The Japanese feudal era is called the Sengoku Jidai. This translates roughly to “the age of the country at war,” and it lasted from approximately 1467 to 1615. The time immediately preceding it was known as the Ashikaga period, after the ruling shogunate, or military dictatorship. The Japanese had been recently developing rules of etiquette, creating great art and literature and refining Buddhism to be a political force. The Ashikaga rulers became so preoccupied with these higher cultural practices that real power began to slip away from them. One shogun, Ashikaga Yoshimasa, attempted to sell his armor and use the proceeds to pay for flower-viewing parties.
Discontentment
For some time, the daimyo, or feudal lords, of Japan, had been increasing their lands and power, holding armies that contemporary European rulers would have envied. The word daimyo means ‘one who aspires to something better’ – this definition was quite apt. The majority of them understandably wished to take control of Japan from the Ashikaga. As shown by Yoshimasa’s actions, the shogunate had proven that they were no longer capable of ruling Japan. The daimyo had their own disputes with one another, which we’ll look at in a bit.
In the meantime, the daimyo weren’t the only people who were becoming impatient with the current state of affairs – traditionally, the Japanese peasantry was submissive and content with their lot in life. Unlike in Europe, peasant’s usually wouldn’t have to worry about the various armies marching through their lands. they were safe from impression into the army, rape, and murder. The only real danger they had in times of war was the occasional damage or theft of crops by the armies.passing though. The real danger came from the tax collectors.
Given that the shogun was interested in expensive pastimes like flower-viewing, the tea ceremony, poetry readings, etc, he had to have money to pay for them. (Turnbull) This obviously came from the peasants, who often had seventy percent of their crops taken, and nothing given in return. In addition, the ji-samurai (samurai who worked the land when there was no war to fight) were suffering from taxes. The ji-samurai and the peasants came together, forming several revolts against the oppressive taxes. The shogun was forced to give way, canceling all the peasants’ debts, which did nothing for his standing with moneylenders.
The Burning of Kyoto
Yoshimasa attempted to abdicate as shogun and name his brother, Yoshimi, as his heir, but changed his mind when his son Yoshihisa was born. Two of the samurai warlords, Hosokawa Katsumoto and Yamana Sozen, each supported a different candidate, and went to war. Both armies, numbering at least 80,000 samurai, gathered in Kyoto. (Turnbull)
Neither army could actually start the fighting without risk of being branded a rebel by the current shogun. The Yamana burnt a Hosokawa mansion, and a Yamana food line was attacked in return. In July 1467, the fighting had started in earnest. Kyoto was in flames, after only two months of war, and all the citizens had left. The two armies settled into defensive positions, raiding and counter-raiding. For the next decade, the war went on – neither side come come to a cease-fire agreement although both leaders were dead. Eventually, the Yamana burned their section of Kyoto and abandoned the city.
The shogun during these events did nothing. Even before, he’d been forced to give way to the peasants, so was in no position whatsoever to dictate any terms to the daimyo. The daimyo saw, basically, that they were now free to settle disputes at sword-point – it wasn’t as though anyone could stop them. Japan then became engulfed by war as the word spread from Kyoto. The fighting that spread was much different than the previous conflicts in Japanese history – beforehand, honour had been everything. Now, any tactic was basically fair game, including assassination. Various clans were wiped off the map, one by one, and others sprang up to take their place. The formerly fixed social structure shifted – with peasants becoming samurai and vice versa. Some peasants, in fact, became daimyo in their own right.
Sources:
Turnbull, Stephen. The Samurai: A Military History”. Japan Library (1996)
