http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shogun
Ashikaga shogunate (1336–1573)
The tomb of Ashikaga Takauji
Main articles: Ashikaga shogunate and Muromachi period
In 1338 Ashikaga Takauji, like Yoritomo a descendant of the Minamoto princes, was
awarded the title of sei-i taishōgun and established Ashikaga Shogunate, which
lasted until 1573. The Ashikaga had their headquarters in the Muromachi district of
Kyoto, and the time period during which they ruled is also known as the Muromachi
Period.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashikaga_shogunate
Ashikaga shogunate
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Ashikaga
Shogunate
足利幕府
Ashikaga Bakufu
←
1338–1573
←
Mon
Capital
→
→
Kyoto
Language(s)
Religion
Government
Late
Middle
Japanese
Shinbutsu shūgō
Feudal
military
dictatorship
Emperor
- 1332–1334
Kōgon
- 1557–1586
Ōgimachi
Shogun
- 1338–1358
Ashikaga Takauji
- 1568–1573
Ashikaga Yoshiaki
History
- Established
August 11, 1338
- Surrender
of
Emperor
Go- October 15, 1392
Kameyama
- Ōnin War
1467–1477
- Oda Nobunaga September
2,
captures Kyoto
1573
Currency
Mon
This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but
its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve
this article by introducing more precise citations where appropriate.
(November 2009)
The Ashikaga shogunate (足利幕府 Ashikaga bakufu?, 1336–1573), also known as
the Muromachi shogunate (室町幕府 Muromachi bakufu?), was a Japanese feudal
military regime, ruled by the shoguns of the Ashikaga clan.
This period is also known as the Muromachi period and gets its name from
Muromachi Street of Kyoto where the third shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu established
his residence. This residence is nicknamed "Hana no Gosho" (花の御所) or "Flower
Palace" (constructed in 1379) because of the abundance of flowers in its
landscaping.
Contents
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1 Beginning
2 North and South Court
3 Government Structure
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3.1 Foreign relations
4 Fall of the Shogunate
5 List of Ashikaga Shoguns
6 See also
7 Notes
8 References
9 External links
[edit] Beginning
During the preceding Kamakura period (1185–1333), the Hōjō clan enjoyed absolute
power in the governing of Japan. This monopoly of power, as well as the lack of a
reward of lands after the defeat of Mongol invasion, led to simmering resentment
among Hōjō vassals. Finally, in 1333, the Emperor Go-Daigo ordered local governing
vassals to oppose Hōjō rule, in favor of Imperial restoration, in the Kemmu
Restoration.
To counter this revolt, the Kamakura bakufu ordered Ashikaga Takauji to squash the
uprising. For reasons that are unclear, possibly because Ashikaga was the de facto
leader of the powerless Minamoto clan, while the Hōjō clan were from the Taira clan
the Minamoto had previously defeated, Ashikaga turned against the Kamakura
bakufu, and fought on behalf of the Imperial court.
After the successful overthrow of the Kamakura bakufu in 1336, Ashikaga Takauji set
up his own bakufu in Kyoto.
[edit] North and South Court
After Ashikaga Takauji established himself as the Seii Taishogun, a dispute arose with
the Emperor Go-Daigo on the subject of how to govern the country. That dispute led
Takauji to cause Yutahito, the second son of Emperor Go-Fushimi, to be installed as
Emperor Kōmyō. Go-Daigo fled, and the country was divided between a North Court
(in favor of Kōmyō and Ashikaga), and a South Court (in favor of Go-Daigo). This
period of North and South Courts (Nanboku-chō) continued for 56 years, until 1392,
when the South Court gave up during the reign of Ashikaga Yoshimitsu.
[edit] Government Structure
Structure of the bakufu
In part because Ashikaga Takauji established his shogunate by siding with the
Emperor against the previous Kamakura shogunate, the Ashikagas shared more of
the governmental authority with the Imperial government than the Kamakura
shogunate had. Thus, it was a weaker shogunate than the Kamakura shogunate or
the Tokugawa shogunate. The centralized master-vassal system used in the
Kamakura system was replaced with the highly de-centralized daimyo (local lord)
system, and the military power of the Ashikaga shogunate depended heavily on the
loyalty of the daimyo.
