Ashikaga clan

The Ashikaga clan (足利氏, Ashikaga-shi) was a prominent Japanese samurai clan which established the Muromachi shogunate and ruled Japan from roughly 1333[1] to 1573.[2]

This article is about the clan of the Askhikaga shogunate. For the Fujiwara clan, see Ashikaga clan (Fujiwara).

Ashikaga clan 足利氏
Ashikaga Futatsubiki (足利二つ引き), the Ashikaga family crest
Parent house	Seiwa Genji (Minamoto clan)
Titles	Various
Founder	Minamoto no Yoshiyasu (Ashikaga Yoshiyasu)
Final ruler	Ashikaga Yoshiaki
Ruled until	1573, Ashikaga shogunate deposed by Oda Nobunaga
Cadet branches	Hosokawa clan Imagawa clan Hatakeyama clan (restored line) Kira clan Shiba clan Hachisuka clan others

The Ashikaga were descended from a branch of the Minamoto clan, deriving originally from the town of Ashikaga in Shimotsuke province (modern-day Tochigi prefecture).

For about a century the clan was divided in two rival branches, the Kantō Ashikaga, who ruled from Kamakura, and the Kyōto Ashikaga, rulers of Japan. The rivalry ended with the defeat of the first in 1439. The clan had many notable branch clans, including the Hosokawa, Imagawa, Hatakeyama (after 1205), Kira , Shiba, and Hachisuka clans. After the head family of the Minamoto clan died out during the early Kamakura period, the Ashikaga came to style themselves as the head of the Minamoto, coopting the prestige which came with that name.

Another Ashikaga clan, not related by blood, and derived instead from the Fujiwara clan, also existed.

History

Emperor Go-Daigo 後醍醐天皇 (1288–1339) destroyed the Kamakura shogunate in 1333. Yet the emperor was unable to control the unrest produced. The emperor's inefficient rule led to one of his greatest generals, Ashikaga Takauji 足利尊氏 (1305–1358), to betray him in 1335. This established the Northern Court, named after its location in Kyoto, which was north of Go-Daigo's encampment. The conflict between Go-Daigo and the Ashikaga clan is known as the Upheaval of the Northern and Southern courts (Nanbokuchō no dōran 南北朝の動乱). In 1392, the Southern Court surrendered to the third shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu 足利義満 (1358–1408).[3]

Notable Shōguns

The Ashikaga clan had 15 Shōguns from 1333 to 1573.[4] Some were more powerful or prominent than others. Ashikaga Yoshimitsu (足利義満) was the third shogun of the Ashikaga clan. He made the Ashikaga Shogunate strong and stable. Ashikaga Yoshimitsu was responsible for the defeat of the Southern Court in 1392. Known for his patronage of the arts, he constructed the Kinkaku-ji in 1397. Yoshimitsu also expanded foreign relations with Ming China. Yoshimitsu sent an embassy to Ming Dynasty China in 1401, headed by priest Soa and Hakata merchant Koetomi. They brought with them a conciliatory memorial to the emperor, and numerous gifts including horses, fans, gold, screens, paper, swords, armor, and inkstone cases. The mission was successful, and returned to Japan the following year. A Ming envoy returned alongside Soa and Koetomi, and presented Yoshimitsu with an official imperial Chinese calendar, and documents officially recognizing (or investing) him as "King of Japan."[5]

After the death of Yoshimitsu, the Ashikaga Shogunate lost power and influence. In 1429, Ashikaga Yoshinori (足利義教) the sixth shogun adapted Yoshimitsu's policies in order to strengthen the power of the Shogunate. He wanted to increase military power but faced opposition. His 12-year reign saw the restoration of diplomatic ties and trade between Japan and China that had been the fourth Shogun, Yoshimochi's undertaking.[6]

Ashikaga Yoshiaki (足利義昭）was the 15th and last Shogun. He came into power in 1568 with the help of the general Oda Nobunaga (織田信長). After rivalry emerged between the two, Nobunaga defeated Yoshiaki and banished him from Kyoto. This effectively ended the rule on the Ashikaga clan in 1573.[7]

Clan heads

1. Ashikaga Yoshiyasu[8] 2. Ashikaga Yoshikane[9] 3. Ashikaga Yoshiuji 4. Ashikaga Yasuuji

5. Ashikaga Yoriuji 6. Ashikaga Ietoki 7. Ashikaga Sadauji 8. Ashikaga Takauji[10]

Shōguns

1. Ashikaga Takauji 2. Ashikaga Yoshiakira[11] 3. Ashikaga Yoshimitsu[12] 4. Ashikaga Yoshimochi[13] 5. Ashikaga Yoshikazu[14] 6. Ashikaga Yoshinori[15] 7. Ashikaga Yoshikatsu[16] 8. Ashikaga Yoshimasa[17]

