bakufu

(lit. "tent government"). Synonymous with "shogunate." Any of the three military governments ruling Japan during most of the period from 1192 to 1867, as opposed to the civil government under the emperor at Kyoto. The word "bakufu" was originally used to refer to the headquarters of the Inner Palace Guards, to the residence of their commander, or to the commander himself. Modern scholars have used the term bakufu or shogunate to designate the type of power structure presided over by a shogun, spefically the Kamakura Shogunate (1192-1333), the Muromachi Shogunate (1338-1573), and the Tokugawa Shogunate (1603-1867). (adapted from Japan: An Illustrated Encyclopedia. Tokyo: Kodansha, 1993)