ributed mainly to the
Shokyu struggle had their origin in the system of land supervision
instituted by Yoritomo at the instance of Oye no Hiromoto. The
constables and the stewards despatched by the Bakufu to the provinces
interfered irksomely with private rights of property, and thus there
was gradually engendered a sentiment of discontent, especially among
those who owed their estates to Imperial benevolence. A well-known
record (Tai-hei-ki) says: "In early morn the stars that linger in the
firmament gradually lose their brilliancy, even though the sun has
not yet appeared above the horizon. The military families did not
wantonly show contempt towards the Court. But in some districts the
stewards were more powerful than the owners of the estates, and the
constables were more respected than the provincial governors. Thus
insensibly the influence of the Court waned day by day and that of
the military waxed."

There were other causes also at work. They are thus summarized by the
Kamakura Jidaishi: "The conditions of the time called two parties
into existence: the Kyoto party and the military party. To the former
belonged not only many officials of Shinto shrines, priests of
Buddhist temples, and managers of private manors, but also a few
nominal retainers of the Bakufu. These last included men who, having
occupied posts in the Imperial capital for a long time, had learned
to regard the Court with gratitude; others who had special grievances
against the Bakufu, and yet others who, having lost their estates,
were ready to adopt any means of recovering them. The family system
of the time paid no heed to primogeniture. Parents fixed the
succession by favouritism, and made such divisions as seemed
expedient in their eyes. During a parent's lifetime there could be no
appeal nor any remonstrance. But no sooner was a father's tombstone
about to be erected, than his children engaged in disputes or
appealed to the courts. Therefore the Bakufu, seeking to correct this
evil state of affairs, issued an order that the members of a family
should be subservient to the directions of the eldest son; which
order was followed, in 1202, by a law providing that disputes between
brothers must be compromised, and by another, in 1214, ruling that
applications for official posts must have the approval of the members
of the applicants' family in conclave instead of being submitted
direct, as theretofore. Under such a system of family autocracy it