Ashikaga Mochiuji
Encyclopedia
Ashikaga Mochiuji was the Kamakura-fu
's fourth Kantō kubō
during the Sengoku period
(15th century) in Japan. During his long and troubled rule the relationship between the west and the east of the country reached an all-time low. Kamakura was finally attacked by shogun Ashikaga Yoshinori
and retaken by force. Mochiuji and his eldest son Yoshihisa killed themselves to escape capture.
Uesugi Zenshū
organized a rebellion against him (the so-called Zenshū no Ran) with the aid of nearly half the daimyo
s in the northern and eastern provinces. Thanks to this support, Zenshū could take Kamakura and Mochiuji had to flee. However, despite his pursuing goals similar to those of the shogunate, Zenshū was after all rebelling against his lord, so the shogunate had no choice but to send troops to stop him. In 1417, Zenshū and his allies found themselves surrounded at Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū and Zenshū killed himself.
After this took place, Mochiuji attacked Zenshū's allies, which included families as the Oda
and the Takeda
, along with a few noble families from Musashi province
. The Ashikaga themselves thought Mochiuji's actions to be too much, and shogun Ashikaga Yoshinori
in 1432 ordered his army to destroy Mochiuji. This led to Mochiuji and Yoshinori to battle it out during the Eikyo Rebellion in 1438. In the end, Yoshinori successfully put an end to Mochiuji's rebellion in 1439. Kamakura's Kubō committed seppuku at the temple of Yōan-ji, west of the city. The events in Kamakura however caused widespread resentment among Yoshinori's generals and one of them, Akamatsu Mitsusuke
, murdered him in revenge..
's ticket counter leads to a stele marking the spot where used to stand. It was here that Mochiuji made his last stand against the shogunate, finally disemboweling himself to avoid the shame of being taken prisoner He is buried together with three other kubō in a small cemetery within Zuisen-ji (closed to the public). The stele reads:
There is however also a 3.2 m stone traditionally supposed to be his grave also at Betsugan-ji, a former Ashikaga family temple
in Ōmachi
. On the stupa is carved the date 1439, the year of Mochiuji's death, however the tomb seems stylistically to belong rather to the precedent Kamakura period
, and the attribution seems therefore dubious.
Mochiuji's eldest son Yoshihisa, 14 years old at the time, was also forced to kill himself at nearby Hōkoku-ji. His three younger sons however escaped to Nikkō and in 1440 were led by Yūki Ujitomo, head of the Yūki clan
, to his castle in Koga, Shimōsa province, and survived. When later his castle was attacked by the shogunate, they escaped. Two, Haruō-maru and Yasuō-maru, were caught and executed. The lone survivor, Mochiuji's fourth child Shigeuji
, would later become the last Kantō Kubō.
Kamakura-fu
The or was a regional government installed in Kamakura, in today's Kanagawa Prefecture, by the Ashikaga shogunate which lasted from 1349 to 1455. It was headed by a dynasty of Ashikaga rulers called Kamakura Kubō...
's fourth Kantō kubō
Kanto kubo
was a title equivalent to shogun assumed by Ashikaga Motouji after his nomination to Kantō kanrei, or deputy shogun for the Kamakura-fu, in 1349. Motouji transferred his original title to the Uesugi family, which had previously held the hereditary title of , and would thereafter provide the Kantō...
during the Sengoku period
Sengoku period
The or Warring States period in Japanese history was a time of social upheaval, political intrigue, and nearly constant military conflict that lasted roughly from the middle of the 15th century to the beginning of the 17th century. The name "Sengoku" was adopted by Japanese historians in reference...
(15th century) in Japan. During his long and troubled rule the relationship between the west and the east of the country reached an all-time low. Kamakura was finally attacked by shogun Ashikaga Yoshinori
Ashikaga Yoshinori
was the 6th shogun of the Ashikaga shogunate who reigned from 1429 to 1441 during the Muromachi period of Japan. Yoshinori was the son of the third shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu.-Shogunal succession:...
and retaken by force. Mochiuji and his eldest son Yoshihisa killed themselves to escape capture.
