4.2 Muromachi Period: Stabilization Attempts and Civil War
In 1358 Ashikaga Takauji died and the shogunate passed to his son, Yoshiakira. Ashikaga Yoshiakira (1330-1367) inherited an unstable situation with the Kannō Disturbance, Nanboku-chō, and lack of a strong, central court of justice. Yoshiakira set about to stabilize the country.
In an effort to tie the interests of the shugo with the shogunate, Yoshiakira created the Kanrei Council System, which was composed of the kanrei office and the Senior Vassal Council over which the kanrei presided. The Senior Vassal Council was composed of the most powerful shugo families. The kanrei acted as a spokesman mediating between the Senior Vassal Council and the shogun. In Kyoto, the samurai dokoro had a parallel system. This system defeated the Southern Court.
Yoshiakira died when his heir Ashikaga Yoshimitsu (1358-1408) was only seven. Kanrei Hosokawa Yoriyuki took charge of affairs.
Kanrei Hosokawa Yoriyuki strengthened the shogunate by increasing ties with the court. Hosokawa had Yoshimitsu participate in court ritual and court ranking. Hosokawa promulgated the last half-tax decree (hanzei). It outlawed the halving of lands owned by the imperial family, under the control of major temples, and those owned by the imperial regents (the Fujiwara).
Yoshimitsu learned well and continued Hosokawa’s work. In order to exert personal control over the shugo, Yoshimitsu required compulsory residence of the shugo in Kyoto or in Kamakura. Yoshimitsu developed his own personal army. The Ashikaga shogunate maintained hegemony by a balance of power strategy. Whenever one shugo would become too powerful, coalitions of other shugo were formed to defeat him. The shogunate instituted new tax policies that filled its coffers.
In 1392, with the ending of Nanboku-chō, it would seem that a period of peace would have ensued. But that was not the case. The Ashikaga regime held together but even with the reforms, there was unrest that was caused by natural disasters, lack of central authority, and large scale lawlessness in the provinces. The provincial leaders were often warriors who had returned to farming or who had lost their positions. Local leagues, ikki (one mind), were formed for self-protection.
In rural Japan, when not ravaged by war, improved agricultural methods led to more food production. Estates became villages that acted much like corporations in dealing with the overlords. Rights to land became transferable rather than being associated with office and status. In trade, cash came into use with coins from Ming China, markets appeared at places where people gathered, and guilds formed.
Traders or artisans would band together for mutual protection and form guilds. They would pay a fee to a patron, whether a court noble, religious establishment, or the shogunate, and receive a monopoly on the sale or production of their product and the right to travel. Many were associated with temples or shrines. The guild of cotton clothing was associated with the Gion Shrine. Yeast brewers were associated with the Kitano Shrine. Warehouse keepers and pawnbrokers were associated with Enryaku-ji. Great families associated with certain guilds were the Bojo with papermakers, the Konoe with craftsmen of gold leaf, and the Kuga with a guild of courtesans.
Trade with China became important. Japan imported copper coins, iron, textiles, drugs, and luxury items like books, pictures, and embroideries. Japan exported copper and sulfur and luxury goods like fans, lacquerware, and weapons, especially swords (in 1483 it exported 37,000 swords) and halberds. The Chinese trade was usually handled by Buddhist temples.
The Ōnin War
Ashikaga Yoshimasa (the eighth Ashikaga shogun of Silver Pavilion fame) had persuaded his younger brother, Ashikaga Yoshimi, to abandon the life of a monk, and named him heir to the shogunate. While Yoshimi was being groomed to replace Yoshimasa, Hino Tomiko, Yoshimasa’s wife, gave birth to a son, Yoshihisa. Yoshimasa then chose the newborn to be his successor. In the dispute that followed two powerful shugo, Hosokawa Katsumoto and Yamana Sōzen, picked different claimants. Perhaps Yoshimasa could have found a solution, but he was more interested in art than in ruling and during the ensuing conflict kept out of it by living in his retreat and devoting his life’s interests to the development of the Silver Pavilion and his entourage of artists.
The Ōnin War (Ōnin no Ran, 1467–1477) began with the burning of a Hosokawa mansion. The earliest battle took place near the present day Goryo Shrine (Kamigoryo Shrine). As the war continued, Kyoto was so devastated that the combatants moved to other areas for booty. In 1473, both Hosokawa Katsumoto and Yamana Sōzen died and the fighting finally ended in 1477. Yoshihisa inherited an empty city.
When on a Kyoto trip, it is a very common for a visitor to view rebuilt sites because the original had been destroyed during the Ōnin War.
The Ōnin War led to the breakdown of unified public authority. After the estates vanished, there was no income for the absentee landlords, impoverishing the emperor and the court nobles. Emperor Go-Tsuchimikado’s funeral was delayed six weeks until funds could be raised to pay for it. Later emperors sold autographs and calligraphy for money. Buddhist temples lost power and income. Many guild organizations disappeared. The shogunate became irrelevant and shugo families split in disputes. The shugo were now being replaced by daimyō, whose claim to legitimacy relied only on military force.
The violence became very widespread. Because of the absence of authority from traditional bases, local leagues, ikki, were formed. Some of the religious based ikki had rebellions such as the Kanga Rebellion in 1488 and the Lotus League rebellion in Kyoto.
The period following the Ōnin War is known as Sengoku-Jidai or Age of Warring States. The years of Sengoku-Jidai are variously given as 1467-1603 or 1615.
From a promising start, the Ashikaga were simply not able to unify and pacify the country.