Japanese History Digest
The Muromachi Period
Kenmu Restoration
After overthrowing the Kamakura shogunate, Emperor Godaigo abolished the positions of regent and chancellor, advocated direct imperial rule, and sought a new political system. In 1334, he changed the era name to Kenmu, and this system is known as the Kenmu Restoration. Emperor Godaigo established the Record Office, the Military Affairs Office, the Office for Deciding on Miscellaneous Cases, and the Reward Office at the central level, and the Kamakura Shogunate, the Mutsu Shogunate, the Seiseifu, and provincial governors at the regional levels. Nijō Tamefuyu was appointed chief of the Military Affairs Office, but the practical work was handled by influential samurai such as Nitta Yoshisada and Kusunoki Masashige.
The Kenmu Restoration was modeled after the Engi and Tenryaku eras of the Heian period, but its attempt to combine elements of both the nobility and the samurai led to growing discontent on both sides and social unrest.
Ashikaga Takauji and the Northern and Southern Courts Period
Amid this chaos, in 1335, Hojo Takatoki's son, Tokiyuki, launched the Nakasendai Rebellion. Ashikaga Takauji, who traveled to Kamakura to suppress the rebellion, seized the opportunity to rebel against the new government and revolt. Emperor Godaigo ordered the suppression of Takauji, but Takauji fled to Kyushu, allied with the Jimyoin lineage, and enthroned Emperor Kōmyō, attempting to restore military rule.
This marked the end of the Kenmu era's direct rule, and Emperor Godaigo fled to Yoshino, where he retained the Three Sacred Treasures and claimed legitimacy. Thus began the Nanboku-chō period, a period of conflict between the Southern Court, centered on the Daikakuji lineage, and the Northern Court, led by the Jimyoin lineage and supported by the Ashikaga clan.
Establishment of the Muromachi Shogunate
Takauji took control of Kyoto and enthroned Emperor Kōmyō. He shared government duties with his younger brother, Tadayoshi, and established the Kenmu Code. In 1338, he was appointed Seii Taishogun, establishing the Muromachi shogunate.
Meanwhile, in the Southern Court, Emperor Godaigo died, and the samurai who had supported the Kenmu Restoration gradually fell into decline. In the Northern Court, conflict between Takauji, Tadayoshi, and Tadayoshi's advisor, Takanori Moronao, led to the Kan'o Disturbance, plunging the shogunate into internal conflict.
Initially, they were known as "Takauji of Warriors, Tadayoshi of Politics," but Naoyoshi's faction ultimately defeated Takanori Moronao, and the fighting between the brothers spread nationwide.
The Era of Ashikaga Yoshimitsu
The name "Muromachi shogunate" comes from the fact that Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, the third shogun and grandson of Ashikaga Takauji, built a mansion known as the "Hana no Gosho" (Flower Palace) in Muromachi, Kyoto, and used it as the government headquarters.
The unrest of the Northern and Southern Courts came to an end during Yoshimitsu's reign, and in 1392 the two courts were unified (the Meitoku Peace Treaty). Yoshimitsu suppressed the shugo daimyo and established control over the entire country. The shogunate's governing structure consisted of three kanrei (regents) assisting the shogun: Hosokawa, Shiba, and Hatakeyama, and four samurai offices (samurai bureaucracy): Yamana, Akamatsu, Isshiki, and Kyogoku. Regionally, the Kamakura shogunate was established in Kanto, the Kyushu tandai in Kyushu, and the Oshu tandai and Ushu tandai in the Oshu region.
The shogunate's financial resources relied on income from its directly controlled territories (imperial estates) and taxation of shugo, manors, and kokujin, as well as other taxes such as dansen, tonbetsusen, and tariffs.
In terms of diplomacy, it established diplomatic relations with the Ming Dynasty and engaged in treasury trade using treasury tickets. Japan exported copper, sulfur, and swords, and imported copper coins, raw silk, and silk fabrics from the Ming Dynasty.
The Shogunate and Civil Wars After Yoshimitsu
After Yoshimitsu's death, the power of the shugo daimyo, which had been suppressed during the reign of the fourth shogun, Yoshimochi, once again grew. Ashikaga Yoshinori, who had become a monk, was elected by lottery as the sixth shogun and sought to strengthen his power through autocratic governance.
