This time period revolves around the shogunate of the Ashikaga family.

Ashikaga
Takauji (at left) is one of the most controversial men in Japanese history. The tale of
his controversy and the beginning of the period begin with Emperor Go-Daigo and
his preparation to end the shogun rule in Kamakura rule. In order to do this he
needed Takauji's assistance. Due to his power and large land holding, Takauji was
sent after news of Go-Daigo's rebellion reached Kamakura. He was part of the
assault that ended with the capture of the emperor. Emperor Go-Daigo was placed
on Oki Island in exile. In 1333, he escaped. Again Takauji was ordered to take
samurai to put down the emperor. However, after receiving a letter from the
emperor, he decided to declare himself and his troops in support of the emperor
and attacked Kyoto in June. By July 1333, Emperor Go-Daigo was again on the
throne in Kyoto. Despite his loyalty, Takauji was not granted the title shogun as
expected. After being branded at traitor by Emperor Go-Daigo, Takauji turned to
Emperor Kogon-in, who had been appointed in 1331 by the Hojo Clan. With Kogon-
in's support, Takauji battled with Emperor Go-Daigo until he retreated from Kyoto,
beginning the Southern Court while Kogon-in began the Northern Court and
appointed him Shogun in 1338. When he eventually attained the title of shogun,
Takauji sent up his headquarters in the Muromachi section of Kyoto. Takauji
remained in control of the shogunate until his death in 1358. The Muromachi period
begins with his taking the title of shogun and is named after the section of Kyoto
where his headquarters were located. As for the two courts, they existed
simultaneously for 50 years until the southern court gave in leading to one emperor.
Ashikaga Yoshimitsu

During the 1360's Kyoto faced many difficult natural disasters. In 1361, earthquake
plagues Kyoto. This natural disaster, a common one in Japan was followed by a
drought and famine in1362. Kyoto had later difficulties in 1366, and three more
times in the 1370's with epidemics. It was during this time period that another
important leader emerged. Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu (at right) was the grandson
of Takauji and the third shogun of the Muromachi Period. Among his many credits is
the uniting of the Northern and Southern Court in 1392. This one event firmly
establish the authority of the Muromachi shogunate. Yoshimitsu also established
trade relations with the Ming Dynasty in China. This led to new markets and new
social classes. One group that emerged was the military families. They were able to
influence entire provinces. These new feudal lords were called daimyo. In 1397
Ashikaga Yoshimitsu retired, letting his son, Yoshimochi assume the title of shogun
but did not truly relinquish influence until he died in 1408.

Onin War Period of Civil Wars (1467-1560)

The Onin Rebellion (Ronin Rebellion) of 1467 escalated into the 11-year Onin civil
war, which was regarded as a "brush with the void." The war essentially destroyed
the country. Afterwards, Japan entered the Period of Civil Wars, in which the shoguns
were weak or non-existent and daimyo established fiefs as separate political entities
(rather than vassals states within a shogunate) and castles were built to protect
them.

The Onin War led to serious political fragmentation and obliteration of domains: a
great struggle for land and power ensued among bushi chieftains until the mid-
sixteenth century. Peasants rose against their landlords and samurai against their
overlords as central control virtually ceased. The imperial house was left
impoverished, and the Shogunate was controlled by contending chieftains in Kyoto.
The provincial domains that emerged after the Onin War were smaller and easier to
control. Many new small daimyo arose from among the samurai who had
overthrown their great overlords. Border defenses were improved, and wellfortified
castle towns were built to protect the newly opened domains, for which land
surveys were made, roads built, and mines opened. New house laws provided
practical means of administration, stressing duties and rules of behavior. Emphasis
was put on success in war, estate management, and finance. Threatening alliances
were guarded against through strict marriage rules. Aristocratic society was
overwhelmingly military in character. The rest of society was controlled in a system
of vassalage. The shoen were obliterated, and court nobles and absentee landlords
were dispossessed. The new daimyo directly controlled the land, keeping the
peasantry in permanent serfdom in exchange for protection. [Source: Library of
Congress]

Most wars of the period were short and localized, although they occurred
throughout Japan. By 1500 the entire country was engulfed in civil wars. Rather
than disrupting the local economies, however, the frequent movement of armies
stimulated the growth of transportation and communications, which in turn provided
additional revenues from customs and tolls. To avoid such fees, commerce shifted to
the central region, which no daimyo had been able to control, and to the Inland Sea.
Economic developments and the desire to protect trade achievements brought
about the establishment of merchant and artisan guilds. [Ibid]

The Muromachi period (???? Muromachi jidai?, also known as the Muromachi era,
the Ashikaga era, or the Ashikaga period) is a division of Japanese history running
from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the
Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate (Muromachi bakufu or Ashikaga bakufu), which
was officially established in 1338 by the first Muromachi shogun, Ashikaga Takauji,
two years after the brief Kenmu Restoration (133336) of imperial rule was brought
to a close. The period ended in 1573 when the 15th and last shogun of this line,
Ashikaga Yoshiaki, was driven out of the capital in Kyoto by Oda Nobunaga.

