Editing Ashikaga shogunate

{{Short description|Ruling military government of feudal Japan (1336–1573)}}
{{More citations needed section|date=May 2022}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2013}}
{{Infobox Former Country
| native_name            = {{nihongo|足利幕府||Ashikaga bakufu}}
| conventional_long_name = Ashikaga shogunate
| common_name            = Ashikaga shogunate
| year_start             = 1336
| year_end               = 1573
| date_start             = 11 August
| date_end               = 2 September
| event_end              = Ashikaga shogunate abolished
| event1                 = Surrender of [[Emperor Go-Kameyama]]
| date_event1            = 15 October 1392
| event2                 = [[Ōnin War]]
| date_event2            = 1467–1477
| event3                 = [[Oda Nobunaga]] captures Heian-kyo
| date_event3            = 18 October 1568
| image_flag             =
| flag                   = 
| flag_type              = 
| image_coat             = Ashikaga_mon.svg
| symbol_type            = ''[[Mon (emblem)|Mon]]'' of the [[Ashikaga clan]]
| symbol_type_article    = Mon of the Ashikaga shogunate
| p1                     = Kenmu Restoration
| p2                     = Ashikaga clan
| flag_p1                = Imperial_Seal_of_Japan.svg
| flag_p2                = Ashikaga_mon.svg
| s1                     = Azuchi–Momoyama period
| s2                     = 
| flag_s1                = Mon-Oda.png
| flag_s2                = 
| capital                = [[Heian-kyō]]
| government_type        = [[Absolute monarchy]] under a [[Feudalism in Japan|feudal]] [[military dictatorship]]
| title_leader           = [[Emperor of Japan|Emperor]]
| leader1                = [[Emperor Kōgon|Kōgon]]
| year_leader1           = 1332–1334
| leader2                = [[Emperor Ōgimachi|Ōgimachi]]
| year_leader2           = 1557–1586
| deputy1                = [[Ashikaga Takauji]]
| deputy2                = [[Ashikaga Yoshiaki]]
| year_deputy1           = 1338–1358
| year_deputy2           = 1568–1573
| title_deputy           = ''[[Shōgun]]''
| religion               = [[Shinbutsu-shūgō]]
| common_languages       = [[Late Middle Japanese]]
| currency               = [[Japanese mon (currency)|Mon]]
}}
{{History of Japan}}

The {{nihongo|'''Ashikaga shogunate'''|足利幕府|Ashikaga bakufu}}, also known as the {{nihongo|'''Muromachi shogunate'''|室町幕府|Muromachi bakufu}}, was the [[feudal]] [[military government]] of [[Japan]] during the [[Muromachi period]] from 1336 to 1573.<ref name="nussbaum669">Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). [https://books.google.com/books?id=p2QnPijAEmEC&pg=PA669&dq= "''Muromachi-jidai''"] in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 669.</ref>

The Ashikaga shogunate was established when [[Ashikaga Takauji]] was appointed ''[[Shōgun]]'' after overthrowing the [[Kenmu Restoration]] shortly after it had overthrown the [[Kamakura shogunate]] in support of [[Emperor Go-Daigo]].{{sfn|Roth|2002|p=878}} The [[Ashikaga clan]] governed Japan from the Imperial capital of [[Heian-kyō]] ([[Kyoto]]) as ''[[de facto]]'' [[military dictator]]s along with the ''[[daimyō]]'' lords of the ''[[samurai]]'' class.{{sfn|Roth|2002|p=53}} The Ashikaga shogunate began the [[Nanboku-chō period]] between the Pro-Ashikaga [[Northern Court]] in Kyoto and the Pro-Go-Daigo [[Southern Court]] in [[Yoshino District, Nara|Yoshino]] until the South conceded to the North in 1392. The Ashikaga shogunate collapsed upon outbreak of the [[Ōnin War]] in 1467, entering a state of constant [[civil war]] known as the [[Sengoku period]], and was finally dissolved when ''Shōgun'' [[Ashikaga Yoshiaki]] was overthrown by [[Oda Nobunaga]] in 1573.

