Onin War
Encyclopedia
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...
in 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...
. A dispute between Hosokawa Katsumoto
Hosokawa Katsumoto
was one of the Kanrei, the Deputies to the Shogun, during Japan's Muromachi Period. He is famous for his involvement in the creation of Ryōan-ji, a temple famous for its rock garden, and for his involvement in the Ōnin War, which sparked the 130-year Sengoku period.His conflicts with his...
and Yamana Sōzen escalated into a nationwide war involving 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...
and a number of 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...
in many regions of Japan.
The war initiated the Sengoku jidai
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...
, "the Warring States Period". This period was a long, drawn-out struggle for domination by individual daimyo, resulting in a mass power-struggle between the various houses to dominate the whole of Japan. It was during this long period though that there would emerge three individuals who would unite Japan under one rule; they were Oda Nobunaga
Oda Nobunaga
was the initiator of the unification of Japan under the shogunate in the late 16th century, which ruled Japan until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was also a major daimyo during the Sengoku period of Japanese history. His opus was continued, completed and finalized by his successors Toyotomi...
, Toyotomi Hideyoshi
Toyotomi Hideyoshi
was a daimyo warrior, general and politician of the Sengoku period. He unified the political factions of Japan. He succeeded his former liege lord, Oda Nobunaga, and brought an end to the Sengoku period. The period of his rule is often called the Momoyama period, named after Hideyoshi's castle...
, and Tokugawa Ieyasu
Tokugawa Ieyasu
was the founder and first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan , which ruled from the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. Ieyasu seized power in 1600, received appointment as shogun in 1603, abdicated from office in 1605, but...
.
Origin
The Ōnin conflict began as a controversy over who would become shogun after the retirement or death of Shogun Ashikaga YoshimasaAshikaga Yoshimasa
was the 8th shogun of the Ashikaga shogunate who reigned from 1449 to 1473 during the Muromachi period of Japan. Yoshimasa was the son of the sixth shogun Ashikaga Yoshinori....
. In 1464, Yoshimasa had no heir. He persuaded his younger brother, Ashikaga Yoshimi
Ashikaga Yoshimi
was the brother of Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa, and a rival for the succession in a dispute that would lead to the Ōnin War.Yoshimi was the abbot of a Jōdo monastery when he was first approached by Hosokawa Katsumoto, who wished to support his bid to become Shogun. He originally sought to stick to...
, to abandon the life of a monk, and Yoshimi was named heir. In 1465, the unanticipated birth of a son to Yoshimasa put these plans in question. The infant, Yoshihisa
Ashikaga Yoshihisa
was the 9th shogun of the Ashikaga shogunate who reigned from 1473 to 1489 during the Muromachi period of Japan. Yoshihisa was the son of the eighth shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa....
, caused friction between the two brothers.
Hosokawa had always worked closely with the Shogun's brother Ashikaga Yoshimi, and supported his claim to the shogunate. Yamana took this as an opportunity to oppose Hosokawa further, supporting the child as heir to the Shogunate. War broke out in the city of Heian-kyō. This was regarded by the Ashikaga Shogun as an act of rebellion, and thus the Ashikaga and their supporters were forced to try to stop it. The Ashikaga tried to prevent the outbreak of war over the next heir, but the situation escalated into a war that designated the leader of the victorious party as the next shogun. In 1467 the uncertainty had caused a split amongst the warrior clans; and the succession dispute became a pretext for a struggle for military supremacy. In the end, there was no clear-cut winner. The complex array of factional armies simply fought themselves into exhaustion.
Battles
By July 1467 the fighting had become serious, and this was when the Ōnin War is said to have started. By September, Kyoto's northern parts were in ruins, and everyone who could flee from Kyoto did so.Both Yamana Sōzen and Hosokawa Katsumoto died in 1473, and even then, the war continued on, neither side figuring out how to end the war. However, eventually the Yamana clan lost heart as the label of "rebel" was at last having some effect. Ōuchi Masahiro
Ouchi Masahiro
was a member of the Ōuchi family and general in the Ōnin War, serving Yamana Sōzen. He battled numerous times with Yamana's rival, Hosokawa Katsumoto, at one point commanding 20,000 men and 2,000 boats, moving his troops by land as well as by sea...