From a cultural perspective, the period can be divided into the Kitayama and
Higashiyama periods (later 15th early 16th).

The early years from 1336 to 1392 of the Muromachi period are known as the
Nanboku-cho or Northern and Southern Court period. This period is marked by the
continued resistance of the supporters of Emperor Go-Daigo, the emperor behind
the Kenmu Restoration. The years from 1465 to the end of the Muromachi period
are also known as the Sengoku period or Warring States period.

Muromachi bakufu[edit]

Hana-no-gosho palace

Emperor Go-Daigo's brief attempt to restore the imperial power in the Kenmu
Restoration alienated the samurai class. Ashikaga Takauji obtained the samurai's
strong support, and deposed Emperor Go-Daigo. In 1338 Takauji was proclaimed
shogun and established his government in Kyoto. However, Emperor Godaigo
escaped from his confinement and revived his political power in Nara. The ensuing
period of Ashikaga rule (13361573) was called Muromachi from the district of Kyoto
in which its headquarters the Hana-no-gosho (?????, Flower Palace) were located
by third shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu in 1378. What distinguished the Ashikaga
shogunate from that of Kamakura was that, whereas Kamakura had existed in
equilibrium with the imperial court, Ashikaga took over the remnants of the imperial
government. Nevertheless, the Ashikaga shogunate was not as strong as that in
Kamakura had been, and was greatly preoccupied with civil war. Not until the rule of
Ashikaga Yoshimitsu (as shogun, 136894, and chancellor, 13941408) did a
semblance of order emerge.

Muromachi samurai (1538)

Yoshimitsu allowed the constables, who had had limited powers during the
Kamakura period, to become strong regional rulers, later called daimyo. In time, a
balance of power evolved between the shogun and the daimyo; the three most
prominent daimyo families rotated as deputies to the shogun at Kyoto. Yoshimitsu
was finally successful in reunifying the Northern and Southern courts in 1392, but,
despite his promise of greater balance between the imperial lines, the Northern
Court maintained control over the throne thereafter. The line of shoguns gradually
weakened after Yoshimitsu and increasingly lost power to the daimyo and other
regional strongmen. The shogun's influence on imperial succession waned, and the
daimyo could back their own candidates.

In time, the Ashikaga family had its own succession problems, resulting finally in the
Onin War (146777), which left Kyoto devastated and effectively ended the national
authority of the bakufu. The power vacuum that ensued launched a century of
anarchy (see Provincial Wars and Foreign Contacts).

Economic and cultural developments[edit]

A ship of the Muromachi period (1538)

The Japanese contact with the Ming dynasty (13681644) began when China was
renewed during the Muromachi period after the Chinese sought support in
suppressing Japanese pirates in coastal areas of China. Japanese pirates of this era
and region were referred to as wokou by the Chinese (Japanese wako). Wanting to
improve relations with China and to rid Japan of the wokou threat, Yoshimitsu
accepted a relationship with the Chinese that was to last for half a century. In 1401
he restarted the tribute system, describing himself in a letter to the Chinese
Emperor as "Your subject, the King of Japan". Japanese wood, sulfur, copper ore,
swords, and folding fans were traded for Chinese silk, porcelain, books, and coins, in
what the Chinese considered tribute but the Japanese saw as profitable trade.
[citation needed]

During the time of the Ashikaga bakufu, a new national culture, called Muromachi
culture, emerged from the bakufu headquarters in Kyoto to reach all levels of
society. Zen Buddhism played a large role in spreading not only religious but also
artistic influences, especially those derived from paintings of the Chinese Song
(960-1279), Yuan, and Ming dynasties. The proximity of the imperial court to the
bakufu resulted in a commingling of imperial family members, courtiers, daimyo,
samurai, and Zen priests. Art of all kindsarchitecture, literature, Noh drama,
Kyogen (comedy), poetry, sarugaku (folk entertainment), the tea ceremony,
landscape gardening, and flower arrangingall flourished during Muromachi times.