[edit] Foreign relations
The Ashikaga shogunate's foreign relations policy choices were played out in
evolving contacts with the Joseon Dynasty on the Korean peninsula [1] and with
Imperial China.[2]
[edit] Fall of the Shogunate
As the daimyo increasingly feuded among themselves in the pursuit of power in the
Ōnin War, that loyalty grew increasingly strained, until it erupted into open warfare
in the late Muromachi period, also known as the Sengoku Period.
When the shogun Yoshiteru was assassinated in 1565, an ambitious daimyo, Oda
Nobunaga, seized the opportunity and installed Yoshiteru's brother Ashikaga
Yoshiaki as the 15th Ashikaga shogun. However, Yoshiaki was only a puppet shogun.
The Ashikaga shogunate was finally destroyed in 1573 when Nobunaga drove
Ashikaga Yoshiaki out of Kyoto. Initially, Yoshiaki fled to Shikoku. Afterwards,
Yoshiaki sought and received protection from the Mōri clan in western Japan. Later,
Toyotomi Hideyoshi requested that Yoshiaki accept him as an adopted son and the
16th Ashikaga Shogun, but Yoshiaki refused.
The Ashikaga family survived the 16th century, and a branch of it became the
daimyo family of the Kitsuregawa domain.[3]
[edit] List of Ashikaga Shoguns
Marker for Site of Muromachi Bakufu, Kyoto
1. Ashikaga Takauji, ruled 1338–1358
2. Ashikaga Yoshiakira, r. 1359–1368
3. Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, r. 1368–1394
4. Ashikaga Yoshimochi, r. 1395–1423
5. Ashikaga Yoshikazu, r. 1423–1425
6. Ashikaga Yoshinori, r. 1429–1441
7. Ashikaga Yoshikatsu, r. 1442–1443
8. Ashikaga Yoshimasa, r. 1449–1473[4]
9. Ashikaga Yoshihisa, r. 1474–1489[4]
10. Ashikaga Yoshitane, r. 1490–1493, 1508–1521[5]
11. Ashikaga Yoshizumi, r. 1494–1508[5]
12. Ashikaga Yoshiharu, r. 1521–1546
13. Ashikaga Yoshiteru, r. 1546–1565
14. Ashikaga Yoshihide, r. 1568
15. Ashikaga Yoshiaki, r. 1568–1573
[edit] See also
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Shogun
History of Japan
Lists of incumbents
Kamakura period
Muromachi period
Nanboku-chō
Ashikaga clan
Ashikaga Takauji
Ashikaga Yoshimitsu
Ashikaga Yoshiteru
Japanese missions to Imperial China
[edit] Notes
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
^ Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). Annales des empereurs du japon, p. 320–342
at Google Books; Kang, Etsuko H. (1997). Diplomacy and Ideology in
Japanese-Korean Relations: from the Fifteenth to the Eighteenth Century, p.
275.
^ Ackroyd, Joyce. (1982) Lessons from History: The Tokushi Yoron, p.
329; Titsingh, pp. 322–324.
^ With the end of the Kitsuregawa line following the death of
Ashikaga Atsuuji in 1983, the current de facto head of the family is Ashikaga
Yoshihiro, of the Hirashima Kubō line.
^ a b Ackroyd, p. 298; n.b., Shogun Yoshimasa was succeeded by
Shogun Yoshihisa (Yoshimasa's natural son), then by Shogun Yoshitane
(Yoshimasa's first adopted son), and then by Shogun Yoshizumi (Yoshimasa's
second adopted son)
^ a b Ackroyd, p. 385 n104; excerpt, "Some apparent contradictions
exist in various versions of the pedigree owing to adoptions and namechanges. Yoshitsuna (sometimes also read Yoshikore) changed his name and
was adopted by Yoshitane. Some pedegrees show Yoshitsuna as Yoshizumi's
son, and Yoshifuyu as Yoshizumi's son."
