Ashikaga Yoshinori
Encyclopedia
was the 6th shogun
Shogun
A was one of the hereditary military dictators of Japan from 1192 to 1867. In this period, the shoguns, or their shikken regents , were the de facto rulers of Japan though they were nominally appointed by the emperor...

(rokudai shogun) of the Ashikaga shogunate
Ashikaga shogunate
The , also known as the , was a Japanese feudal military regime, ruled by the shoguns of the Ashikaga clan.This period is also known as the Muromachi period and gets its name from Muromachi Street of Kyoto where the third shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu established his residence...

 who reigned from 1429 to 1441 during the Muromachi period
Muromachi period
The is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate, which was officially established in 1338 by the first Muromachi shogun, Ashikaga Takauji, two years after the brief Kemmu restoration of imperial...

 of Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

. Yoshinori was the son of the third shogun
Shogun
A was one of the hereditary military dictators of Japan from 1192 to 1867. In this period, the shoguns, or their shikken regents , were the de facto rulers of Japan though they were nominally appointed by the emperor...

 Ashikaga Yoshimitsu
Ashikaga Yoshimitsu
was the 3rd shogun of the Ashikaga shogunate who ruled from 1368 to 1394 during the Muromachi period of Japan. Yoshimitsu was the son of the second shogun Ashikaga Yoshiakira....

.

Shogunal succession

After the death of the fifth shogun Ashikaga Yoshikazu
Ashikaga Yoshikazu
was the 5th shogun of the Ashikaga shogunate who reigned from 1423 to 1425 during the Muromachi period of Japan. Yoshikazu was the son of the fourth shogun Ashikaga Yoshimochi....

 in 1425, the fourth shogun Ashikaga Yoshimochi
Ashikaga Yoshimochi
was the 4th shogun of the Ashikaga shogunate who reigned from 1394 to 1423 during the Muromachi period of Japan. Yoshimochi was the son of the third shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu....

 resumed his role as head of the shogunate. Yoshimochi had no other sons, nor did he name a successor before he himself died in 1428.

Yoshinori, who had been a Buddhist monk since the age of ten, became Seii Taishogun
Shogun
A was one of the hereditary military dictators of Japan from 1192 to 1867. In this period, the shoguns, or their shikken regents , were the de facto rulers of Japan though they were nominally appointed by the emperor...

on the day of Yoshimochi's death. From amongst the handful of possible Ashikaga candidates, his name was selected by the shogunal deputy (Kanrei
Kanrei
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....

), Hatakeyama Mitsuie, who drew lots in the sanctuary of Iwashimizu Hachiman Shrine
Iwashimizu Shrine
The is a Shinto shrine in the city of Yawata in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. -History:The shrine's Heian period connections with the Kyoto and the Imperial family date from its founding in 859 when construction on its earliest structures commenced...

 in Kyoto
Kyoto
is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...

; and it was believed that Hachiman's influence had affected this auspicious choice.

Significant events which shaped the period during which Yoshinori was shogun:
  • 1429 – Yoshinori appointed shogun.
  • 1430 – The Southern Court
    Southern Court
    The were a set of four emperors whose legitimate claims were usurped during the Nanboku-chō period spanning from 1336 through 1392. In spite of the legitimacy of its claims to the throne, the Southern Court was permanently replaced in 1392 by the illegitimate Northern Court.-Nanboku-chō overview:...

    's army surrenders.
  • 1432 – 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,...

     flees; Yoshinori receives rescript from China.
  • 1433 – Ōtomo rebells; Hieizan monks rebel.
  • 1434 – Tosen bugyō established to regulate foreign affairs.
  • 1436 – Yasaka Pagoda at Hokanji in Kyoto destroyed by fire.
  • 1438 – 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...

     Ashikaga Mochiuji
    Ashikaga Mochiuji
    Ashikaga Mochiuji was the Kamakura-fu's fourth Kantō kubō during the Sengoku period 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...

     rebels – Eikyō Rebellion.
  • 1439 – Mochiuji commits suicide; dissatisfaction with Yoshinori grows.
  • 1440 – Yasaka Pagoda at Hokanji in Kyoto re-constructed by Yoshinori.
  • 1441 – Yoshinori grants Shimazu suzerainty over the Ryūkyū Islands
    Ryukyu Islands
    The , also known as the , is a chain of islands in the western Pacific, on the eastern limit of the East China Sea and to the southwest of the island of Kyushu in Japan. From about 1829 until the mid 20th century, they were alternately called Luchu, Loochoo, or Lewchew, akin to the Mandarin...

