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TheMuromachi period orMuromachi era (室町時代,Muromachi jidai), also known as theAshikaga period orAshikaga era (足利時代,Ashikaga jidai), is a division ofJapanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of theMuromachi or Ashikaga shogunate (Muromachi bakufu orAshikaga bakufu), which was officially established in 1338 by the first Muromachishōgun,Ashikaga Takauji, two years after the briefKenmu Restoration (1333–1336) of imperial rule was brought to a close. The period ended in 1573 when the 15th and last shogun of this line,Ashikaga Yoshiaki, was driven out of the capital inKyoto byOda Nobunaga.
From a cultural perspective, the period can be divided into the Kitayama andHigashiyama cultures (later 15th – early 16th centuries).
The early years from 1336 to 1392 of the Muromachi period are known as theNanboku-chō or Northern and Southern Court period. This period is marked by the continued resistance of the supporters ofEmperor Go-Daigo, the emperor behind theKenmu Restoration. TheSengoku period or Warring States period, which begins in 1465, largely overlaps with the Muromachi period. The Muromachi period is succeeded by theAzuchi–Momoyama period (1568–1600), the final phase of the Sengoku period, and later by theEdo period (1603–1867).
Emperor Go-Daigo's brief attempt to restore imperial power in theKenmu Restoration alienated thesamurai class, andAshikaga Takauji deposed Emperor Go-Daigo with samurai support. In 1338 Takauji was proclaimedshōgun and established his government inKyoto. However, Emperor Go-Daigo escaped from his confinement and revived his political power inNara. The ensuing period of Ashikaga rule (1336–1573) was called Muromachi after the district of Kyoto in which its headquarters – theHana-no-gosho (花の御所; Flower Palace) – were relocated by the thirdshōgunAshikaga Yoshimitsu, in 1378. What distinguished the Ashikaga shogunate from that ofKamakura was that, whereas Kamakura had existed in equilibrium with the imperial court, Ashikaga took over the remnants of the imperial government. Nevertheless, the Ashikaga shogunate was not as strong as Kamakura had been, and was greatly preoccupied with civil war. Not until the rule ofAshikaga Yoshimitsu (asshōgun, 1368–94, and chancellor, 1394–1408) did a semblance of order emerge.
Yoshimitsu allowed the constables, who had had limited powers during the Kamakura period, to become strong regional rulers, later calledshugo. In time, a balance of power evolved between theshōgun and theshugo; the three most prominentshugo families rotated as deputies to theshōgun at Kyoto. Yoshimitsu was finally successful in reunifying theNorthern and Southern courts in 1392, but despite his promise of greater balance between the imperial lines, the Northern Court maintained control over the throne thereafter. The line of shoguns gradually weakened after Yoshimitsu and increasingly lost power to theshugo and other regional strongmen. Theshōgun's influence on imperial succession waned, and theshugo could back their own candidates.
In time, the Ashikaga family had its own succession problems, resulting finally in theŌnin War (1467–77), which left Kyoto devastated and effectively ended the national authority of thebakufu. The power vacuum that ensued launched a century of anarchy.
The Japanese contact with theMing dynasty (1368–1644) began when contact with China was renewed during the Muromachi period after the Chinese sought support in suppressing Japanese pirates in coastal areas of China. Japanese pirates of this era and region were referred to aswokou by the Chinese (Japanesewakō). Wanting to improve relations with China and to rid Japan of the wokou threat, Yoshimitsu accepted a relationship with the Chinese that was to last for half a century. In 1401 he restarted the tribute system, describing himself in a letter to the Chinese Emperor as "Your subject, the King of Japan". Japanese wood, sulfur, copper ore, swords, and folding fans were traded for Chinese silk, porcelain, books, and coins, in what the Chinese considered tribute but the Japanese saw as profitable trade.[1]
During the time of the Ashikaga bakufu, a new national culture, called Muromachi culture, emerged from the bakufu headquarters in Kyoto to reach all levels of society, strongly influenced byZen Buddhism.
Zen played a central role in spreading not only religious teachings and practices but also art and culture, including influences derived from paintings of the ChineseSong (960–1279),Yuan, andMing dynasties. The proximity of the imperial court to the bakufu resulted in a co-mingling of imperial family members, courtiers, daimyō, samurai, and Zen priests. During the Muromachi period, the re-constitutedBlue Cliff Record became the central text of Japanese Zen literature; it still holds that position today.[2]
There was renewed interest inShinto, which had quietly coexisted withBuddhism during the centuries of the latter's predominance. Shinto, which lacked its own scriptures and had few prayers, had, as a result of syncretic practices begun in the Nara period, widely adoptedShingon Buddhist rituals. Between the eighth and fourteenth centuries, Shinto was nearly totally absorbed by Buddhism, becoming known as Ryōbu Shinto (Dual Shinto).
