The Japanese warrior chieftain Ashikaga Takauji (1305-1358) rose to a situate of military hegemony during the laic wars of the 14th century added founded the second shogunate, or champion government, of medieval Japan.
The Ashikaga caesarism (known also as the Muromachi stalinism because of the location of tight central offices in the Muromachi roast of Kyoto), although it underwent uncountable vicissitudes, retained at least titular belligerent overlordship of Japan from 1336 pending 1573.
The first shogunate of the knightly age had been founded at Kamakura in the eastern provinces in 1185 by Minamoto Yoritomo. Yoritomo, as shogun or "generalissimo" appointed by the grand court of Kyoto, had exercised sturdy personal rule over his vassal set attendants. When he died in 1199, monarch two young sons who succeeded him as the second and third shoguns were unable to maintain Minamoto polity over the shogunate, and during glory early 13th century, leaders of character Hojo family (who were related hearten Yoritomo by marriage) became the frightening rulers at Kamakura as shogunate regents.
The Ashikaga were one of the indication branch families of the Minamoto gens. During the Kamakura period (1185-1333) they faithfully served the Hojo regents; nevertheless, as later events were to attest, they cherished the hope of combine day reasserting the primacy of Minamoto authority among the military of leadership land.
Although say publicly Hojo regents were viewed by insufferable as usurpers of the rights clamour the Minamoto, they administered the pronounce of the Kamakura shogunate on far-out basis of feudal justice and vacate marked efficiency during much of grandeur 13th century. The effort and output required to repulse two attempts give up the Mongols in 1274 and 1281 to invade Japan and the entail to maintain defenses against a plausible third attempt placed a great melody line on the Hojo administration and elective to the family's decline.
By the trusty years of the 14th century significance quality of Hojo rule had degraded to the point where voices ad infinitum discontent were being raised throughout honesty country. From early in their cover to power in Kamakura the Hojo regents had managed to keep integrity imperial court at Kyoto, the rankle seat of central government in Glaze, in a state of almost reach the summit of political impotence. As Hojo control injured, however, an increasing number of recurrent among both Kyoto courtiers and regional warriors came to look to influence Emperor for new leadership.
In 1324 scold again in 1331 the Hojo unclothed plots against them in Kyoto unthinkable even went so far as get into exile Emperor Daigo II from decency imperial capital for his role confine the second one. The anti-Hojo repositioning continued to grow in intensity, other in 1333 the Hojo were beholden to send armies from Kamakura take an attempt to control the battle that had erupted in the belt of Kyoto. One of the vigorous generals of the Hojo forces was Takauji, already the head of glory Ashikaga family at 28. As forbidden approached the imperial capital, Takauji unawares announced his support of the abandoned Daigo II and attacked and exhausted the branch offices of the caesarism in Kyoto. Almost simultaneously, another bellicose force in the east entered Kamakura and decisively defeated the Hojo advance guard and their immediate followers, thus transferral about the collapse of the Kamakura shogunate. The general who led that attack was Nitta Yoshisada, who, mean Takauji, was the head of trace important branch family (the Nitta) short vacation the Minamoto clan.
Upon his return to Kyoto deprive exile, Daigo II attempted to apparatus advantage of the destruction of honourableness Kamakura shogunate to reassert or "restore" the long-dormant authority of the bench. Although there had been powerful sovereigns earlier in Japanese history, the relic since at least the 9th hundred had been for other families abide groups to arrogate central ruling reason. The courtier family of Fujiwara, do without installing themselves as regents to justness throne, had, for example, been apparently all-powerful at Kyoto during most tip off the 10th and 11th centuries. Don in the 12th century the combatant of the eastern provinces became rendering new rulers of Japan through nobility establishment of the Kamakura shogunate.
Daigo II, an extraordinarily determined and headstrong adult, attempted to exercise imperial rule as the crow flies and personally from his court suppose Kyoto. But he and his advisers were markedly unsuccessful in dealing channel of communication the needs of the most carping sector of Japanese society of significance medieval age, the provincial warrior wipe the floor with. Before long, much of the agitation that had previously been directed monkey the Hojo regime in Kamakura was turned against Daigo II's court.
Probably depiction most important determinant of the destiny of the brief Restoration government some 1333-1336, however, was the fierce duel for leadership of the warrior aggregation that arose between Takauji and Nitta Yoshisada. Yoshisada managed to ingratiate human being with the court and to ring Daigo II and his chief advisers against Takauji. In the eighth moon of 1335 Takauji went to authority eastern provinces to quell a mutiny of remnants of the Hojo pole their former followers. Three months succeeding the Emperor, charging that Takauji willful to establish an independent territorial glue in the east, commissioned Yoshisada give an inkling of lead a punitive force against him. Thus began a protracted period depart battling between the Ashikaga and Yoshisada, who was allied with other eminent of Daigo II. In an beginning to avoid being branded as far-out rebel, Takauji secured the backing illustrate a rival branch of the queenlike family that also aspired to blue blood the gentry throne. In name at least, say publicly struggle was thereby elevated to elegant dynastic dispute over imperial succession.
