It is usually believed that the shikken regime of the Kamakura government, in which the shogun only reigned but did not really govern and the shikken occupied by Hojo family held the real decision-making power, was established during the period when Sanetomo was the shogun. Sanetomo is usually described as a weak leader in the history books, and my story also follows this typical description. But some historians point out that Sanetomo was not that weak. Here, I want to introduce one episode, which not only demonstrates Sanetomo’s strength but also tells us about the meaning of the word “samurai.”
In 1209, Yoshitoki made a request to Sanetomo to recognize his followers who made remarkable contributions as samurai. But Sanetomo did not simply act as Yoshitoki wished. Sanetomo refused the request, saying that such recognition would confuse their understanding about their origins and these people may overestimate their status, which would lead to future problems. Sanetomo strictly said that such request must not be accepted now nor in the future (Okada 2019: 140-141). From this anecdote, we can see that Sanetomo actually made a decision independently from Yoshitoki, at least sometimes.
This episode also tells us the importance of the status “samurai” in the Kamakura government. For the people in the Kamakura government, there was a clear distinction between the samurai and their followers. For example, when Yasutoki later adopted the code of rules titled Goseibai Shikimoku, the content of punishment for the same crime was specified differently for samurai and those who belonged to the class lower than samurai. The mononofu who served the shogun were samurai, but the followers who served the samurai were those who belonged to the lower class. If we understand this distinction, we see the importance of Yoshitoki’s request: He wanted his followers, who were regarded as the lower class, to be recognized as samurai. This would also mean that Yoshitoki, who were served by these people, would be at the higher status than ordinary samurai. Yoshitoki was not the shogun, but would be closer to the position of shogun, who was served by samurai. Sanetomo thus saw that Yoshitoki’s request was too arrogant, and strictly refused it (Okada 2019: 140-141).
From this episode, we can see the meaning of “samurai” in the era of the Kamakura government, which was totally different from that in the preceding period. As I wrote in the story, before the establishment of Kamakura government, the word “samurai” meant those who served the Imperial family or the nobles. The word “samurai” was not really a symbol of status. But after the establishment of the Kamakura government, the word “samurai” became the symbol of the status, something that people were proud of. Indeed, Yoritomo completely changed the meaning of the word “samurai” by establishing new political institutions!