Mizake administration

The **Mizake administration** [免煮組会; みざけくんじょう] was the feudal military government of Kanton during the mid-12th century. It was the first *kunjō* established, and one of the longest-running. The Mizake governed for 115 years, from 1251-1366.

The Mizake administration was established by Mizake no Daishō after being victorious in the Sanmi War and appointing himself as *manza*. Daishō governed Kanton as a military dictator from the eastern city of Kaneguro in modern-day Mii Prefecture, while the Emperor Iezu and his Imperial court remained in the official capital Meimon as figureheads. The Mizake *kunjō* was eventually overthrown during the Saibon Restoration under Emperor Iezu in 1366, re-establishing Imperial rule for two years until the Hanmi clan overthrew the Imperial government and founded the Hanmi administration in 1368.

## Establishment

Historically in Kanton, the power of civilian government was primarily held by the ruling Emperor and his regents, typically appointed from the nobles of the Imperial court and the aristocratic clans who vied for influence there. Military affairs were handled regionally by provincial clans and had been largely ignored by most Emperors since the Heii period.

Under the early Imperial courts, when the national military was rather small and made up of selected and prestiged warriors, military affairs had been taken out of the hands of the provincial aristocracy. The clans of Kanton were confined to the conflicts of their own provinces. However, by the early 1100s the need for a strong military had to be addressed. The establishment of an efficient military system was made gradually through a process that was largely trial-and-error. At that time the Imperial court relied on an organisation of professional warriors who were appointed to keep the peace in a broad sense. However, these warriors, who were known as *sai*, soon began to merge with the fighting nobles of the provinces. This gave rise to the Kantonese military caste. Final authority, however, still rested within the Imperial court.

In time, large military families formed around members of the court aristocracy and some *sai* who had become prominent figures. These clans gained prestige through their connections to the Imperial court and the fact that they carried special titles and had access to manpower. The Kaisaku, Yamako and Mizake clans were among the most prominent families supported by the new military class.

A national decline in food production, the growth of the population, and competition for resources and territory had an adverse effect on even the most powerful clans. The Yamako, who had been holding considerable influence in the Imperial court for almost fifty years, saw their power lessen by the early 1100s. In 1128, the Emperor Beika [1180-1230] died suddenly of an unknown illness, throwing the court into uncertainty and turmoil. Members of the Yamako, Kaisaku, and Mizake families - all of whom were descended from the Imperial family - turned on one another in a bid to become the next reigning influence. The Yamako eventually quelled the Mizake and Kaisaku by striking an unsteady compromise with promises of mutual benefit.

The Yamako controlled the throne until the ascension of the young Emperor Sandai [1200-1267], first-born son of Emperor Beika, who was only 20 at the time of his coronation in 1220. Sandai, determined to restore an element of Imperial control through strong personal rule, implemented reforms to curb Yamako influence. He also established an office to control how various clans were able to take land, expand their estates and build fortifications, with the aim of reasserting central control. Bloodlines were scrutinised and certified, and particularly large landholders were threatened with the loss of their domains if they did not provide official documents confirming that everything was ‘above board’.

The Yamako found themselves largely replaced by the rising Mizake clan, and soon became involved only in the outer departments of the new administration. The Yamako retracted much of their influence after the Mizake defeated the Yamako in various battles known as the Sanmi War.

A struggle for succession in 1247 gave the Yamako an opportunity to regain their former power. Emperor Sandai, who had retired from the throne at the age of 47, was governing nominally behind Mizake no Daishō in the *teijōdai* [退会栏]. The *teijōdai* was a special office for emperors who abdicated from power to devote themselves to ‘behind-the-scenes’ governance, still wielding a small amount of power. However, with no emperor on the Kantonese throne, further power struggles were bound to occur.

During the short Homi Rebellion [保源の荒瘡], the Yamako were destroyed, the old system of government uprooted, and the *teijōdai* office left powerless as the military class took control of court affairs, marking a turning point in Kantonese history. After this point, the official rule of the Mizake began in 1251.

Mizake no Daishō emerged as the real power in Kanton following the Yamako’s destruction and the execution of Chief Yamako no Nagaha [Nagaha-shi]. He gave his daughter Kame in marriage to the Emperor Yochō [1218-1270], the first-born son of Emperor Sandai who had only just come into power at the age of 30 in 1248. Daishō took aggressive actions to safeguard his power when necessary, including the removal and exile of multiple court officials and the dispatchment of Yamako no Mihagi, the last remaining heir to the Yamako house.

With Daishō firmly established, the *kunjō* system that governed Kanton for the next seven centuries was in place. He appointed military governors, or *konbūshin*, to rule over their respective provinces and keep the clans in check - and in some cases, such as in Shinkō, the most powerful clan chiefs were made *konbūshin* by right.

From 1132 until 1138, the Sanmi War was fought between the Yamako and Mizake clans as part of a longstanding violent rivalry for influence over the Imperial court. Mizake no Daishō defeated the Yamako clan, but in his victory seized power from the civil aristocracy, politically reducing the Emperor and his court to nominal figureheads. In 1252, Daishō and the Mizake clan established a military government, or *kunjō*, in Kaneguro from which they ruled over the entire nation.

## Decline and fall

In 1365, Emperor Iezu [1316-1370] and his son Kanshi took arms against the Mizake, but their forces were defeated by Kaneguro's military and they were exiled to Kagenan, in modern-day Zōhai Prefecture. However, the *konbūshin* of Aoma Prefecture went to the Emperor's rescue and in response the Mizake sent their forces to attack Jūkei. Once there, however, the Mizake's leading commander Hanmi no Myōri decided to switch sides and support Emperor Iezu. At the same time, another warlord loyal to the Imperial court who hailed from modern-day Kigen Prefecture, attacked Kaneguro and took it. Around 700 Mizake clan members, including Daishō's three sons, committed suicide *nōguroshi* at Yukikusa Temple.

In 1368, Hanmi no Myōri assumed the position of *manza* himself, supported by the Imperial court, and established the Hanmi administration.

## Influence

The Mizake *kunjō* appointed new military commanders (*konbūshin*) who governed their own separate provinces. These were selected mostly from powerful families in the different provinces, or the title was bestowed upon a general and his family after a successful campaign (for example, the Shin of Shinkō Prefecture). Although they managed their own affairs, they were still obliged to the central government through their allegience to the *manza*.