, one of the Yamana generals, eventually burnt down his section of Kyoto and left the area. By 1477, ten years after the fighting had begun, Kyoto was nothing more than a place for mobs to loot and move in to take what was left. Neither the Yamana clan nor the Hosokawa clan had achieved its aims, other than to whittle down the numbers of the opposing clan.
During this whole ordeal, the shogun was not instrumental in alleviating the situation. While Kyoto was burning, Ashikaga Yoshimasa spent his time in poetry readings and other cultural activities, and in planning Ginkaku-ji
Ginkaku-ji
, the "Temple of the Silver Pavilion," is a Zen temple in the Sakyo ward of Kyoto, Japan. It is one of the construction that represents the Higashiyama Culture of Muromachi period....
, a Silver Pavilion to rival Kinkaku-ji
Kinkaku-ji
, also known as , is a Zen Buddhist temple in Kyoto, Japan. The garden complex is an excellent example of Muromachi period garden design. It is designated as a National Special Historic Site and a National Special Landscape, and it is one of 17 locations comprising the Historic Monuments of Ancient...
, the Golden Pavilion that his grandfather, 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....
, had built.
The Ōnin War, and the shogun’s complacent attitude towards it, "sanctioned" private wars and skirmishes between the other daimyo. No part of Japan escaped the violence. Although the battles in Kyoto had been abandoned, the war had spread to the rest of Japan. In Yamashiro Province
Yamashiro Province
was a province of Japan, located in Kinai. It overlaps the southern part of modern Kyoto Prefecture on Honshū. Aliases include , the rare , and . It is classified as an upper province in the Engishiki....
, the Hatakeyama clan
Hatakeyama clan
The ' was a Japanese samurai clan. Originally a branch of the Taira clan and descended from Taira no Takamochi, they fell victim of political intrigue in 1205, when Hatakeyama Shigeyasu, first, and his father Shigetada later were killed in battle by Hōjō forces in Kamakura...
had split into two parts that fought each other to a standstill. This stalemate was to have serious consequences. In 1485, the peasantry and ji-samurai
Ji-samurai
The ', also known as ', were lords of smaller rural domains in feudal Japan. They often used their relatively small plots of land for intensive and diversified forms of agriculture; the kokujin sought to be as productive and self-sufficient as possible, hoping to gain wealth and power...
(lesser samurai - mostly armed peasants) had had enough, and revolted. Setting up their own army (the 'Ikki'), they forced the clan armies to leave the province. The Ikki became a powerful force, much more than simply an armed mob. By 1486 they had even set up a provisional government for Yamashiro province.
The Ikki would form and appear throughout other parts of Japan, such as Kaga Province
Kaga Province
was an old province in the area that is today the southern part of Ishikawa Prefecture. It was sometimes called .Ruled by the Maeda clan, the capital of Kaga was Kanazawa. Kaga bordered on Echizen, Etchū, Hida, and Noto Provinces...
, where a sect of the Jodo Shinshu
Jodo Shinshu
, also known as Shin Buddhism, is a school of Pure Land Buddhism. It was founded by the former Tendai Japanese monk Shinran. Today, Shin Buddhism is considered the most widely practiced branch of Buddhism in Japan.-Shinran :...
Buddhists, the Ikkō
Ikko
Ikkō-shu is usually viewed as a small, militant, offshoot from Jodo Shinshu Buddhism though the name has a complex history.Originally Ikkō-shu was a small antinomian sect founded by Ikkō Shunjo and similar to Ippen's Ji-shu...
, started their own revolt during the Ōnin War after being enlisted by one of Kaga's most prominent warlords, Togashi Masachika. The Ikkō, who had a complex relationship with the Jodo Shinshu leader Rennyo
Rennyo
' was the 8th Monshu, or head-priest, of the Hongwanji Temple of the Jōdo Shinshū sect of Buddhism, and descendant of founder Shinran. Jodo Shinshu Buddhists often referred to as the restorer of the sect , and for this is also referred to as Rennyo Shonin...
