Muromachi period

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The Muromachi period ( Japanese 室町時代 , Muromachi jidai ; around 1336–1573), also known as the Ashikaga period , is a period in Japanese history . It is the time of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate . The Muromachi period overlaps with the period of Warring States from 1477, a nearly 100-year-long state of war without central order, the last Ashikaga shogun at the end of Ashikaga Yoshiaki was deposed 1,573th

The Muromachi period is named after the Muromachi district in Kyoto . This was the seat of government of the Ashikaga .

history

Muromachi Samurai, 1538

At the beginning of the Muromachi period, the Shogunate established by Minamoto no Yoritomo was the central power in Japan. At that time it was run by the Hōjō family . The events of the years 1333 to 1336 led to the fall of the Kamakura Shogune ( Kemmu restoration ) and the rule of the Ashikaga family .

The collapse of this state order was triggered by the attempt of Emperor Go-Daigo to return to power. Go-Daigo's first rebellion in 1331 was put down by the Shogun's troops and he himself was banished to the island of Oki . But his rebellion against the shogunate did not go unnoticed. Many militarily important families (especially the Ashikaga and the Nitta ) strove to overthrow the Kamakura-Bakufu. When Go-Daigo was released from custody on Oki in 1332, these associations were ready to support him.

1333 Ashikaga Takauji captured Kyōto, an army led by Nitta Yoshisada captured Kamakura and destroyed the Hōjō family. After these successes, Go-Daigo ruled Kyōto from 1334 to 1336. In the course of the Kemmu restoration , he tried to re-establish imperial rule. In this endeavor he appointed his son Morinaga Shogun and rewarded members of the court nobility with titles and fiefs. The allied warrior associations received compensation, which they found inappropriate.

Now the differences between the warlords and the emperor became clear. A re-strengthened monarchy would have meant a loss of power for the powerful families. In 1336 Ashikaga expelled Takauji Go-Daigo from Kyōto, installed Prince Toyohito as his preferred emperor and thus thwarted the restoration. From then on, power lay in the hands of the Ashikaga.

But the conflict was not over yet. Go-Daigo and his followers holed up in the Yoshino near Nara and held fast to their claim to the imperial dignity. This conflict, also known as the struggle between the North and South Courts , split the imperial dynasty into two lines. This schism only ended in 1392 with the abandonment of Go-Daigo's successor.

The Ashikaga shogunate moved the seat of government from Kamakura to Kyoto. The court nobility was again excluded from political events. The remnants of the imperial administration were absorbed in the military administration system of Bakufu . Unlike the Kamakura-Bakufu, however, the Ashikaga no longer achieved complete control over the country. In the troubled times of the Kemmu Restoration, much power had flowed to the local rulers. The Ashikaga ruled a coalition of powerful vassals of questionable stability. Under the rule of Ashikaga Yoshimitsu (1358-1408) the Ashikaga shogunate came to its greatest power. Yoshimitsu was recognized by the emperors of the Chinese Ming dynasty , he built magnificent buildings and led the life of a monarch. The subsequent Ashikaga shoguns steadily lost power. Under the eighth Ashikaga Shogun Yoshimasa (1443–1473) the political system then collapsed. Rebellions and financial misery weakened the shogunate. The powerful vassal families fought for power in the Ōnin War (1467–1477). The ten-year conflict had no real winners. In the end, Kyoto, like the central government, was in ruins. Japan entered a long period of strife, the Warring States Period ( Sengoku-jidai ).

List of Ashikaga Shoguns

  1. Ashikaga Takauji , r. 1338-1358
  2. Ashikaga Yoshiakira , r. 1359-1367
  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
  9. Ashikaga Yoshihisa , r. 1474-1489
  10. Ashikaga Yoshitane , r. 1490-1493, 1508-1521
  11. Ashikaga Yoshizumi , r. 1494-1508
  12. Ashikaga Yoshiharu , r. 1521-1546
  13. Ashikaga Yoshiteru , r. 1546-1565
  14. Ashikaga Yoshihide , r. 1568
  15. Ashikaga Yoshiaki , r. 1568-1573

Web links

Commons : Muromachi Period  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files