TheMongol invasions in the late thirteenth century, however, evoked a national consciousness of the role of thekamikaze in defeating the enemy. Less than fifty years later (1339–43),Kitabatake Chikafusa (1293–1354), the chief commander of the Southern Court forces, wrote theJinnō Shōtōki. This chronicle emphasized the importance of maintaining the divine descent of the imperial line fromAmaterasu to the current emperor, a condition that gave Japan a special national polity (kokutai). Besides reinforcing the concept of the emperor as a deity, theJinnōshōtōki provided a Shinto view of history, which stressed the divine nature of all Japanese and the country's spiritual supremacy over China and India. Buddhism, arriving in the 6th century, impacted education but did not replace Shinto.[3]
Confucianism began to be recognized as essential to the education of a daimyo in the Muromachi period. When Genju Keian, who returned from the Ming dynasty, traveled around Kyushu, he was invited by theKikuchi clan inHigo Province and theShimazu clan inSatsuma Province to give a lecture; and later, he established the Satsunan school (school of Neo-Confucianism in Satsuma). In Tosa, Baiken Minamimura, who lectured on Neo-Confucianism, became known as the founder of Nangaku (Neo-Confucianism in Tosa); inHokuriku region, Nobutaka Kiyohara lectured on Confucianism for various daimyo such as theHatakeyama clan inNoto Province, theTakeda clan inWakasa Province, and theAsakura clan inEchizen Province.
Meanwhile, in the eastern part of Japan,Norizane Uesugi re-established theAshikaga Gakko, Japan's oldest surviving academic institution, by adding a collection of books and so priests and warriors from all over the country gathered there to learn. For theAshikaga Gakko, theGohojo clan in Odawara provided protection later.Francis Xavier, a missionary of theSociety of Jesus, who propagated Christianity in Japan, described that "the Ashikaga Gakko is the biggest and most famous academy of Bando in Japan (the university of eastern Japan)." Shukyu Banri, a priest and a composer of Chinese-style poems, went down toMino Province in the Onin War, and then left for Edo at Dokan Ota's invitation. He traveled all over the Kanto region,Echigo Province, andHida Province. The above-mentioned Sesshu visited the Risshaku-ji Temple inYamagata City,Dewa Province.
In this period, local lords and local clans considered it indispensable to acquire skills of reading, writing, and arithmetic for the management of their territories. A growing number of land deeds were written by peasants, which means that literacy was widespread even among the commoner class. The Italian Jesuit,Alessandro Valignano (1539–1606), wrote:
"The people are white (not dark-skinned) and cultured; even the common folk and peasants are well brought up and are so remarkably polite that they give the impression that they were trained at court. In this respect they are superior to other Eastern peoples but also to Europeans as well. They are very capable and intelligent, and the children are quick to grasp our lessons and instructions. They learn to read and write our language far more quickly and easily than children in Europe. The lower classes in Japan are not so coarse and ignorant as those in Europe; on the contrary, they are generally intelligent, well brought up and quick to learn."
Teikin Orai (Home Education Text Book),Joe-shikimoku (legal code of the Kamakura shogunate), andJitsugokyo (a text for primary education) were widely used in shrines and temples as textbooks for the education of children of the warrior class. It was in the Sengoku Period that the following books were published:Setsuyoshu (a Japanese-language dictionary in iroha order) written by Soji MANJUYA, and "Ishotaizen" (The Complete Book of Medicine), a medical book in Ming's language, translated by Asai no Sozui, who was a merchant in Sakai City and a physician.[4][5]
The new Zen monasteries, with their Chinese background and the martial rulers in Kamakura sought to produce a unique cultural legacy to rival the Fujiwara tradition. Hence, Chinese painter-monks were frequently invited to the monasteries while Japanese monks travelled back and forth such asJosetsu (1405–1496) andSesshū Tōyō (c. 1420–1506). This exchange led to the creation ofMuromachi ink painting which often included Chinese themes,Chinese ink-washing techniques, fluid descriptive lines, dry brushes, and almost invisible facial features. Despite the initial creative restrictions, Japanese Zen ink painting soon achieved poetic and indigenous expression as elements were rearranged in a Japanese manner, and brushstrokes became gentle, fluid and more impulsive.[6] This art style would eventually be adopted byKanō school founderKanō Masanobu (1434–1530) and followed by his followers such as his sonKanō Motonobu (1476–1559).[7][8]
_by_Tsukioka_K%25C5%258Dgyo_(National_Noh_Theatre).jpg)
The two most popular music and dance forms of the period in both cities and provinces wassarugaku anddengaku, which were both antecedents toNoh theatre, these music and dance styles would have included acrobatics and story plays. Both performance styles had by the Muromachi period been organized intozaguilds which enjoyed the patronage of temples and shrines. Performances by travelling troupes would arrive in towns, temples and shrines. Sarugaku would more formally develop into Noh theatre due to the patronage ofAshikaga Yoshimitsu, in 1374 he attended a play by actorsKan'ami (1333–1384) andZeami (1363 – c. 1443) who then received financial backing from the shogun.[9] Art of all kinds—architecture,literature,kyōgen comedy,tea ceremony,landscape gardening, andflower arranging—all flourished during Muromachi times.
