Shogun (English: /ˈʃoʊɡʌn/ SHOH-gun; Japanese: 将軍, romanized: shōgun, pronounced [ɕoːɡɯɴ]), officially Sei-i Taishōgun (征夷大将軍, "Commander-in-Chief of the Expeditionary Force Against the Barbarians"), was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868.