Japan: Decentralization of Power

As a reflection of the process of decentralization of power, one can consider a specific Japanese phenomenon - the reign of the abdicated and veiled emperors (in-sei), which lasted from the end of the 11th to the end of the 12th century.

The state machine created during the reform of Taika lost its effectiveness, the real power depended on the number of lands under personal control. The emperor, as head of state, could not have land in his personal possession, and therefore the practice of insai can be regarded as an attempt by a part of the members of the imperial house to adapt to the new conditions of struggle within the ruling class.

Forsaken and veiled monks, the emperors had their residences, their governing bodies in the likeness of other powerful houses, actively collected lands that were written in the name of imperial temples and members of the imperial family. There is evidence that under their control there were over a thousand estates in almost all provinces of the country. But the ex-emperors did not have the power that the imperial court had over two hundred years ago. In the country there actually was no central authority.

In the X century. The emergence of a new layer of the ruling class - the service nobility (bu-si) - is clearly visible. In the face of the growing inability of the state apparatus, both at the center and in the field, to exercise its functions, in particular military and police, central administrative bodies and local officials, to maintain order, and rich families in the capital and on the periphery to protect their possessions began to form their own Private armed forces. Japan: decentralization of power ...

Samurai organizations were bloodthirsty, they included the main family (Ichizoku, or iti-mon), the side families (Ie-no-ko), unrelated vassals (ken-nin).

Among influential local families, there began to appear powerful houses with a large number of vassals, the heads of these houses were often the descendants of the court aristocracy, who left the capital for the province for service and remained there. In particular, the famous houses of Tyra and Minamoto were of their origin from the imperial family. The vassals of the feudal tycoons mainly became wealthy peasants who, for their service, received from the feudal lords a guarantee of possession of land plots. These relations developed especially in the north-east of Japan, where wars with the Ainu demanded the presence of a permanent armed force.

Japan: decentralization of power