, appealed to the common peasants in their region, and inevitably formed the Ikkō-ikki
Ikko-ikki
', literally "Ikkoshū Uprising", were mobs of peasant farmers, Buddhist monks, Shinto priests and local nobles, who rose up against samurai rule in 15th to 16th century Japan. They followed the beliefs of the Jōdo Shinshū sect of Buddhism which taught that all believers are equally saved by Amida...
. By 1488 the Ikkō-ikki of Kaga Province expelled Masachika and the other warlords, and took control of the province. After this they began building a fortified castle-cathedral along the Yodo River and used it as their headquarters. The Ikkō-ikki and the Yamashiro-ikki were revolutionary, in a process called gekokujō ("the low oppress the high").
Aftermath
After the Ōnin War, the Ashikaga bakufuAshikaga 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...
completely fell apart; for all practical purposes, the Hosokawa
Hosokawa clan
The ' was a Japanese samurai clan, descended from Emperor Seiwa and a branch of the Minamoto clan, by the Ashikaga clan. It produced many prominent officials in the Ashikaga shogunate's administration. In the Edo period, the Hosokawa clan was one of the largest landholding daimyo families in Japan...
family was in charge and the Ashikaga shoguns became their puppets. When Yoshimi's son Yoshitane
Ashikaga Yoshitane
, also known as Ashikaga Yoshiki , was the 10th shogun of the Ashikaga shogunate who headed the shogunate first from 1490 to 1493 and then again from 1508 to 1521 during the Muromachi period of Japan....
was made shogun in 1490, the Hosokawa 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....
(deputy) soon put him to flight in 1493 and declared another Ashikaga, Yoshizumi, to be 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...
. In 1499, Yoshitane arrived at Yamaguchi, the capital of the Ōuchi, and this powerful family threw its military support behind Yoshitane. In 1507, the Kanrei Hosokawa Masamoto
Hosokawa Masamoto
a notable Deputy-Shogun of the Hosokawa clan of Japan, and son of Hosokawa Katsumoto. Masamoto was appointed to this very high rank during the year of 1486. However, for a brief period this title was lost by Hatakeyama Masanaga but was regained in time. When Ashikaga Yoshihisa died childless during...
was assassinated and in 1508, Yoshizumi left Kyoto and the Ōuchi
Ouchi family
The ' was one of the most powerful and important families in Japan during the reign of the Ashikaga shogunate in the 12th to 14th centuries descended from the Korean Baekje Dynasty's Royal family...
restored the shogunate to Yoshitane. Thence began a series of strange conflicts over control of the puppet government of the shogunate. After the death of Hosokawa Matsumoto, his adopted sons Takakuni and Sumimoto began to fight over the succession to the Kanrei, but Sumimoto himself was a puppet of one of his vassals. This would characterize the wars following the Ōnin War; these wars were more about control over puppet governments than they were about high ideals or simply greed for territory.
The Hosokawa
Hosokawa clan
The ' was a Japanese samurai clan, descended from Emperor Seiwa and a branch of the Minamoto clan, by the Ashikaga clan. It produced many prominent officials in the Ashikaga shogunate's administration. In the Edo period, the Hosokawa clan was one of the largest landholding daimyo families in Japan...
family would control the shogunate until 1558 when they were betrayed by a vassal family, the Miyoshi
Miyoshi clan
The Miyoshi clan is a Japanese family descended from Emperor Seiwa and the Minamoto clan . They were a cadet branch of the Ogasawara clan and the Takeda clan....
. The powerful Ōuchi were also destroyed by a vassal, Mōri Motonari
Mori Motonari
was a prominent daimyō in the west Chūgoku region of Japan during the Sengoku period of the 16th century.-Early years:Mōri Motonari was born under the name Shojumaru in a small domain of Aki province in 1497. He is said to have been born at Suzuo Castle, his mother's homeland...