The Ashikaga shogunate's alternative name ''Muromachi'' and the Muromachi period are derived from the Muromachi district of Kyoto, where the third ''Shōgun'', [[Ashikaga Yoshimitsu]], established his residence nicknamed the {{nihongo|"Flower Palace"|花の御所|Hana no Gosho}} on [[Muromachi Street]] in 1379.<ref name="nussbaum669"/>

== Background and early period ==
From 1180 to 1185, the [[Genpei War]] was fought between the [[Taira clan|Taira]] and [[Minamoto]] clans, which had a longstanding violent rivalry for influence over the [[Emperor of Japan]] and his [[Imperial Court in Kyoto|Imperial Court]]. The Genpei War ended with victory for the Minamoto under [[Minamoto no Yoritomo]], establishing the [[Kamakura shogunate]] after being pronounced ''[[Shōgun]]'' and beginning the [[Kamakura period]]. The [[Hōjō clan]] rose to power and governed Japan from the city of [[Kamakura]], while the Emperor and his Imperial Court remained in the official capital city of [[Heian-kyō]] as largely symbolic figures. The Hōjō monopoly of power, as well as the lack of a reward of lands after the defeat of the [[Mongol invasions of Japan|Mongol invasions]], led to simmering resentment among Hōjō [[vassal]]s.

In 1333, the [[Emperor Go-Daigo]] ordered local governing vassals to oppose Hōjō rule, in favor of Imperial rule in the [[Kenmu Restoration]]. The Kamakura shogunate ordered [[Ashikaga Takauji]] to quash the uprising, but for reasons that are unclear, Takauji turned against Kamakura and fought on behalf of the Imperial court, successfully overthrowing the shogunate. It is possibly because Takauji was the unofficial leader of the powerless [[Minamoto clan]] while the Hōjō clan were from the Taira clan the Minamoto had previously defeated. Japan was returned to Imperial [[Civilian government|civilian rule]], but Emperor Go-Daigo's policies were unpopular and failed to satisfy those who had fought for him. In 1336, Takauji established his own [[military government]] in Kyoto, effectively overthrowing the Kenmu Restoration and appointing himself as the new ''Shōgun''.

== Northern and Southern Courts ==
{{Main|Nanboku-chō period}}
After Ashikaga Takauji established himself as the ''Shōgun'', a dispute arose with Emperor Go-Daigo on the subject of how to govern the country. That dispute led Takauji to cause Prince Yutahito, the second son of [[Emperor Go-Fushimi]], to be installed as [[Emperor Kōmyō]] while Go-Daigō fled Kyoto. Japan was subsequently divided between two Imperial courts: the [[Northern Court]] located in Kyoto, in favor of Kōmyō under Ashikaga influence; and the [[Southern Court]] located in [[Yoshino District, Nara|Yoshino]], in favor of Go-Daigō. The Northern and Southern courts engaged in an ideological struggle for power that continued for 56 years, until the Southern Court gave up during the reign of ''Shōgun'' [[Ashikaga Yoshimitsu]] in 1392.

== Government structure ==
[[File:Instituciones del shogunato Ashikaga obj a trazo.svg|thumb|right|Structure of the bakufu]]

The Ashikaga shogunate was the weakest of the three Japanese military governments. Unlike its predecessor, the [[Kamakura shogunate]], or its successor, the [[Tokugawa shogunate]], when Ashikaga Takauji established his government he had little personal territory with which to support his rule. The Ashikaga shogunate was thus heavily reliant on the prestige and personal authority of its ''shōgun''. The centralized master-vassal system used in the Kamakura system was replaced with the highly de-centralized ''[[daimyō]]s'' (local lord) system, and because of the lack of direct territories, the military power of the ''shōgun'' depended heavily on the loyalty of the ''daimyō''.

On the other hand, the Imperial court was no longer a credible threat to military rule. The failure of the [[Kenmu Restoration]] had rendered the court weak and subservient, a situation that Ashikaga Takauji reinforced by establishing his court within close proximity to the Emperor in Kyoto. The authority of the local ''daimyō'' greatly expanded from that of Kamakura times. In addition to military and policing responsibilities, the shogunate-appointed ''shugo'' now absorbed the judicial, economic, and taxation powers of the local Imperial governors, while the government holdings in each province were rapidly absorbed into the personal holdings of the ''daimyō'' or their vassals. The loss of both political clout and an economic base deprived the Imperial court of much of its power, which were then assumed by the Ashikaga ''shōgun''. This situation reached its peak under the rule of the third ''shōgun'', Ashikaga Yoshimitsu.

