In the 1100s, the Fujiwara clan started to decline. The nobles tried to earn the trust of the emperor to gain control. They did this through many ways. They often married the daughters of princes so that their grandsons would definitely be related to both the noble family and royal family. The nobles advised the emperor to give them shoen, which are gifts of land. They received high ranking positions in the weak government. The government began to run out money. Slowly they lost power to the large landowners, known as daimyo, who had to pay no taxes. Soon, these landowners dominated the emperor so much that his role was merely ceremonial. By the end, the government had almost no land or power. Each of the powerful daimyo had private armies of trained warriors known as samurai. Japan went into civil war as the daimyo fought each other to gain wealth and power. For protection, small landowners pledged their loyalty to the powerful daimyo. They provided military service, which thus further increased the power the large landowners. This was the start of feudalism in Japan.