Biography
Mochiuji became Kubō while still a child after his father died suddenly of a disease. His violent and abrasive character from the beginning caused widespread resentment among his vassals. After disagreements with Mochiuji, his kanreiKanrei
or, more rarely, kanryō, was a high political post in feudal Japan; it is usually translated as Shogun's Deputy. After 1349, there were actually two Kanrei, the Kyoto Kanrei and the Kantō Kanrei....
Uesugi Zenshū
Uesugi Zenshu
, also known as Uesugi Ujinori, was the chief advisor to Ashikaga Mochiuji, an enemy of the Ashikaga shogunate in feudal Japan. When he was rebuked by Mochiuji in 1415, and forced to resign, Zenshū organized a rebellion....
organized a rebellion against him (the so-called Zenshū no Ran) with the aid of nearly half the daimyo
Daimyo
is a generic term referring to the powerful territorial lords in pre-modern Japan who ruled most of the country from their vast, hereditary land holdings...
s in the northern and eastern provinces. Thanks to this support, Zenshū could take Kamakura and Mochiuji had to flee. However, despite his pursuing goals similar to those of the shogunate, Zenshū was after all rebelling against his lord, so the shogunate had no choice but to send troops to stop him. In 1417, Zenshū and his allies found themselves surrounded at Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū and Zenshū killed himself.
After this took place, Mochiuji attacked Zenshū's allies, which included families as the Oda
Oda clan
The was a family of Japanese daimyo who were to become an important political force in the unification of Japan in the mid-16th century. Though they had the climax of their fame under Oda Nobunaga and fell from the spotlight soon after, several branches of the family would continue on as daimyo...
and the Takeda
Takeda family
The ' was a famous clan of daimyō in Japan's late Heian Period to Sengoku period.The Takeda were descendants of Emperor Seiwa and are a branch of the Minamoto clan , by Minamoto no Yoshimitsu , brother to the Chinjufu-shogun Minamoto no Yoshiie...
, along with a few noble families from Musashi province
Musashi Province
was a province of Japan, which today comprises Tokyo Prefecture, most of Saitama Prefecture and part of Kanagawa Prefecture. It was sometimes called . The province encompassed Kawasaki and Yokohama...
. The Ashikaga themselves thought Mochiuji's actions to be too much, and shogun Ashikaga Yoshinori
Ashikaga Yoshinori
was the 6th shogun of the Ashikaga shogunate who reigned from 1429 to 1441 during the Muromachi period of Japan. Yoshinori was the son of the third shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu.-Shogunal succession:...
in 1432 ordered his army to destroy Mochiuji. This led to Mochiuji and Yoshinori to battle it out during the Eikyo Rebellion in 1438. In the end, Yoshinori successfully put an end to Mochiuji's rebellion in 1439. Kamakura's Kubō committed seppuku at the temple of Yōan-ji, west of the city. The events in Kamakura however caused widespread resentment among Yoshinori's generals and one of them, Akamatsu Mitsusuke
Akamatsu Mitsusuke
was a leading head over the clan of Akamatsu during the early years of the Sengoku Period of Feudal Japan.Fearing that Ashikaga Yoshinori, the 6th shogun of the Ashikaga shogunate was aiming to tear up the domain of the Akamatsu, its head Akamatsu Mitsusuke took the step of feigning mental illness,...
, murdered him in revenge..
Yōan-ji
The road that in Kamakura turns right before Zuisen-jiZuisen-ji
is a Buddhist temple of the Rinzai sect in Nikaidō's near Kamakura, Japan. During the Muromachi period it was the family temple of the Ashikaga rulers of Kamakura : four of the five kubō are buried there in a private cemetery closed to the public and first kubō Ashikaga Motouji's is also known...
's ticket counter leads to a stele marking the spot where used to stand. It was here that Mochiuji made his last stand against the shogunate, finally disemboweling himself to avoid the shame of being taken prisoner He is buried together with three other kubō in a small cemetery within Zuisen-ji (closed to the public). The stele reads:
When Kantō Kubō Ashikaga UjimitsuAshikaga Ujimitsuwas a Nanboku-chō period warrior and the Kamakura-fu's second Kantō Kubō, or Shogun Deputy. Son of first Kantō Kubō Ashikaga Motouji, he succeeded his father in 1367 at the age of nine when this last suddenly died during an epidemic. It was during his reign that the Kanto Kubō title became common...
died on January 11, 1398, he was given the posthumous namePosthumous nameA posthumous name is an honorary name given to royalty, nobles, and sometimes others, in East Asia after the person's death, and is used almost exclusively instead of one's personal name or other official titles during his life...