After Yoshimitsu however, the structural weakness of the Ashikaga shogunate was exposed by numerous succession troubles and early deaths. This became dramatically more acute after the [[Ōnin War]], after which the shogunate itself became reduced to little more than a local political force in Kyoto.

===Foreign relations===
The Ashikaga shogunate's foreign relations policy choices were played out in evolving contacts with [[Joseon]] on the [[Korean Peninsula]]{{sfn|von Klaproth|1834|p=320}}{{sfn|Kang|1997|p=275}} and with imperial China.{{sfn|Ackroyd|1982|p=329}}{{sfn|von Klaproth|1834|pp=322–324}}

== Fall of the shogunate ==
Bloody succession crises amongst the warrior families led to a decline in the authority of the bakufu until it almost vanished by 1441 at the death of [[Ashikaga Yoshinori]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Sansom |first=Sir George Bailey |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HX8GAQAAIAAJ |title=A History of Japan, 1334-1615 |date=1958 |publisher=Stanford University Press |isbn=978-0-8047-0525-7 |pages=217, 281 |language=en}}</ref> The lack of government control was especially acute when the ''daimyō'' feuded among themselves in the pursuit of power during the [[Ōnin War]] (1467–1477), until it erupted into open warfare in the late Muromachi period, also known as the [[Sengoku period]].

When the ''shōgun'' [[Ashikaga Yoshiteru]] was assassinated in 1565, an ambitious ''daimyō'', [[Oda Nobunaga]], seized the opportunity and installed Yoshiteru's brother [[Ashikaga Yoshiaki]] as the 15th Ashikaga ''shōgun'' and Nobunaga's [[Puppet ruler|puppet]]. However Yoshiaki was not entirely subservient to Nobunaga: he continued to strike bargains amongst the monasteries to gain favor, and mediated between powerful clans such as the [[Ōtomo clan|Otomo]] and [[Mori clan (Genji)|Mori]].<ref name=":0" /> The Ashikaga shogunate was finally destroyed in 1573 when Nobunaga drove Yoshiaki out of Kyoto. Initially, Yoshiaki fled to [[Shikoku]]. Afterwards, he sought and received protection from the [[Mōri clan]] in western Japan.

The Ashikaga family survived the 16th century, and a branch of it became the ''daimyō'' family of the Kitsuregawa domain.{{efn|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.{{Citation needed|date=May 2022}}}}{{Citation needed|date=May 2022}}

== Palace remains ==
[[File:Muromachi-bakufu-ato sekihi.jpg|thumb|Marker for the site of the Flower Palace, Kyoto]]
The shogunal residence, also known as the "Flower Palace", was in Kyoto on the block now bounded by [[Karasuma Street]] (to the east), [[Imadegawa Street]] (to the south), [[Muromachi Street]] (to the west, giving the name), and [[Kamidachiuri Street]] (to the north). The location is commemorated by a stone marker at the southwest corner, and the {{Nihongo||寒梅館|Kanbai-kan|Winter Plum Hall}} of [[Doshisha University|Dōshisha University]] contains relics and excavations of the area.

