shogun

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. The hereditary commander of the Japanese army who until 1867 exercised absolute rule under the nominal leadership of the emperor.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. General: the title of the commander-in-chief or captain-general of the Japanese army during the continuance of the feudal system in that country. More fully called tai shogun (‘great general’), or sei-i-tai-shogun, ‘barbarian-subduing great-general’—the earlier wars of the Japanese (when this form of the title was first used) having been waged against the ‘barbarians’ or aboriginal inhabitants of the country. The office was made hereditary in the Minamoto family in 1192, when the title was bestowed on a famous warrior and hero named Yoritomo, and continued in that family or some branch of it until 1868, when it was abolished, and the feudal system virtually came to an end. From the first a large share of the governing power naturally devolved on the shogun as the chief vassal of the mikado. This power was gradually extended by the encroachments of successive shoguns, especially of Iyeyasu, founder in l603 of the Tokugawa line, and in course of time the shoguns became the virtual rulers of the country—always, however, acknowledging the supremacy of the mikado, and professing to act in his name. This state of things has given rise to the common but erroneous opinion and assertion that Japan had two emperors—“a spiritual emperor” (the mikado), living in Kioto, and “a temporal emperor” (the shogun), who held court in Yedo (now called Tokio). In the troubles which arose subsequent to 1858 in connection with the ratification and enforcement of the treaties which the shogunate had made with foreign nations, establishing trade relations, etc., many of the daimios, tired of the domination of the shogun and disapproving of the treaties, sided with the emperor; this led in 1867 to the resignation of the shogun of the time, and in the following year the office was abolished, the reigning mikado undertaking to govern the country in person. See daimio and tycoon.

Wiktionary

1. n. The supreme generalissimo of feudal Japan.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. A title originally conferred by the Mikado on the military governor of the eastern provinces of Japan. By gradual usurpation of power the Shoguns (known to foreigners as Tycoons) became finally the virtual rulers of Japan. The title was abolished in 1867.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. a hereditary military dictator of Japan; the shoguns ruled Japan until the revolution of 1867-68