As the clans gained more and more warriors, they gained more and more alliances and formed a large hierarchy. This was centered predominantly around a toryo or chief. This toryo was usually a relative of the emperor and a smaller member of a noble family. Of the noble families there were the Fujiwara, Minamoto, and the Taira. Of these the Minamoto and Taira were rivals. As they rose to power, the Taira and Minamoto were finally pit together. The victor, was Taira, short for Taira no Kiyomori, who became the first warrior to become Imperial advisor. He later gained control of the central government and created the first Samurai dominated government. The Taira clan did little however, to improve on weaponry and strength; they focused instead, on control.

In the late 12th century, both clans again sought out their rivalries in a clash. This led to the Gempei War, which ended five years later in 1185. However, this time the tides turned as Minamoto became victorious. This clan, short for Minamoto no Yoritomo, behaved much differently from that of Taira. They did not focus on ruling; they focused however on Sameri superiority. Five years later, Minamoto visited Kyoto and in 1912 stablished the role as Seii Taishogun. He then formed the Kamakura Shogunate, set up in Kamakura near his power base. At this time, it was obvious that, despite some shifts in Aristocratic power and Samurai power, the Shogun and Samurai really lead the show.

In the 13th century, Zen Buddhism paved the way for the Warriors honor code. This was particularly helpful in helping Samurai overcome any fears of death. This brings me to the next battle, in 1274 between the Yuan Dynasty of the Mongol Empire and Japan. This empire had sent about 40,000 men in about 900 ships to invade Japan. However, Japan was only able to come up with about 10,000 samurai to battle. With a bout of luck however, a large thunderstorm interrupted the attempts of the empire. The Yuan army then recalled the invasion. Because of this invasion, the Japanese realized that another invasion was probable. So they constructed a great stone barrier surrounding Hakata Bay in 1276. In 1281, The Yuan army came once again with about 140,000 men and 4,400 ships. In spite of the shear numbers, The Japanese Samurai were able to defeat them. How? Well, the Japanese Army had about 40,000 men defending the bay, and in a bout of Irony, a Typhoon came just as the Yuan army was ready to invade. The damage done by the typhoon was enough to send the Yuan army home again. These events were termed Kami-noKaze, which literally means “wind of the gods”