Shogun
Shogun, the military governor of Japan for most of the period from 1192 to 1868. Japan since the fifth century B.C. had been ruled by an emperor, but under the shogunate the emperor reigned but held no power. In theory, the shogun was appointed by the emperor, but in practice the title was hereditary. Shoguns were of the samurai class.
There were three dynasties of shoguns—Kamakura, Ashikaga, and Tokugawa. The Kamakura dynasty was founded by Minamoto Yoritomo, who after winning a civil war became supreme ruler in Japan in 1185. He took the title shogun in 1192. The Kamakura shogunate was overthrown by the emperor in 1333, but in 1336 Ashikaga Takauji seized power from the emperor, and two years later he made himself shogun. The Ashikaga shogunate survived until 1573. In 1603, following years of civil war, a powerful lord, Tokugawa leyasu, reunited the country and became shogun. His dynasty lasted to 1868, when supporters of Emperor Mutsuhito overthrew Shogun Tokugawa Yoshinobu and reestablished imperial power.