    ; Akamatsu murders Yoshinori – Kakitsu Incident; Yamana kills Akamatsu.


Yoshinori strengthened the power of the shogunate by defeating Ashikaga Mochiuji
Ashikaga Mochiuji
Ashikaga Mochiuji was the Kamakura-fu's fourth Kantō kubō during the Sengoku period 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...

 in the Eikyo Rebellion of 1438. During the period, Chinese contacts were increased and Zen
Zen
Zen is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism founded by the Buddhist monk Bodhidharma. The word Zen is from the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese word Chán , which in turn is derived from the Sanskrit word dhyāna, which can be approximately translated as "meditation" or "meditative state."Zen...

 Buddhism gained influence, which had broad cultural consequences. For example, the Hon-dō
Main Hall (Japanese Buddhism)
Main hall is the term used in English for the building within a Japanese Buddhist temple compound which enshrines the main object of veneration. Because the various denominations deliberately use different terms, this single English term translates several Japanese words, among them Butsuden,...

or main hall at Ikkyu-ji is today the oldest standing T'ang style temple in the Yamashiro (southern Kyoto Prefecture) and Yamato (Nara Prefecture) Provinces. It was built in 1434 and was dedicated by Yoshinori.

Foreign relations

In 1432, trade and diplomatic relations between Japan and China were restored. Both had been discontinued by Yoshimochi. The Chinese emperor reached out to Japan by sending a letter to the shogunate via the kingdom of the Ryūkyū Islands; Yoshinori responded favorably.

According to Mansai Jugo Nikki (満済准后日記), the system of the Tosen-bugyō (唐船奉行) was established in 1434 to mediate oversee trade. The functions of the Tosen-bugyō included: (1) defending trading ships in Japanese waters, (2) procuring export goods, (3) mediating between the Muromachi shogunate and shipping interests, and (4) managing record-keeping. It is significant that the Muromachi shogunate was the first to appoint the executive officers of the samurai class to high positions in its diplomatic bureaucracy. After Yoshinori's time, the totosen (渡唐船) (the fleet of ships going from Japan to Ming China) consisted of the ships belonging principally to three different kinds of owners: the Muromachi shogun, temples, and the shugo
Shugo
was a title, commonly translated as "Governor," given to certain officials in feudal Japan. They were each appointed by the shogun to oversee one or more of the provinces of Japan...

 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...

.

Assassination

Yoshinori was notorious for his oppressive measures and unpredictable dictatorial whims. Yoshinori was assassinated at the age of 48 by Akamatsu Mitsusuke, who had learned that Yoshinori planned to bestow on a youthful male favorite three provinces belonging to Mitususuke; shortly thereafter, it was determined that his 8-year-old son, Yoshikatsu, would become the new shogun.

Although the Ashikaga line continued through this seventh shogun, the power of the shoguns gradually eroded and the shogunate fell into decline. The mere fact of that assassination and treason had become a reality had served to undercut the previous military ethic of loyalty.

Eras of Yoshinori's bakufu

The years in which Yoshinori was shogun are more specifically identified by more than one era name or nengō.
  • Eikyō
    Eikyo
    was a after Shocho and before Kakitsu. This period spanned the years from September 1429 through February 1441. The reigning emperor was .-Change of era:* 1429 : The era name was changed to mark the beginning of the reign of Emperor Go-Hanazono...

    (1429–1441)
  • Kakitsu
    Kakitsu
    was a after Eikyō and before Bun'an. This period spanned the years from February 1441 through February 1444. The reigning emperor was .-Change of era:* 1451 : The era name was changed to mark an event or a number of events...

    (1441–1444)

See also

  • East Asian age reckoning
    East Asian age reckoning
    East Asian age reckoning is a concept and practice that originated in China and is widely used by other cultures in East Asia, which share this traditional way of counting a person's age. Newborns start at one year old, and each passing of a Lunar New Year, rather than the birthday, adds one year...

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