[edit] References
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Ackroyd, Joyce. (1982) Lessons from History: The Tokushi Yoron. Brisbane:
University of Queensland Press. 10-ISBN 070221485X/13-ISBN 9780702214851;
OCLC 7574544
Kang, Etsuko Hae-jin. (1997). Diplomacy and Ideology in Japanese-Korean
Relations: from the Fifteenth to the Eighteenth Century. Basingstoke, Hampshire;
Macmillan. 10-ISBN 0-312-17370-9/13-ISBN 978-0-312-17370-8; OCLC
243874305
Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). Nihon Odai Ichiran; ou, Annales des empereurs du
Japon. Paris: Royal Asiatic Society, Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and
Ireland. OCLC 5850691.
[edit] External links

Ashikaga Bakufu
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muromachi_period
Muromachi period
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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"Muromachi" redirects here. For other uses, see Muromachi (disambiguation).
History of Japan
Kinkaku-ji
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Paleolithic 35,000–14,000 BC
Jōmon period 14,000–300 BC
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538–710
Nara period 710–794
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1185–1333
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restoration
1333–1336
Muromachi period (Ashikaga)
1336–1573
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period
1336–1392
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1467–1573
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This box: view · talk · edit
The Muromachi period (室町時代 Muromachi jidai?, also known as the Muromachi
era, the Muromachi bakufu, the Ashikaga era, the Ashikaga period, or the Ashikaga
bakufu) is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573.
The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate, which
was officially established in 1338 by the first Muromachi shogun, Ashikaga Takauji,
two years after the brief Kemmu restoration (1333–1336) of imperial rule was
brought to a close. The period ended in 1573 when the 15th and last shogun of this
line, Ashikaga Yoshiaki, was driven out of the capital in Kyoto by Oda Nobunaga.
From a cultural perspective, the period can be divided into the Kitayama and
Higashiyama periods (later 15th - early 16th).
The early years from 1336 to 1392 of the Muromachi period are known as the
Nanboku-chō or Northern and Southern Court period. This period is marked by the
continued resistance of the supporters of Emperor Go-Daigo, the emperor behind
the Kemmu restoration. The years from 1465 to the end of the Muromachi period
are also known as the Sengoku period or Warring States period.
Contents
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1 Ashikaga bakufu
2 Economic and cultural developments
2.1 Shintoism
3 Provincial wars and foreign contacts
3.1 Economic effect of wars between states
3.2 Western influence
3.3 Christianity
4 Events
5 See also
6 References
[edit] Ashikaga bakufu
Emperor Go-Daigo's brief Kemmu restoration for various reasons disappointed the
samurai class. Ashikaga Takauji obtained the samurais' strong support, and deposed
Emperor Go-Daigo. In 1338 Takauji was proclaimed shogun and established his
government in Kyoto. However, Emperor Godaigo escaped from his confinement,
and revived his political power in Nara. The ensuing period of Ashikaga rule (1336–
1573) was called Muromachi from the district of Kyoto in which its headquarters
were located by third shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu in 1378. What distinguished the
Ashikaga bakufu from that of Kamakura Bakufu was that, whereas Kamakura had
existed in equilibrium with the Kyōto court, Ashikaga took over the remnants of the
imperial government. Nevertheless, the Ashikaga bakufu was not as strong as that in
Kamakura had been, and was greatly preoccupied with civil war. Not until the rule of
Ashikaga Yoshimitsu (as third shogun, 1368–94, and chancellor, 1394–1408) did a
semblance of order emerge.
Muromachi samurai (1538)
Yoshimitsu allowed the constables, who had had limited powers during the
Kamakura period, to become strong regional rulers, later called daimyō. In time, a
balance of power evolved between the shogun and the daimyō; the three most
prominent daimyō families rotated as deputies to the shogun at Kyoto. Yoshimitsu
was finally successful in reunifying the Northern Court and the Southern Court in
1392, but, despite his promise of greater balance between the imperial lines, the
Northern Court maintained control over the throne thereafter. The line of shoguns
gradually weakened after Yoshimitsu and increasingly lost power to the daimyō and
other regional strongmen. The shogun's influence on imperial succession waned, and
the daimyō could back their own candidates. In time, the Ashikaga family had its
own succession problems, resulting finally in the Ōnin War (1467–1477), which left
Kyoto devastated and effectively ended the national authority of the bakufu. The
power vacuum that ensued launched a century of anarchy (see Provincial Wars and
Foreign Contacts).
