Ashikaga Takauji
Ashikaga Takauji ( Jap. 足利尊氏 * 1305 in Ashikaga , † 7. June 1358 in Kyoto ) was the founder and first shogun of the Ashikaga -Shōgunats. His reign began in 1338 and marked the beginning of the Muromachi period in Japanese history and ended with his death in 1358. He was a descendant of the samurai of the Seiwa Genji lineage, tracing their lineage back to Emperor Seiwa , who is in the Ashikaga area of the province Shimotsuke , today's Tochigi Prefecture , settled. His father was called Sadauchi , his mother came from the Hōjō family.
Takauji was a general under the Kamakura Shogunate and was sent to Kyoto in 1333 to put down the Genko rebellion , which had been going on since 1331 . After becoming increasingly disillusioned with the Shogunate rule, he joined the exiled Emperor Go-Daigo and Kusunoki Masashige and occupied Kyoto. Soon after, Nitta Yoshisada attacked Kamakura and destroyed the shogunate. Emperor Go-Daigo became de facto ruler of Japan again, re-established the supremacy of the imperial court and began the Kemmu restoration .
Soon the samurai clans became increasingly dissatisfied with the reinstated imperial court, which sought to reintroduce the social and political system of the Heian period . Feeling this dissatisfaction, Takauji asked the emperor to do something before a rebellion broke out, but his pleas were ignored.
Hōjō Tokiyuki , son of the 14th Hōjō regent Hōjō Moritoki took the opportunity to start the Nakasendai rebellion . In 1335 he tried to re-establish the Kamakura shogunate. Takauji put down the rebellion and occupied Kamakura himself. He made the cause of his fellow samurai his own and claimed the title of Seii Taishogun and began as such to distribute lands to his followers without the permission of the imperial court.
Takauji assured his loyalty to the imperial court, but Nitta Yoshisada was sent by Go-Daigo to retake Kamakura.
In the battle of Hakone Take no Shita , Takauji was victorious and marched as far as Kyoto. He conquered it, but was driven back from the city to Kyushu by the newly grouped forces of Yoshisada and Kusunoki Masashige . Takauji allied with the Kyushu-based clans and moved again against Kyoto. In the decisive battle on the Minato River in 1336, Takauji defeated Yoshisada and killed Masashige , after which he was able to take Kyōto without resistance. Emperor Kōmyō was installed as emperor, which marked the beginning of the turbulent times of the North and South Courts ( Namboku-chō ), which lasted almost 60 years.
Takauji's son Ashikaga Yoshiakira followed him as Shogun. His grandson Ashikaga Yoshimitsu reunited the two imperial courts in 1392.
The story of Ashikaga Takauji, Emperor Go-Daigo, Nitta Yoshisada and Kusunoki Masashige from the Genkō War to the establishment of the northern and southern imperial courts are described in detail in the 40-volume epic Taiheiki .
literature
- E. Papinot: Historical and geographical dictionary of Japan. Rutland, Vermont, Tokyo, 1992, ISBN 0-8048-0996-8
Individual evidence
- ↑ http ://www. britica.com/EBchecked/topic/38254/Ashikaga-Takauji
- ↑ E. Papinot: Historical and geographical dictionary of Japan. Rutland, Vermont, Tokyo, 1992, ISBN 0-8048-0996-8 , p. 28
- ↑ E. Papinot: Historical and geographical dictionary of Japan. Rutland, Vermont, Tokyo, 1992, ISBN 0-8048-0996-8 , pp. 28-29
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Ashikaga Takauji |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Founder and first shogun of the Ashikaga shogunate |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1305 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Ashikaga |
| DATE OF DEATH | June 7, 1358 |
| Place of death | Kyoto |