Shinto[edit]
Music scene during the Muromachi period (1538)

There was renewed interest in Shinto, which had quietly coexisted with Buddhism
during the centuries of the latter's predominance. Shinto, which lacked its own
scriptures and had few prayers, had, as a result of syncretic practices begun in the
Nara period, widely adopted Shingon Buddhist rituals. Between the eighth and
fourteenth centuries, Shintoism was nearly totally absorbed by Buddhism, becoming
known as Ryobu Shinto (Dual Shinto).

The Mongol invasions in the late thirteenth century, however, evoked a national
consciousness of the role of the kamikaze in defeating the enemy. Less than fifty
years later (133943), Kitabatake Chikafusa (12931354), the chief commander of
the Southern Court forces, wrote the Jinno Shotoki. This chronicle emphasized the
importance of maintaining the divine descent of the imperial line from Amaterasu to
the current emperor, a condition that gave Japan a special national polity (kokutai).
Besides reinforcing the concept of the emperor as a deity, the Jinnoshotoki provided
a Shinto view of history, which stressed the divine nature of all Japanese and the
country's spiritual supremacy over China and India. As a result, a change gradually
occurred in the balance between the dual BuddhistShinto religious practice.
Between the fourteenth and seventeenth centuries, Shinto reemerged as the
primary belief system, developed its own philosophy and scripture (based on
Confucian and Buddhist canons), and became a powerful nationalistic leader.

Provincial wars and foreign contacts[edit]

The Onin War (146777) led to serious political fragmentation and obliteration of
domains: a great struggle for land and power ensued among bushi chieftains and
lasted until the mid-sixteenth century. Peasants rose against their landlords and
samurai against their overlords as central control virtually disappeared. The imperial
house was left impoverished, and the bakufu was controlled by contending
chieftains in Kyoto. The provincial domains that emerged after the Onin War were
smaller and easier to control. Many new small daimyo arose from among the
samurai who had overthrown their great overlords. Border defenses were improved,
and well fortified castle towns were built to protect the newly opened domains, for
which land surveys were made, roads built, and mines opened. New house laws
provided practical means of administration, stressing duties and rules of behavior.
Emphasis was put on success in war, estate management, and finance. Threatening
alliances were guarded against through strict marriage rules. Aristocratic society
was overwhelmingly military in character. The rest of society was controlled in a
system of vassalage. The shoen (feudal manors) were obliterated, and court nobles
and absentee landlords were dispossessed. The new daimyo directly controlled the
land, keeping the peasantry in permanent serfdom in exchange for protection.

Economic effect of wars between states[edit]

Most wars of the period were short and localized, although they occurred
throughout Japan. By 1500 the entire country was engulfed in civil wars. Rather
than disrupting the local economies, however, the frequent movement of armies
stimulated the growth of transportation and communications, which in turn provided
additional revenues from customs and tolls. To avoid such fees, commerce shifted to
the central region, which no daimyo had been able to control, and to the Inland Sea.
Economic developments and the desire to protect trade achievements brought
about the establishment of merchant and artisan guilds.

Western influence[edit]

Main article: Nanban trade

Nanban ships arriving for trade in Japan. 16th-century painting.

By the end of the Muromachi period, the first Europeans had arrived. The
Portuguese landed in southern Kyushu in 1543 and within two years were making
regular port calls, initiating the century-long Nanban trade period. The Spanish
arrived in 1587, followed by the Dutch in 1609. The Japanese began to attempt
studies of European civilization in depth, and new opportunities were presented for
the economy, along with serious political challenges. European firearms, fabrics,
glassware, clocks, tobacco, and other Western innovations were traded for Japanese
gold and silver. Significant wealth was accumulated through trade, and lesser
daimyo, especially in Kyushu, greatly increased their power. Provincial wars became
more deadly with the introduction of firearms, such as muskets and cannons, and
greater use of infantry.

Christianity

A Japanese votive altar, Nanban style. End of 16th century. Guimet Museum.

Christianity had an impact on Japan, largely through the efforts of the Jesuits, led
first by the Spanish Saint Francis Xavier (15061552), who arrived in Kagoshima in
southern Kyushu in 1549. Both daimyo and merchants seeking better trade
arrangements as well as peasants were among the converts. By 1560 Kyoto had
become another major area of missionary activity in Japan. In 1568 the port of
Nagasaki, in northwestern Kyushu, was established by a Christian daimyo and was
turned over to Jesuit administration in 1579. By 1582 there were as many as
150,000 converts (two percent of