[edit] Economic and cultural developments
A ship of the Muromachi period (1538).
Contact with the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644) China was renewed during the
Muromachi period after the Chinese sought support in suppressing Japanese pirates
in coastal areas of China. Japanese pirates of this era and region were referred to as
wokou, by the Chinese (Japanese wakō). Wanting to improve relations with China
and to rid Japan of the wokou threat, Yoshimitsu accepted a relationship with the
Chinese that was to last for half a century. In 1401 he restarted the tribute system,
describing himself in a letter to the Chinese Emperor as "Your subject, the King of
Japan". Japanese wood, sulphur, copper ore, swords, and folding fans were traded
for Chinese silk, porcelain, books, and coins, in what the Chinese considered tribute
but the Japanese saw as profitable trade.[citation needed]
During the time of the Ashikaga bakufu, a new national culture, called Muromachi
culture, emerged from the bakufu headquarters in Kyoto to reach all levels of
society. Zen Buddhism played a large role in spreading not only religious but also
artistic influences, especially those derived from painting of the Chinese Song (9601279), Yuan, and Ming dynasties. The proximity of the imperial court to the bakufu
resulted in a commingling of imperial family members, courtiers, daimyō, samurai,
and Zen priests. Art of all kinds—architecture, literature, Noh drama, comedy,
poetry, the tea ceremony, landscape gardening, and flower arranging—all flourished
during Muromachi times.
[edit] Shintoism
Music scene during the Muromachi period (1538).
There also was renewed interest in Shinto, which had quietly coexisted with
Buddhism during the centuries of the latter's predominance. In fact, Shinto, which
lacked its own scriptures and had few prayers, had, as a result of syncretic practices
begun in the Nara period, widely adopted Shingon Buddhist rituals. Between the
eighth and fourteenth centuries, Shintoism was nearly totally absorbed by
Buddhism, becoming known as Ryōbu Shinto (Dual Shinto). The Mongol invasions in
the late thirteenth century, however, evoked a national consciousness of the role of
the kamikaze in defeating the enemy. Less than fifty years later (1339–43),
Kitabatake Chikafusa (1293–1354), the chief commander of the Southern Court
forces, wrote the Jinnō Shōtōki. This chronicle emphasized the importance of
maintaining the divine descent of the imperial line from Amaterasu to the current
emperor, a condition that gave Japan a special national polity (kokutai). Besides
reinforcing the concept of the emperor as a deity, the Jinnōshōtōki provided a Shinto
view of history, which stressed the divine nature of all Japanese and the country's
spiritual supremacy over China and India. As a result, a change gradually occurred in
the balance between the dual Buddhist–Shinto religious practice. Between the
fourteenth and seventeenth centuries, Shinto reemerged as the primary belief
system, developed its own philosophy and scripture (based on Confucian and
Buddhist canons), and became a powerful nationalistic force.
[edit] Provincial wars and foreign contacts
The Ōnin War (1467–1477) led to serious political fragmentation and obliteration of
domains: a great struggle for land and power ensued among bushi chieftains and
lasted until the mid-sixteenth century. Peasants rose against their landlords and
samurai against their overlords as central control virtually disappeared. The imperial
house was left impoverished, and the bakufu was controlled by contending
chieftains in Kyoto. The provincial domains that emerged after the Ōnin War were
smaller and easier to control. Many new small daimyō arose from among the
samurai who had overthrown their great overlords. Border defenses were improved,
and well fortified castle towns were built to protect the newly opened domains, for
which land surveys were made, roads built, and mines opened. New house laws
provided practical means of administration, stressing duties and rules of behavior.
Emphasis was put on success in war, estate management, and finance. Threatening
alliances were guarded against through strict marriage rules. Aristocratic society was
overwhelmingly military in character. The rest of society was controlled in a system
of vassalage. The shōen (feudal manors) were obliterated, and court nobles and
absentee landlords were dispossessed. The new daimyō directly controlled the land,
keeping the peasantry in permanent serfdom in exchange for protection.