9. Ashikaga Yoshihisa[18] 10. Ashikaga Yoshitane[19] 11. Ashikaga Yoshizumi[20] 12. Ashikaga Yoshiharu[21] 13. Ashikaga Yoshiteru[22] 14. Ashikaga Yoshihide[23] 15 Ashikaga Yoshiaki[24]

Notable

• Ashikaga Chachamaru[25]
• Ashikaga Masatomo[26]
• Ashikaga Mitsukane[27]
• Ashikaga Mochiuji[28]
• Ashikaga Motouji[29]
• Ashikaga Satouji
• Ashikaga Shigeuji[30]
• Ashikaga Tadafuyu[31][32]
• Ashikaga Tadayoshi[33]
• Ashikaga Tadatsuna
• Ashikaga Ujimitsu[34]
• Ashikaga Yoshimi[35]

Family tree

Picture of the genealogy of the Ashikaga.

See also

• Muromachi period
• Kantō Kubō
• Ashikaga clan (Fujiwara)

Notes

1. "...Ashikaga (1333-1572)" Warrior Rule in Japan, page 11. Cambridge University Press.
2. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Ashikaga" in Japan Encyclopedia, pp. 53-57, p. 53, at Google Books; n.b., Louis-Frédéric is pseudonym of Louis-Frédéric Nussbaum, see Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Authority File.
3. NetCommons (2017-03-17). "国際日本文化研究センター学術リポジトリ" (in Japanese). 29. doi:10.15055/00006618. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
4. "Ashikaga Yoshiaki | Japanese shogun". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2019-10-31.
5. "Ashikaga Yoshimitsu - SamuraiWiki". wiki.samurai-archives.com. Retrieved 2019-10-31.
6. kato. "Ashikaga Yoshinori, the 6th Ashikaga Shogun". Samurai World (in Japanese). Retrieved 2019-10-31.
7. "Ashikaga Yoshiaki | Japanese shogun". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2019-10-31.
8. Nussbaum, "Ashikaga Yoshiyasu" at p. 57., p. 57, at Google Books
9. Nussbaum, "Ashikaga Yoshikane" at p. 56., p. 56, at Google Books
10. Nussbaum, "Ashikaga Takauji" at p. 55., p. 55, at Google Books
11. Nussbaum, "Ashikaga Yoshiakira" at p. 55., p. 55, at Google Books
12. Nussbaum, "Ashikaga Yoshimitsu" at p. 56., p. 56, at Google Books
13. Nussbaum, "Ashikaga Yoshimochi" at p. 56., p. 56, at Google Books
14. Nussbaum, "Ashikaga Yoshikazu" at p. 56., p. 56, at Google Books
15. Nussbaum, "Ashikaga Yoshinori" at p. 56., p. 56, at Google Books
16. Nussbaum, "Ashikaga Yoshikatsu" at p. 56., p. 56, at Google Books
17. Nussbaum, "Ashikaga Yoshimasa" at p. 56., p. 56, at Google Books
18. Nussbaum, "Ashikaga Yoshihisa" at p. 56., p. 56, at Google Books
19. Nussbaum, "Ashikaga Yoshitane" at p. 57., p. 57, at Google Books
20. Nussbaum, "Ashikaga Yoshizumi" at p. 57., p. 57, at Google Books
21. Nussbaum, "Ashikaga Yoshiharu" at p. 55., p. 55, at Google Books
22. Nussbaum, "Ashikaga Yoshiteru" at p. 57., p. 57, at Google Books
23. Nussbaum, "Ashikaga Yoshihide" at p. 56., p. 56, at Google Books
24. Nussbaum, "Ashikaga Yoshiaki" at p. 55., p. 55, at Google Books
25. Nussbaum, "Ashikaga Chachamaru" at p. 54., p. 54, at Google Books
26. Nussbaum, "Ashikaga Masatomo" at p. 54., p. 54, at Google Books
27. Nussbaum, "Ashikaga Mitsukane" at p. 54., p. 54, at Google Books
28. Nussbaum, "Ashikaga Mochiuji" at p. 54., p. 54, at Google Books
29. Nussbaum, "Ashikaga Motouji" at p. 54., p. 54, at Google Books
30. Nussbaum, "Ashikaga Shigeuji" at pp. 54-55., p. 54, at Google Books
31. Nussbaum, "Ashikaga Tadafuyu" at p. 55., p. 55, at Google Books
32. Sansom, George (1961). A History of Japan, 1334-1615. Stanford University Press. pp. 81–82, 90–91, 95, 97. ISBN 0804705259.
33. Nussbaum, "Ashikaga Tadayoshi" at p. 55., p. 55, at Google Books
34. Nussbaum, "Ashikaga Ujimitsu" at p. 55., p. 55, at Google Books
35. Nussbaum, "Ashikaga Yoshimi" at p. 56., p. 56, at Google Books

References

• Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric and Käthe Roth. (2005). Japan encyclopedia. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-01753-5; OCLC 58053128