Sengoku period

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History of Japan
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Battle of Kawanakajima (1561).
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The Sengoku period (????, Sengoku Jidai, "Age of Warring States"; c. 1467 � c.
1615) is a period in Japanese history marked by social upheaval, political intrigue
and near-constant military conflict. Japanese historians named it after the
otherwise unrelated Warring States period of China.[1] It was initiated by the Onin
War, which collapsed the Japanese feudal system under the Ashikaga shogunate, and
came to an end when the system was re-established under the Tokugawa shogunate by
Tokugawa Ieyasu.[2][3]

Contents
1 Summary
2 Timeline
3 Gekokujo
4 Unification
5 Notable people
5.1 Three unifiers of Japan
6 See also
7 Notes
8 References
9 External links
Summary
During this period, although the Emperor of Japan was officially the ruler of his
nation and every lord swore loyalty to him, he was largely a marginalized,
ceremonial, and religious figure who delegated power to the shogun, a noble who was
roughly equivalent to a general. In the years preceding this era, the shogunate
gradually lost influence and control over the daimyos (local lords). Although the
Ashikaga shogunate had retained the structure of the Kamakura shogunate and
instituted a warrior government based on the same social economic rights and
obligations established by the Hojo with the Joei Code in 1232,[clarification
needed] it failed to win the loyalty of many daimyos, especially those whose
domains were far from the capital, Kyoto. Many of these lords began to fight
uncontrollably with each other for control over land and influence over the
shogunate. As trade with Ming China grew, the economy developed, and the use of
money became widespread as markets and commercial cities appeared. Combined with
developments in agriculture and small-scale trading, this led to the desire for
greater local autonomy throughout all levels of the social hierarchy. As early as
the beginning of the 15th century, the suffering caused by earthquakes and famines
often served to trigger armed uprisings by farmers weary of debt and taxes.

The Onin War (1467�1477), a conflict rooted in economic distress and brought on by
a dispute over shogunal succession, is generally regarded as the onset of the
Sengoku period. The "eastern" army of the Hosokawa family and its allies clashed
with the "western" army of the Yamana. Fighting in and around Kyoto lasted for
nearly 11 years, leaving the city almost completely destroyed. The conflict in
Kyoto then spread to outlying provinces.[2][4]

The period culminated with a series of three warlords, Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi
Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu, who gradually unified Japan. After Tokugawa
Ieyasu's final victory at the siege of Osaka in 1615, Japan settled down into over
two-hundred years of peace under the Tokugawa shogunate.

Timeline
The Onin War in 1467 is usually considered the starting point of the Sengoku
period. There are several events which could be considered the end of it:
Nobunaga's entry to Kyoto (1568)[5] or abolition of the Muromachi shogunate (1573),
[6] the Siege of Odawara (1590), the Battle of Sekigahara (1600), the establishment
of the Tokugawa Shogunate (1603), or the Siege of Osaka (1615).[citation needed]