== List of Ashikaga ''shōgun'' ==
# [[Ashikaga Takauji]], ruled 1338–1357{{sfn|Roth|2002|p=55}}
# [[Ashikaga Yoshiakira]], r. 1359–1368{{sfn|Roth|2002|p=55}}
# [[Ashikaga Yoshimitsu]], r. 1368–1394{{sfn|Roth|2002|p=56}}
# [[Ashikaga Yoshimochi]], r. 1395–1423{{sfn|Roth|2002|p=56}}
# [[Ashikaga Yoshikazu]], r. 1423–1425{{sfn|Roth|2002|p=56}}
## Responsibilities of government undertook by Ashikaga Yoshimochi, (1425–1428)<ref name="ackroyd3302">Ackroyd, Joyce. (1982) ''Lessons from History: The Tokushi Yoron, p.  330.''</ref>
# [[Ashikaga Yoshinori]], r. 1428–1441{{sfn|Roth|2002|p=56}}
# [[Ashikaga Yoshikatsu]], r. 1442–1443{{sfn|Roth|2002|p=56}}
# [[Ashikaga Yoshimasa]], r. 1449–1473{{sfn|Roth|2002|p=56}}<ref>{{harvnb|Ackroyd|1982|p=298}}; n.b., ''shōgun'' Yoshimasa was succeeded by ''shōgun'' Yoshihisa (Yoshimasa's natural son), then by Shogun Yoshitane (Yoshimasa's first adopted son), and then by Shogun Yoshizumi (Yoshimasa's second adopted son)</ref>
# [[Ashikaga Yoshihisa]], r. 1474–1489{{sfn|Roth|2002|p=56}}
# [[Ashikaga Yoshitane]], r. 1490–1493, 1508–1521{{sfn|Roth|2002|p=57}}<ref>{{harvnb|Ackroyd|1982|p=385|loc=n. 104}}; excerpt, "Some apparent contradictions exist in various versions of the pedigree owing to adoptions and name-changes. Yoshitsuna (sometimes also read Yoshikore) changed his name and was adopted by Yoshitane.  Some pedigrees show Yoshitsuna as Yoshizumi's son, and Yoshifuyu as Yoshizumi's son."</ref>
# [[Ashikaga Yoshizumi]], r. 1494–1508{{sfn|Roth|2002|p=57}}
# [[Ashikaga Yoshiharu]], r. 1521–1546{{sfn|Roth|2002|p=55}}
# [[Ashikaga Yoshiteru]], r. 1546–1565{{sfn|Roth|2002|p=57}}
# [[Ashikaga Yoshihide]], r. 1568{{sfn|Roth|2002|p=56}}
# [[Ashikaga Yoshiaki]], r. 1568–1573{{sfn|Roth|2002|p=55}}

{{Ashikaga dynasty (Japan)}}
{{Ashikaga chronology (Japan)}}

==See also==
* [[Ashikaga clan]]
* [[History of Japan]]
* [[Japanese missions to Imperial China]]
*''[[Kantō kubō]]''
* [[Ōban (Great Watch)]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist|colwidth=25em}}

===Bibliography===
* {{cite book|last1=新井 Arai|first1=白石 Hakuseki|authorlink1=Arai Hakuseki|last2=Ackroyd|first2=Joyce Irene|title=Lessons from history: the Tokushi yoron|url=https://archive.org/details/lessonsfromhisto0000arai|url-access=registration|year=1982|publisher=University of Queensland Press|isbn=978-0-7022-1485-1 |ref=CITEREFAckroyd1982}}
* {{cite book|last=Kang|first=Etsuko Hae-Jin|title=Diplomacy and Ideology in Japanese-Korean Relations: From the Fifteenth to the Eighteenth Century|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4f0jnNzdRb4C|year=1997|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|isbn=978-0-312-17370-8}}
* {{cite book|last1=Nussbaum|first1=Louis-Frédéric|authorlink1=Louis Frédéric|last2=Roth|first2=Käthe|title=Japan Encyclopedia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p2QnPijAEmEC&pg=PA878|year=2002|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=978-0-674-01753-5 |ref=CITEREFRoth2002}}
* {{cite book|last=von Klaproth|first=Julius|title=Nipon o daï itsi ran: ou Annales des empereurs du Japon|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_18oNAAAAIAAJ|year=1834|publisher=Oriental Translation Fund}}

{{coord missing|Japan}}
{{Shogunates of Japan}}
{{Aristocratic family trees}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ashikaga Shogunate}}
[[Category:Ashikaga shōguns| ]]
[[Category:Muromachi period| ]]
[[Category:1330s establishments in Japan]]
[[Category:1336 establishments in Asia]]
[[Category:1573 disestablishments in Japan]]
[[Category:Tributaries of Imperial China]]
[[Category:Military dictatorships]]
[[Category:States and territories disestablished in the 1570s]]