This is the glossary of Japanese history including the major terms, titles and events the casual (or brand-new) reader might find useful in understanding articles on the subject. A ashigaru (足輕) – feudal foot soldiers drawn from the peasant or commoner class, rather than from the samurai hereditary warrior class. Ashikaga – bushi clan from Kamakura whose members ruled as shōguns over Japan from 1336 to 1573. B bakufu (幕府) – a shōguns government; commonly called "shogunate" in English. bettō (別當) – the head of a civilian, military or religious institution. bugyō (奉行) – a magistrate. Examples include the Edo period machibugyō who administered the city during the Edo period. bushi (武士) – a member of the warrior class (a samurai). bushidō (武士道) – purported warrior code of honor, analogous to Western chivalry. C chōnin (町人, "townsman") - a social class that emerged in Japan during the early years of the Tokugawa period. The majority of chōnin were merchants, but some were craftsmen, as well. D daimyō () – a feudal lord during the later Muromachi period, Sengoku period, Azuchi–Momoyama period and Edo period. E Edo (江戸) – the old name of Tokyo when it was the seat of the Tokugawa shogunate. Alternate, outdated spellings include Yedo and Yeddo. Eikyō Rebellion (永享の乱 Eikyō no Ran) – Ashikaga Mochiuji's 1439 rebellion against the Ashikaga shogunate. See also the article Kantō kubō. F fudai daimyō (譜代) – a daimyō who was a hereditary vassal of the Tokugawa before the Battle of Sekigahara (1600). See also tozama daimyō. G gaikoku bugyō – commissioners appointed to oversee foreign trade and relations between 1858 and 1868. Genkō War (元弘の乱, Genkō no Ran) – a civil war which marked the fall of the Kamakura shogunate and end of the power of the Hōjō clan Genpei War (源平合戦 Genpei Kassen) (1180–1185) – a conflict between the Taira and Minamoto clans and in late-Heian period Japan that resulted with the defeat of the Taira. genrō (元老) – unofficial term for retired Japanese statesmen considered "founding fathers" of modern Japan who served as informal advisors to the emperor during the Meiji and Taishō periods. gokenin (or kenin) – A vassal of the shōgun during the Kamakura, Ashikaga and Tokugawa shogunates. Gosanke – Three branches of the Tokugawa clan from which a shōgun might be chosen if the main line became extinct. Established by Tokugawa Ieyasu in the early Edo