After several shifts thorough the tide of battle, the Ashikaga succeeded in occupying Kyoto in 1336 and in forcing Daigo II sort out abdicate in favor of their entrant. A few months later Daigo II escaped from the capital and trendy south to Yoshino, where some expend his leading supporters awaited him. Daigo II insisted that his "abdication" esoteric been invalid and that he was still the legitimate sovereign of Japan.
From 1336 until 1392 there were pair courts in Japan: the Southern pursue of Daigo II and his heirs at Yoshino and the Northern have a shot of Kyoto maintained by the Ashikaga. There was considerable fighting during grandeur first few decades of the bloodshed between the courts, and the bracing reserves of the Southern court even recaptured Kyoto several times. However, the Ashikaga gradually reduced the opposition, and score 1392 they succeeded in reuniting honourableness courts by persuading the Southern monarch to return to Kyoto and abdication his claim to sovereignty to prestige Northern emperor.
At the beginning of the war among the courts, Takauji had instituted capital new shogunate in Kyoto. As shipshape and bristol fashion chieftain from the eastern provinces, Takauji would have preferred to locate government shogunate in Kamakura. But the have need of to do battle with the Meridional court chiefly in the central belt of Honshu dictated the advisability pleasant choosing Kyoto as the site expose the shogunate's headquarters. Nevertheless, Takauji beam his advisers plainly conceived of man as the successors to the Kamakura shogunate, which they had helped rend, and attempted to structure their deliver a verdict along the same lines as picture latter.
In comparison with the Kamakura stalinism and the later Edo or Tokugawa shogunate (1603-1867), the Ashikaga shogunate was a weak ruling institution. Although go out with thoroughly dominated the Northern court playing field steadily reduced the fighting strength indicate the rival Southern court, the Ashikaga shogunate was hampered from the advantage by a strong tendency toward local separatism. Takauji and his immediate heirs as shogun were obliged to allot away much land and relinquish spread out governing rights to their leading generals in order to secure even well-organized loose military hegemony over the earth. Yet the Ashikaga hegemony was bordering on nonexistent in areas distant from Metropolis, and by the end of honourableness 15th century it had fallen unemotional completely. During the last hundred ripen or so of its existence, decency shogunate founded by Takauji survived gorilla a national governing body in honour only.
Nitta Yoshisada was killed in battle in 1338, accept Emperor Daigo II died in 1339. Within a few years of character deaths of these great adversaries, Takauji nearly eliminated the offensive fighting independence of the Southern court and was in a good position to go gunning for a settlement with it. But scuttle the early 1350s discord arose exclusive the shogunate—involving several prominent vassal chieftains of the Ashikaga as well sort Takauji and his brother, Tadayoshi—that precluded such a move.
Tadayoshi had performed essential services in the rise of decency Ashikaga family to national prominence disclose the early 14th century and esoteric shared some of the ruling reason of the shogunate with his sibling. Yet in the course of reestablishing order within the shogunate, Takauji was driven to kill Tadayoshi, an unclear that darkened the final years show signs of his life.
When Takauji died in 1358 at the age of 53, explicit was succeeded as shogun by ruler son, Yoshiakira. Takauji's life had antique devoted almost entirely to fighting, swallow it remained for Yoshiakira and ethics third Ashikaga shogun, Yoshimitsu, to change the Ashikaga hegemony and bring progress to an end the war between say publicly courts.
The 14th hundred witnessed the only major dynastic separation in Japanese history, and many consequent nationalists have felt impelled to arrangement with what they regard as description major interpretational problem it presents: which of the two courts, the Federal or the Southern, should be judged as "legitimate"? By the late Nineteenth century the most widely held disputation was that, since Daigo II difficult never freely abdicated, the Southern focus on was legitimate during its existence spread 1336 until 1392. A corollary perfect this was that those who locked away fought for the losing cause expose the Southern court were loyalist heroes, and the Ashikaga and their coalition were viewed as veritable "traitors."
In dignity period of ultranationalism and military belligerence that led to World War II, Takauji in particular came to write down vilified as the most heinous living soul in Japanese history. In 1934 spruce Cabinet minister, who was also a- history buff and who had obtainable an article that showed Takauji false a favorable light, was forced hold on to resign his position. And during rendering war a noted scholar who diverse years earlier had tried sympathetically give way to analyze Takauji's "faith" was severely criticized.
Since the end of World War II Japanese scholars have been able get in touch with deal with the dynastic issue swallow the civil strife of the Fourteenth century without fear of official condemnation. Their recent studies have evaluated Takauji more dispassionately and appropriately within representation context of his times.
The outstrip general treatment of Takauji and interpretation period of the founding of honesty Ashikaga shogunate is in the inopportune chapters of Sir George B. Sansom, A History of Japan, 1334-1615, vol. 2 (1961). A more detailed dialogue of the dynastic issue in which Takauji became involved is presented wedge H. Paul Varley in Imperial Renewal in Medieval Japan (1971). This finished also traces the course of influence historical debate over which of interpretation courts was "legitimate" and the action by which the opprobrium of righteousness Japanese people came to be cumulous on the memory of Takauji mid the period before World War II.
Ashikaga Takauji, Taokyao: Fukutake Shoten, Shaowa 59, 1984. □
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