When the Kamakura kubo Ashikaga Mochiuji and the Kanto kanrei Uesugi Norizane clashed, Yoshinori supported Uesugi and defeated Mochiuji (the Eikyō Rebellion). He also wiped out the Yuki clan, which had sheltered Mochiuji's surviving child (the Yuki Battle). However, Yoshinori's reign of terror provoked resentment from other daimyo, and Harima shugo Akamatsu Mitsusuke assassinated Yoshinori (the Kakitsu Rebellion). Mitsusuke was killed by Yamana Mochitoyo (Sōzen), but the shogun's authority was greatly diminished.
The Onin War and the Beginning of the Sengoku Period
After Yoshinori's death, successive battles over the succession of the Hatakeyama and Shiba clans raged, and within the shogunate, conflict arose over the succession of the eighth shogun, Ashikaga Yoshimasa. Furthermore, the conflict between Kanrei Hosokawa Katsumoto and Samurai-dokoro no Shoshi Yamana Mochitoyo intensified.
In 1467, Yoshimasa supported the Hosokawa side (Eastern Army) and the Yamana side (Western Army), sparking the Onin War. This conflict, primarily centered in Kyoto, lasted for 11 years, weakening the shogunate's effective control to the point where it was limited to Yamashiro. This marked the beginning of a nationwide trend of gekokujo (rebellion against superiors), ushering in the Sengoku period.
The Rise of Sengoku Daimyo
After the Onin War, shugo daimyo lost their territories to deputy shugo and kokujin, leading to the rise of independent Sengoku daimyo in various regions. These lord-vassal relationships with local samurai and kokujin led to the dominion of their territories, enacting local laws, and conducting their own political practices. In Kyoto, the Hosokawa clan, who held real power in the Muromachi shogunate, lost their power to their vassal, Miyoshi Nagayoshi, and the Miyoshi clan was then destroyed by Matsunaga Hisahide. In Kanto, the Shogunate was split between Ashikaga Mochiuji's son, Shigeuji, and Ashikaga Masatomo, and Hojo Soun expanded his influence from his base in Odawara, and during the reign of Hojo Ujiyasu, he controlled most of Kanto. In the western provinces, Ouchi Yoshitaka of Suo was killed by his vassal, Sue Harukata, and the Ouchi clan was destroyed, and an era of rebellion against the ruling class spread throughout the country.
Timeline of the Muromachi period
| 1333 AD | Fall of the Kamakura Shogunate |
| 1335 AD | Nakasendai Rebellion |
| 1335 AD | Ashikaga Takauji rebels against the government |
| 1336 AD | Promulgation of the Kenmu Code |
| 1378 AD | Ashikaga Yoshimitsu builds the "Flower Palace" (Hana no Gosho) |
| 1392 AD | Unification of the Northern and Southern Courts |
| 1394 AD | Ashikaga Yoshimitsu becomes Chancellor (Daijō Daijin) |
| 1399 AD | Ōei Disturbance |
| 1467 AD | Start of the Ōnin War |
| 1477 AD | End of the Ōnin War |
| 1543 AD | Introduction of firearms to Japan |
| 1549 AD | Introduction of Christianity (Francis Xavier) |
Facilities where you can learn about the Muromachi period
Imperial Household Agency Visitor Information: Facility Information – Kyoto Imperial Palace
https://kyoto-gosho.kunaicho.go.jp/en
Note: The Hana-no-Gosho was located at the northwest of today’s Kyoto Imperial Palace, diagonally across from the Karasuma-Imadegawa intersection within the Kyoto Gyoen National Garden.
Daishoji Temple(Kyoto City Kamigyo Ward Official Website)
https://www.city.kyoto.lg.jp/kamigyo/page/0000012472.html
Yoshino Town Promotion Website
https://www.town.yoshino.nara.jp/promotion/chosennochi-yoshino/yoshinonochosennorekishi/rekishi/331.html
Eizan-ji Temple (Nara Tabinet – Official Tourism Site of Nara Prefecture)
https://yamatoji.nara-kankou.or.jp/01shaji/02tera/04south_area/eisanji/