, in 1551; by the end of the Warring States Period only a dozen or so warlord families still remained standing. But the most important development to come out of the Ōnin War was the ceaseless civil war that ignited outside the capital city. Hosokawa tried to foment civil strife in the Ōuchi domains, for instance, and this civil strife would eventually force Ōuchi to submit and leave. From the close of the Ōnin War, this type of civil strife, either vassals striving to conquer their daimyo or succession disputes drawing in outside daimyo, was endemic all throughout Japan.
Scholars disagree on the appropriateness of the term "Warring States Period
Warring States Period
The Warring States Period , also known as the Era of Warring States, or the Warring Kingdoms period, covers the Iron Age period from about 475 BC to the reunification of China under the Qin Dynasty in 221 BC...
" (which is the Chinese term borrowed by the Japanese in calling this period "sengoku jidai
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...
"). Many argue that since Japan was essentially intact, the Emperor and shogunate remaining at least nominally in command of the whole country, it really wasn't a "warring states" period at all, but a "warring warlords" period. However, others such as Mark Ravina, Mary Elizabeth Berry, and Conrad Totman argue that the kuni
Provinces of Japan
Before the modern prefecture system was established, the land of Japan was divided into tens of kuni , usually known in English as provinces. Each province was divided into gun ....
(provinces) were not unlike quasi-independent states, and that the term is thus more or less appropriate.
The cost for the individual daimyo was tremendous, and a century of conflict would so weaken the bulk of Japanese warlords, that the three great figures of Japanese unification, beginning with Oda Nobunaga
Oda Nobunaga
was the initiator of the unification of Japan under the shogunate in the late 16th century, which ruled Japan until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was also a major daimyo during the Sengoku period of Japanese history. His opus was continued, completed and finalized by his successors Toyotomi...
, would find it easier to militarily assert a single, unified military government.
Ōnin Ki
The Ōnin Ki (応仁記) is a document written sometime from the end of the 15th century to the middle of the 16th century (i.e. some 20 to 80 years after the conflict), which describes the causes and effects of the Ōnin War. It illustrates in detail the strategies involved in the fighting, and its chief instigators, Yamana Sōzen and Hosokawa KatsumotoHosokawa Katsumoto
was one of the Kanrei, the Deputies to the Shogun, during Japan's Muromachi Period. He is famous for his involvement in the creation of Ryōan-ji, a temple famous for its rock garden, and for his involvement in the Ōnin War, which sparked the 130-year Sengoku period.His conflicts with his...
.
Though it is classified as a work of historical military fiction (軍記物語), because of the time in which it was written, it is entirely possible that the author is relating a first person account of the conflagration. Though its author is unknown, his beliefs and philosophies are apparent throughout the text, as he relates the apparent futility of the war and the destruction it wrought on the capital. It remains an important work in part due to its departure from somewhat cut-and-dry depictions of the numerous battles, instead adding accounts of how the Onin War affected the city and its citizens:
"The capital which we believed would flourish for ten thousand years has now become a lair for the wolves. Even the North Field of Toji has fallen to ash ... Lamenting the plight of the many fallen acolytes, Ii-o Hikorokusaemon-No-Jou read a passage:
'Now the city that you know
Has become an empty field,
From which the skylark rises
And your tears fall.'"
Chronology
The origins of the Ōnin conflict are manifold. To say that the war began with a quarrel between angry warlords is too simplistic. The initial phase of this decade-long struggle was only a spark which set fire to a broader conflagration. Without fully anticipating the consequences, the Kamakura government had loosened the restraints of tradition in Japanese society, which meant that new energies were released, new classes were formed, and new wealth was created. As the shogunate's powerful figures competed for influence in Kyoto, the leading families in the provinces were amassing resources and growing more independent of centralized controls.Precursors
- 1443 Ashikaga YoshimasaAshikaga Yoshimasawas the 8th shogun of the Ashikaga shogunate who reigned from 1449 to 1473 during the Muromachi period of Japan. Yoshimasa was the son of the sixth shogun Ashikaga Yoshinori....
becomes Shogun. - 1445 Hosokawa KatsumotoHosokawa Katsumotowas one of the Kanrei, the Deputies to the Shogun, during Japan's Muromachi Period. He is famous for his involvement in the creation of Ryōan-ji, a temple famous for its rock garden, and for his involvement in the Ōnin War, which sparked the 130-year Sengoku period.His conflicts with his...
becomes KyotoKyotois 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:...
kanreiKanreior, 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....
