A change in governance structure can take place for various causes. While it is well known that Japan was ruled for centuries by the warrior class, it is not always clear why. The samurai rose to power over a long period of time. After their eventual rise to the top of the Japanese social ladder, they spent centuries consolidating their new power. A number of factors led to the rise of the warrior class in the late Heian period until the Meiji Restoration. The samurai were able to rise to power for a number of reasons, including leadership and the actions of notable warriors. class families: the Taira, Minamoto and Hojo. Another factor leading to the rise of warriors was the ideology of the samurai – these qualities made them suitable leaders. Once the warrior class gained power, it was maintained through the bakufu who continued and improved the governance of the state. The rise of the warrior class would not have been possible without certain leading families. Without these high-level figures, the rise of the samurai would have been significantly delayed, if not stopped altogether; these key families played a vital role in bringing the warrior class to the highest rank in Japanese society. It was during the rise of these families that the Emperor often devoted himself to culture1. This allowed these families – and others – to build local support in their provinces. It is local support that has allowed these families to have such a significant impact. The Taira, Minamoto, and Hojo families all played important roles in the rise of the warrior class. The Taira family played an important role in the early rise of the warrior class. ...... middle of paper ...... New American Library, 1963. Latourette, Kenneth Scott. The development of Japan. New York: Macmillan, 1918. Shinoda, Minoru. The founding of the Kamakura shogunate, 1180-1185. New York: Columbia UP, 1960. Smits, Gregory. Learn Japanese. Penn State University, 2008. Web.. Souyri, Pierre-François. The world turned upside down: medieval Japanese society. New York: Columbia UP, 2001. Steenstrup, Carl. Hojo Shigetoki: a Buddhist philosopher-statesman from 13th-century Japan. Zurich: First International Conference of the European Association for Japanese Studies, 1976.Till, Barry. The 47 Ronin: a story of samurai loyalty and courage. San Francisco: Granada, 2005. Yamamura, Kozo, and John Whitney. Room. The Cambridge History of Japan. Flight. 3. Cambridge UA: Cambridge Univ., 2003.