheriffs, who had to do all the work and run all the risk, while the shogun expected to reap all the glory and the right to do as he pleased.
Were it not for the two Mongol invasion attempts in 1274 and 1286, civil war would have broken out in Japan. But here everyone stood together and after that it went really fast!
The daimyo sheriff of a province now often appointed his sub-province governors himself, and the sheriff's post over provinces had begun to become hereditary within sheriff's families.
This development went really fast after 1333, when Ashikaga Takauji became the first Ashikaga Shogun out of 15, after the successful rebellion against the Hojo regents and the imperial princes as puppet Shoguns.
The Yamana-Itotani family had a significant stake in this process.