. - 1449 Ashikaga ShigeujiAshikaga Shigeujiwas 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...
assumes office in the Kantō. - 1457 Ōta DōkanOta Dokan, also known as Ōta Sukenaga or Ōta Dōkan Sukenaga, was a Japanese samurai warrior-poet, military tactician and Buddhist monk. Ōta Sukenaga took the tonsure as a Buddhist priest in 1478, and he also adopted the Buddhist name, Dōkan, by which is known today...
builds Edo castleEdo Castle, also known as , is a flatland castle that was built in 1457 by Ōta Dōkan. It is located in Chiyoda in Tokyo, then known as Edo, Toshima District, Musashi Province. Tokugawa Ieyasu established the Tokugawa shogunate here. It was the residence of the shogun and location of the shogunate, and also...
. Ashikaga Masamoto sent to govern the Kantō. - 1458 Yoshimasa builds a new Muromachi palace.
- 1464 Ashikaga YoshimiAshikaga Yoshimiwas the brother of Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa, and a rival for the succession in a dispute that would lead to the Ōnin War.Yoshimi was the abbot of a Jōdo monastery when he was first approached by Hosokawa Katsumoto, who wished to support his bid to become Shogun. He originally sought to stick to...
assists his brother Yoshimasa in public office. - 1465 Tomi-ko gives birth to Ashikaga YoshihisaAshikaga Yoshihisawas the 9th shogun of the Ashikaga shogunate who reigned from 1473 to 1489 during the Muromachi period of Japan. Yoshihisa was the son of the eighth shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa....
- 1466 Yamana Sōzen and Hosokawa KatsumotoHosokawa Katsumotowas one of the Kanrei, the Deputies to the Shogun, during Japan's Muromachi Period. He is famous for his involvement in the creation of Ryōan-ji, a temple famous for its rock garden, and for his involvement in the Ōnin War, which sparked the 130-year Sengoku period.His conflicts with his...
gather troops near Kyoto.
Warfare begins
- 1467 Outbreak of the Ōnin War. Yamana is declared a rebel. In November, the Shōkoku-jiShokoku-ji, formally identified as , is a Buddhist temple in northern Kyoto, founded in 1382 by Ashikaga Yoshimitsu.-Buddhist center:In 1383, the Zen master was designated by Yoshimitsu as founding abbot, however, Myōha insisted that the official honor be posthumously accorded to his own teacher, Musō...
(:ja:相国寺) is destroyed. - 1468 Yoshimi goes over to YamanaYamanaYamana may mean:* Yámana, an alternate name for the Yaghan language and people, in Chile and Argentina* Yamana clan, a Japanese clan * Yamana Gold Inc., a Canadian-based gold mining company operating in South and Central America...
's side. - 1469 Yoshimasa names Yoshihisa his heir.
- 1471 Ikkō-ikkiIkko-ikki', literally "Ikkoshū Uprising", were mobs of peasant farmers, Buddhist monks, Shinto priests and local nobles, who rose up against samurai rule in 15th to 16th century Japan. They followed the beliefs of the Jōdo Shinshū sect of Buddhism which taught that all believers are equally saved by Amida...
Buddhist sect gains strength in the North. Asakura Toshikage becomes Constable (shugoShugowas 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...
) of EchizenEchizen Provincewas an old province of Japan, which is today the northern part of Fukui Prefecture. It was sometimes called , with Etchū and Echigo Provinces.Echizen is famous for washi . A text dated AD 774 mentions the washi made in this area. Echizen-produced Washi is still the most commonly sold traditional...
. - 1473 Yamana and Hosokawa die. Yoshimasa retires.
- 1477 Ōuchi clan leaves Kyoto. End of the Ōnin War.
Sequelae
- 1485 Agrarian uprisings in Yamashiro.
- 1489 Yoshihisa dies.
