In fact, from 1192 to 1867, the shoguns, or their shikken regents in Kamakura ( 1203 – 1333 ), were the de facto rulers of Japan, although they were nominally appointed by the Emperor.

Other instances, such as Emperor Go-Toba's 1221 rebellion against the Kamakura shogunate and the 1336 Kemmu Restoration under Emperor Go-Daigo, show the power struggle between the Imperial House and the military governments of Japan.

Since the earliest samurai government in Japan, during the Kamakura period ( 1185 – 1333 ), sword fighting, together with horse riding and archery, were the main martial pursuits of the military clans.

* 1147 – Minamoto no Yoritomo, Japanese founder and the first shogun of the Kamakura Shogunate of Japan ( d. 1199 )

* 1293 – An earthquake strikes Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan, killing about 30, 000.

Nichiren ( 日蓮 ) ( February 16, 1222 – October 13, 1282 ) was a Buddhist monk who lived during the Kamakura period ( 1185 – 1333 ) in Japan.

He left Seichō-ji shortly thereafter to study in Kamakura and several years later traveled to western Japan for more in-depth study in the Kyoto – Nara area, where Japan's major centers of Buddhist learning were located.

The Kamakura period of 13th century Japan, in which Nichiren was born-was characterised by natural disasters, internal strife and confusion within Mahayana schools about whether: "... the world had further entered a period of decline " referring to the Latter Day of the Law.

* 1498 – The 1498 Meiō Nankaidō earthquake generates a tsunami that washes away the building housing the statue of the Great Buddha at Kōtoku-in in Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan ; since then the Buddha has sat in the open air.

3 Shogunates of Japan: Minamoto no Yoritomo, the first shogun ( 1192 – 1199 ) of the Kamakura shogunate

Minamoto no Yoritomo seized certain powers from the central government and aristocracy and established a feudal system based in Kamakura in which the private military, the samurai, gained some political powers while the Emperors of Japan and the aristocracy in Japan remained the de jure rulers.

* 1185: Beginning in this year the Kamakura Shogunate deprives the emperor of Japan of political power.

* Minamoto no Yoritomo, shōgun of Japan, founder of the Kamakura Shogunate

* Hōjō Yoshitoki, regent of the Kamakura shogunate of Japan ( b. 1163 )

* The Kamakura period ends and the Kemmu restoration begins in Japan.

* September 25 – Prince Morikuni, 9th Kamakura shogun of Japan ( b. 1301 )

* 1268 – Kublai Khan sends an emissary to the Kamakura Shogunate of Japan demanding an acknowledgment of souzerainty and payment of tribute ; the Japanese refuse, starting a diplomatic back-and-forth lasting until the Mongols attempt to invade in 1274.

Though Kamakura Bakufu took over the police force and ruled Eastern Japan, the authority of Emperor and retired Emperors remained.

* Hōjō Mototoki becomes Kamakura shogun of Japan.

* May 26 – An earthquake in Kamakura, Japan kills an estimated 30, 000.

* The Heian period ends and the Kamakura period begins in Japan.

* The Hikitsuke, a judicial organ of the Kamakura and Muromachi shogunates of Japan, is established.

* Kublai Khan sends an emissary to the Kamakura Shogunate of Japan demanding an acknowledgment of suzerainty and payment of tribute ; the Japanese refuse, starting a diplomatic back-and-forth lasting until the Mongols attempt to invade in 1274.