[edit] Economic effect of wars between states
Most wars of the period were short and localized, although they occurred
throughout Japan. By 1500 the entire country was engulfed in civil wars. Rather than
disrupting the local economies, however, the frequent movement of armies
stimulated the growth of transportation and communications, which in turn
provided additional revenues from customs and tolls. To avoid such fees, commerce
shifted to the central region, which no daimyō had been able to control, and to the
Inland Sea. Economic developments and the desire to protect trade achievements
brought about the establishment of merchant and artisan guilds.
[edit] Western influence
Main article: Nanban trade period
Nanban ships arriving for trade in Japan. 16th century painting.
By the end of the Muromachi period, the first Europeans had arrived. The
Portuguese landed in southern Kyūshū in 1543 and within two years were making
regular port calls, initiating the century-long Nanban trade period. The Spanish
arrived in 1587, followed by the Dutch in 1609. The Japanese began to attempt
studies of European civilization in depth, and new opportunities were presented for
the economy, along with serious political challenges. European firearms, fabrics,
glassware, clocks, tobacco, and other Western innovations were traded for Japanese
gold and silver. Significant wealth was accumulated through trade, and lesser
daimyō, especially in Kyūshū, greatly increased their power. Provincial wars became
more deadly with the introduction of firearms, such as muskets and cannons, and
greater use of infantry.
[edit] Christianity
Main article: Kirishitan
A Japanese votive altar, Nanban style. End of 16th century. Guimet Museum.
Christianity had an impact on Japan, largely through the efforts of the Jesuits, led
first by the Navarrese Saint Francis Xavier (1506–1552), who arrived in Kagoshima in
southern Kyūshū in 1549. Both daimyō and merchants seeking better trade
arrangements as well as peasants were among the converts. By 1560 Kyoto had
become another major area of missionary activity in Japan. In 1568 the port of
Nagasaki, in northwestern Kyūshū, was established by a Christian daimyō and was
turned over to Jesuit administration in 1579. By 1582 there were as many as 150,000
converts (two per cent of the population) and 200 churches. But bakufu tolerance
for this alien influence diminished as the country became more unified and openness
decreased. Proscriptions against Christianity began in 1587 and outright
persecutions in 1597. Although foreign trade was still encouraged, it was closely
regulated, and by 1640 the exclusion and suppression of Christianity had become
national policy (see Tokugawa Period, 1600–1867, this ch.; Religious and
Philosophical Traditions, ch. 2).
[edit] Events
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1336: Ashikaga Takauji captures Kyoto and forces Emperor Go-Daigo to move
to a southern court (Yoshino, south of Kyoto)
1338: Ashikaga Takauji declares himself shogun, moves his capital into the
Muromachi district of Kyoto and supports the northern court
1392: The southern court surrenders to shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu and the
empire is unified again
1397: Kinkaku-ji is built by Ashikaga Yoshimitsu.
Ryōan-ji Karesansui
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1450: Ryōan-ji is built by Hosokawa Katsumoto.
1467: The Ōnin War is split among feudal lords (daimyō)
1489: Ginkaku-ji is built by Ashikaga Yoshimasa
1542: Firearms are introduced by a shipwrecked Portuguese
1546: Hōjō Ujiyasu who had won the Battle of Kawagoe becomes ruler of the
Kantō region
1549: The Catholic missionary Francis Xavier arrived in Japan
1555: Mōri Motonari, who had won the Battle of Miyajima, becomes ruler of
the Chūgoku region
1560: Battle of Okehazama
1568: The daimyō Oda Nobunaga enters Kyoto and ends the civil war
1570: The Archbishopric of Edo is established and the first Japanese Jesuits
are ordained
1570: Battle of Anegawa
1573: The daimyō Oda Nobunaga overthrows the Muromachi bakufu and
extends his control over all of Japan
1573: Battle of Mikatagahara
1575: Battle of Nagashino
[edit] See also
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Kitayama period
Higashiyama period
Nyōbō kotoba