- 1490 Yoshimasa dies. Ashikaga YoshitaneAshikaga Yoshitane, also known as Ashikaga Yoshiki , was the 10th shogun of the Ashikaga shogunate who headed the shogunate first from 1490 to 1493 and then again from 1508 to 1521 during the Muromachi period of Japan....
becomes shogun. - 1492 Hōjō SōunHojo Sounwas the first head of the Late Hōjō clan, one of the major powers in Japan's Sengoku period. Born Ise Moritoki, he was originally known as Ise Shinkurō, a samurai of Taira lineage from a reputable family of Shogunate officials...
becomes master of Izu. - 1493 Yoshitane abdicates.
- 1494 Hosokawa MasamotoHosokawa Masamotoa notable Deputy-Shogun of the Hosokawa clan of Japan, and son of Hosokawa Katsumoto. Masamoto was appointed to this very high rank during the year of 1486. However, for a brief period this title was lost by Hatakeyama Masanaga but was regained in time. When Ashikaga Yoshihisa died childless during...
becomes Kyoto kanrei. - 1495 Sōun captures Odawara.
- 1508 Ōuchi restores Yoshitane.
- 1545 Hōjō UjiyasuHojo Ujiyasuwas the son of Hōjō Ujitsuna and a daimyō of the Odawara Hōjō clan.Upon his father's death in 1541, a number of the Hōjō's enemies sought to take advantage of the opportunity to seize major Hōjō strongholds...
defeats the Uesugi clanUesugi clanThe was a Japanese samurai clan, descended from the Fujiwara clan and particularly notable for their power in the Muromachi and Sengoku periods ....
forces at KawagoeKawagoe castle' is a flatland Japanese castle in the city of Kawagoe, in Japan's Saitama Prefecture. It is the closest castle to Tokyo to be accessible to visitors, as Edo castle is now the Imperial palace, and largely inaccessible....
. - 1551 Defeat of Ōuchi by Sue HarukataSue Harukatawas a retainer of the Ōuchi clan in the Sengoku period in Japan. Harukata would later become a daimyo. He was the second son of Sue Okifusa, senior retainer of the Ōuchi clan. His childhood name was Goro. Before Harukata he had the name of Takafusa...
at the Battle of MiyajimaBattle of MiyajimaThe 1555 ' was the only battle to be fought on the sacred island of Miyajima; the entire island is considered to be a Shinto shrine, and no birth or death is allowed on the island. Extensive purification rituals took place after the battle, to cleanse the shrine and the island of the pollution of...
. - 1554 MōriMORIIpsos MORI is the second largest market research organisation in the United Kingdom, formed by a merger of Ipsos UK and MORI, two of the Britain's leading survey companies in October 2005...
succeeds to Ōuchi lands and power. - 1555 Uesugi KenshinUesugi Kenshinwas a daimyo who ruled Echigo province in the Sengoku period of Japan.He was one of the most powerful lords of the Sengoku period. While chiefly remembered for his prowess on the battlefield, Kenshin is also regarded as an extremely skillful administrator who fostered the growth of local industries...
and Takeda ShingenTakeda Shingen, of Kai Province, was a preeminent daimyo in feudal Japan with exceptional military prestige in the late stage of the Sengoku period.-Name:Shingen was called "Tarō" or "Katsuchiyo" during his childhood...
at KawanakajimaBattles of KawanakajimaThe ' were fought in the Sengoku Period of Japan between Takeda Shingen of Kai Province and Uesugi Kenshin of Echigo Province in the plain of Kawanakajima, in the north of Shinano Province. The location is in the southern part of the present-day city of Nagano.The five major battles took place in... - 1560 Victory of Oda NobunagaOda Nobunagawas the initiator of the unification of Japan under the shogunate in the late 16th century, which ruled Japan until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was also a major daimyo during the Sengoku period of Japanese history. His opus was continued, completed and finalized by his successors Toyotomi...
at Okehazama.
See also
- Higashiyama period
- List of wars
- Military history of JapanMilitary history of JapanThe military history of Japan is characterised by a long period of feudal wars, followed by domestic stability, and then rampant imperialism. It culminates with Japan's defeat by the Allies in World War II...