Buke (nobility)

Buke ( Japanese. 武 家 , dt. "Warrior family (s)") denoted the warrior class or sword nobility in contrast to the Kuge , the traditional Japanese court nobility . The members of this class were the Bushi and later the Samurai in particular .

History of origin

During the Heian period , the civilian kuge lost more and more power through power struggles at court, so that in return the warrior class gained in importance.

As a result of unrest, the Kuge had to rely more and more on the Buke and gradually transferred more rights and offices to them. There were power struggles between the “police forces” of the court nobility, in which the Kuge lost more and more decision-making power, for example the Heian riots in 1160 and the Hogen rebellion . Finally, in the Gempei War from 1179 to 1183, the Fujiwara fought against the Minamoto for supremacy. Officially only at the behest of the Kuge and the Tennō , but unofficially, Minamoto no Yoritomo extorted confessions from the Kuge with the strength of his troops, as did the Fujiwara. The conflict ended when Minamoto no Yoritomos claimed the title of Shogun for the first time and marked the rise of the Buke from the servant class to the ruling class in feudal Japan.

swell

• Sansom, George (1967) "A history of Japan to 1334" Stanford University Press
• Hall, John Whitney (1968) "The Japanese Empire" Frankfurt, Fischer
• http://www.samurai-archives.com/Gempeiwar.html