. His son MitsukaneAshikaga Mitsukanewas a Nanboku-chō period warrior, and the Kamakura-fu's third Kantō Kubō, . Being the eldest son, he succeeded his father Ujimitsu in 1398 at the age of 21 when he died during an epidemic.. Like him, Mitsukane aspired more or less openly to the shogunate and, like him and his successors, failed to...
built this temple and gave it his father's posthumous name. The temple's oshōOshoOshō is the Japanese reading of the Chinese he shang , meaning a high-ranking Buddhist monk or highly virtuous Buddhist monk. It is also a respectful designation for Buddhist monks in general and may be used with the suffix -san...
Dombo Ushūō was a follower of Musō SosekiMuso Sosekiwas a Rinzai Zen Buddhist monk and teacher, and a calligraphist, poet and garden designer. The most famous monk of his time, he is also known as , a posthumous name given him by Emperor Go-Daigo...
. On March 24, 1439 Kubō Mochiuji, a descendant of Ujimitsu, fought here against shogun Yoshinori, was defeated and disemboweled himself. The temple was burned and never rebuilt. This is where it stood.
Erected by the Kamakuramachi Seinendan in March 1926
There is however also a 3.2 m stone traditionally supposed to be his grave also at Betsugan-ji, a former Ashikaga family temple
Bodaiji
A , in Japanese Buddhism is a temple which, generation after generation, takes care of a family's dead giving them burial and performing ceremonies in their soul's favor. The name is because in Japan the term , which originally meant just Buddhist enlightenment , has also come to mean either the...
in Ōmachi
Omachi (Kanagawa)
is a locality in Kamakura, Kanagawa prefecture, Japan, defined as the part of town south of the Ebisubashi bridge on the Namerigawa. The part of town north of the same bridge is called .- References :...
. On the stupa is carved the date 1439, the year of Mochiuji's death, however the tomb seems stylistically to belong rather to the precedent Kamakura period
Kamakura period
The is a period of Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura Shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura by the first shogun Minamoto no Yoritomo....
, and the attribution seems therefore dubious.
Mochiuji's eldest son Yoshihisa, 14 years old at the time, was also forced to kill himself at nearby Hōkoku-ji. His three younger sons however escaped to Nikkō and in 1440 were led by Yūki Ujitomo, head of the Yūki clan
Yuki clan
The Yūki family was a Japanese samurai clan composed of two branches: the Shimōsa Yūki and the Shirakawa Yūki. Descended from the famous kuge Fujiwara no Hidesato, the clan became split during the Nanboku-chō wars of the 14th century, in which one branch supported the Southern Imperial Court, and...
, to his castle in Koga, Shimōsa province, and survived. When later his castle was attacked by the shogunate, they escaped. Two, Haruō-maru and Yasuō-maru, were caught and executed. The lone survivor, Mochiuji's fourth child Shigeuji
Ashikaga Shigeuji
was a Muromachi period warrior and the Kamakura-fu's fifth and last Kantō Kubō . Fourth son of fourth Kubō Ashikaga Mochiuji, he succeeded his father only in 1449, a full decade after his death by seppuku. His childhood name was...
, would later become the last Kantō Kubō.
See also
- Kantō KubōKanto kubowas a title equivalent to shogun assumed by Ashikaga Motouji after his nomination to Kantō kanrei, or deputy shogun for the Kamakura-fu, in 1349. Motouji transferred his original title to the Uesugi family, which had previously held the hereditary title of , and would thereafter provide the Kantō...
- Kamakura, Kanagawa - The Muromachi and Edo periods
- Uesugi ZenshūUesugi Zenshu, also known as Uesugi Ujinori, was the chief advisor to Ashikaga Mochiuji, an enemy of the Ashikaga shogunate in feudal Japan. When he was rebuked by Mochiuji in 1415, and forced to resign, Zenshū organized a rebellion....