Time Event
1467 Beginning of Onin War
1477 End of Onin War
1488 The Kaga Rebellion
1493 Hosokawa Masamoto succeeds in the Coup of Meio
Hojo Soun seizes Izu Province
1507 Beginning of Ryo Hosokawa War (the succession dispute in the Hosokawa family)
1520 Hosokawa Takakuni defeats Hosokawa Sumimoto
1523 China suspends all trade relations with Japan due to the conflict
1531 Hosokawa Harumoto defeats Hosokawa Takakuni
1535 Battle of Idano The forces of the Matsudaira defeat the rebel Masatoyo
1543 The Portuguese land on Tanegashima, becoming the first Europeans to arrive in
Japan, and introduce the arquebus into Japanese warfare
1549 Miyoshi Nagayoshi betrays Hosokawa Harumoto
Japan officially ends its recognition of China's regional hegemony and cancel any
further tribute missions
1551 Tainei-ji incident: Sue Harukata betrays Ouchi Yoshitaka, taking control of
western Honshu
1554 The tripartite pact among Takeda, Hojo and Imagawa is signed
1555 Battle of Itsukushima: Mori Motonari defeats Sue Harukata and goes on to
supplant the Ouchi as the foremost daimyo of western Honshu
1560 Battle of Okehazama: The outnumbered Oda Nobunaga defeats and kills Imagawa
Yoshimoto in a surprise attack
1568 Oda Nobunaga marches toward Kyoto forcing Matsunaga Danjo Hisahide to
relinquish control of the city
1570 Beginning of Ishiyama Hongan-ji War
1571 Nagasaki is established as trade port for portuguese merchants, with
authorization of daimyo �mura Sumitada
1573 The end of Ashikaga shogunate
1575 Battle of Nagashino: Oda Nobunaga decisively defeats the Takeda cavalry with
innovative arquebus tactics
1577 Siege of Shigisan: Oda Nobunaga defeats Matsunaga Danjo Hisahide
1580 End of Ishiyama Hongan-ji War
1582 Akechi Mitsuhide assassinates Oda Nobunaga (Honno-ji Incident); Hashiba
Hideyoshi defeats Akechi at the Battle of Yamazaki
1585 Hashiba Hideyoshi is granted title of Kampaku, establishing his predominant
authority; he is granted the surname Toyotomi a year after.
1590 Siege of Odawara: Toyotomi Hideyoshi defeats the Hojo clan, unifying Japan
under his rule
1592 First invasion of Korea
1597 Second invasion of Korea
1598 Toyotomi Hideyoshi dies
1600 Battle of Sekigahara: The Eastern Army under Tokugawa Ieyasu defeats the
Western Army of Toyotomi loyalists
1603 The establishment of the Tokugawa shogunate
1614 Catholicism is officially banned and all missionaries are ordered to leave
the country
1615 Siege of Osaka: The last of the Toyotomi opposition to the Tokugawa shogunate
is stamped out
Gekokujo

Japan in 1570
The upheaval resulted in the further weakening of central authority, and throughout
Japan, regional lords, called daimyos, rose to fill the vacuum. In the course of
this power shift, well-established clans such as the Takeda and the Imagawa, who
had ruled under the authority of both the Kamakura and Muromachi bakufu, were able
to expand their spheres of influence. There were many, however, whose positions
eroded and were eventually usurped by more capable underlings. This phenomenon of
social meritocracy, in which capable subordinates rejected the status quo and
forcefully overthrew an emancipated aristocracy, became known as gekokujo (???),
which means "low conquers high".[2]

One of the earliest instances of this was Hojo Soun, who rose from relatively
humble origins and eventually seized power in Izu Province in 1493. Building on the
accomplishments of Soun, the Hojo clan remained a major power in the Kanto region
until its subjugation by Toyotomi Hideyoshi late in the Sengoku period. Other
notable examples include the supplanting of the Hosokawa clan by the Miyoshi, the
Toki by the Saito, and the Shiba clan by the Oda clan, which was in turn replaced
by its underling, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, a son of a peasant with no family name.

Well-organized religious groups also gained political power at this time by uniting
farmers in resistance and rebellion against the rule of the daimyos. The monks of
the Buddhist True Pure Land sect formed numerous Ikko-ikki, the most successful of
which, in Kaga Province, remained independent for nearly 100 years.

Unification
Main article: Azuchi�Momoyama period
After nearly a century of political instability and warfare, Japan was on the verge
of unification by Oda Nobunaga, who had emerged from obscurity in the province of
Owari (present-day Aichi Prefecture) to dominate central Japan. In 1582, Oda was
assassinated by one of his generals, Akechi Mitsuhide, and allowed Toyotomi
Hideyoshi the opportunity to establish himself as Oda's successor after rising
through the ranks from ashigaru (footsoldier) to become one of Oda's most trusted
generals. Toyotomi eventually consolidated his control over the remaining daimyos
but ruled as Kampaku (Imperial Regent) as his common birth excluded him from the
title of Sei-i Taishogun. During his short reign as Kampaku, Toyotomi attempted two
invasions of Korea. The first attempt, spanning from 1592 to 1596, was initially
successful but suffered setbacks and ended in a stalemate. The second attempt began
in 1597 but was less successful as the Koreans and their Ming Chinese allies were
prepared from their first encounter. In 1598, Toyotomi called for retreat from
Korea prior to his death.

Without leaving a capable successor, the country was once again thrust into
political turmoil, and Tokugawa Ieyasu took advantage of the opportunity.[3]

On his deathbed, Toyotomi appointed a group of the most powerful lords in

Japan�Tokugawa, Maeda Toshiie, Ukita Hideie, Uesugi Kagekatsu, and Mori Terumoto�to
govern as the Council of Five Regents until his infant son, Hideyori, came of age.
An uneasy peace lasted until the death of Maeda in 1599. Thereafter a number of
high-ranking figures, notably Ishida Mitsunari, accused Tokugawa of disloyalty to
the Toyotomi regime.