TheŌnin War (1467–77) led to serious political fragmentation and obliteration of domains: a great struggle for land and power ensued amongbushi chieftains and lasted until the mid-sixteenth century. Peasants rose against their landlords and samurai against their overlords as central control virtually disappeared. The imperial house was left impoverished, and thebakufu was controlled by contending chieftains in Kyoto. The provincial domains that emerged after the Ōnin War were smaller and easier to control. Many new smalldaimyō arose from among the samurai who had overthrown their great overlords. Border defenses were improved, and well fortified castle towns were built to protect the newly opened domains, for which land surveys were made, roads built, and mines opened. New house laws provided practical means of administration, stressing duties and rules of behavior. Emphasis was put on success in war, estate management, and finance. Threatening alliances were guarded against through strict marriage rules. Aristocratic society was overwhelmingly military in character. The rest of society was controlled in a system of vassalage. Theshōen (feudal manors) were obliterated, and court nobles and absentee landlords were dispossessed. The new daimyō directly controlled the land, keeping the peasantry in permanent serfdom in exchange for protection.
Most wars of the period were short and localized, although they occurred throughout Japan. By 1500 the entire country was engulfed in civil wars. Rather than disrupting the local economies, however, the frequent movement of armies stimulated the growth of transportation and communications, which in turn provided additional revenues from customs and tolls. To avoid such fees, commerce shifted to the central region, which no daimyō had been able to control, and to theInland Sea. Economic developments and the desire to protect trade achievements brought about the establishment of merchant and artisan guilds.
By the end of the Muromachi period, the first Europeans had arrived. The Portuguese landed inTanegashima south ofKyūshū in 1543 and within two years were making regular port calls, initiating the century-longNanban trade period. In 1551, theNavarreseRoman CatholicmissionaryFrancis Xavier was one of thefirst Westerners who visited Japan.[10] Francis described Japan as follows:
Japan is a very large empire entirely composed of islands. One language is spoken throughout, not very difficult to learn. This country was discovered by the Portuguese eight or nine years ago. The Japanese are very ambitious of honors and distinctions, and think themselves superior to all nations in military glory and valor. They prize and honor all that has to do with war, and all such things, and there is nothing of which they are so proud as of weapons adorned with gold and silver. They always wear swords and daggers both in and out of the house, and when they go to sleep they hang them at the bed's head. In short, they value arms more than any people I have ever seen. They are excellent archers, and usually fight on foot, though there is no lack of horses in the country. They are very polite to each other, but not to foreigners, whom they utterly despise. They spend their means on arms, bodily adornment, and on a number of attendants, and do not in the least care to save money. They are, in short, a very warlike people, and engaged in continual wars among themselves; the most powerful in arms bearing the most extensive sway. They have all one sovereign, although for one hundred and fifty years past the princes have ceased to obey him, and this is the cause of their perpetual feuds.[11][12]
The Spanish arrived in 1587, followed by the Dutch in 1609. The Japanese began to attempt studies of European civilization in depth, and new opportunities were presented for the economy, along with serious political challenges. European firearms, fabrics, glassware, clocks, tobacco, and other Western innovations were traded for Japanese gold and silver. Significant wealth was accumulated through trade, and lesser daimyō, especially in Kyūshū, greatly increased their power. Provincial wars became more deadly with the introduction of firearms, such as muskets and cannons, and greater use of infantry.
Christianity came to Japan largely through the efforts of theJesuits, led first by the SpanishFrancis Xavier (1506–1552), who arrived in Kagoshima in southernKyūshū in 1549. Both daimyō and merchants seeking better trade arrangements as well as peasants were among the converts. By 1560 Kyoto had become another major area of missionary activity in Japan. In 1568 the port ofNagasaki, in northwestern Kyūshū, was established by a Christian daimyō and was turned over to Jesuit administration in 1579. By 1582 there were as many as 150,000 converts (two percent of the population) and 200 churches. Butbakufu tolerance for this alien influence diminished as the country became more unified and openness decreased. Proscriptions against Christianity began in 1587 and outright persecutions in 1597. Although foreign trade was still encouraged, it was closely regulated, and by 1640, in theEdo period, the exclusion and suppression of Christianity became national policy.
A painted wooden carving of Buddha from Jopan's Muromachi period (1335-1573) conveys a vastly different image to the traditional Buddhist figures of the Indian subcontinent. Arriving in Japan from China by the 6th century, Buddhism was hugely influential, notably in education, but it failed to replace the indigenous religion of Shinto.
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This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain. Country Studies.Federal Research Division. –Japan| Preceded by Kenmu Restoration 1333–1336 | History of Japan Muromachi period 1336–1573 | Succeeded by Azuchi–Momoyama period 1573–1603 |
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