This precipitated a crisis that led to the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, during
which Tokugawa and his allies, who controlled the east of the country, defeated the
anti-Tokugawa forces, which had control of the west. Generally regarded as the last
major conflict of the Sengoku period, Tokugawa's victory at Sekigahara effectively
marked the end of the Toyotomi regime, the last remnants of which were finally
destroyed in the Siege of Osaka in 1615.

Notable people
Main article: List of daimyos from the Sengoku period

Japan in the late 16th century

Gun workman, Sakai, Osaka

Ozutsu (Big Gun)

Three unifiers of Japan
Oda Nobunaga
Toyotomi Hideyoshi
Tokugawa Ieyasu
The contrasting personalities of the three leaders who contributed the most to
Japan's final unification�Oda, Toyotomi, and Tokugawa�are encapsulated in a series
of three well known senryu:

Nakanu nara, koroshite shimae, hototogisu (If the cuckoo does not sing, kill it.)
Nakanu nara, nakasete miyo, hototogisu (If the cuckoo does not sing, coax it.)
Nakanu nara, naku made mato, hototogisu (If the cuckoo does not sing, wait for it.)
Oda, known for his ruthlessness, is the subject of the first; Toyotomi, known for
his resourcefulness, is the subject of the second; and Tokugawa, known for his
perseverance, is the subject of the third verse.

See also
History of Japan
List of daimyos from the Sengoku period
List of Japanese battles
Horses in East Asian warfare
Warring States period � a similar period in Chinese history
Crisis of the Third Century � a similar period in Roman history
Zemene Mesafint � a similar period in history of Ethiopia from early XVIII century
until reign of Tewodros II
Kabukimono
Notes
Sansom, George B. 2005. A History of Japan: 1334�1615. Tokyo: Charles E. Tuttle
Publishing.
"Sengoku period". Encyclopedia of Japan. Tokyo: Shogakukan. 2012. OCLC 56431036.
Archived from the original on 2007-08-25. Retrieved 2012-08-15.
"?". Kokushi Daijiten (in Japanese). Tokyo: Shogakukan. 2012. OCLC 683276033.
Archived from the original on 2007-08-25. Retrieved 2012-08-15.
"Onin War". Encyclopedia of Japan. Tokyo: Shogakukan. 2012. OCLC 56431036.
Archived from the original on 2007-08-25. Retrieved 2012-08-15.
Mypaedia 1996.
Hofu-shi Rekishi Yogo-shu.
References
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549884#E9.98.B2.E5.BA.9C.E5.B8.82.E6.AD.B4.E5.8F.B2.E7.94.A8.E8.AA.9E.E9.9B.86
"Sengoku Jidai"] Check value (help). Hofu-shi Rekishi Yogo-shu (in Japanese). Hofu
Web Rekishi-kan.
Hane, Mikiso (1992). Modern Japan: A Historical Survey. Westview Press.
Chaplin, Danny (2018). Sengoku Jidai. Nobunaga, Hideyoshi, and Ieyasu: Three
Unifiers of Japan. CreateSpace Independent Publishing. ISBN 978-1983450204.
Hall, John Whitney (May 1961). "Foundations of The Modern Japanese Daimyo". The
Journal of Asian Studies. Association for Asian Studies. 20 (3): 317�329.
doi:10.2307/2050818. JSTOR 2050818.
Jansen, Marius B. (2000). The Making of Modern Japan. Cambridge: Harvard University
Press. ISBN 0674003349/ISBN 9780674003347. OCLC 44090600.
Lorimer, Michael James (2008). Sengokujidai: Autonomy, Division and Unity in Later
Medieval Japan. London: Olympia Publishers. ISBN 978-1-905513-45-1.
"Sengoku Jidai". Mypaedia (in Japanese). Hitachi. 1996.
External links
Sengoku Period - Ancient History Encyclopedia
Samurai Archives Japanese History page
(in Japanese) Sengoku Expo: Japanese Design, Culture in the Age of Civil Wars held
in Gifu Prefecture, 2000�2001
(in Japanese) List of the Sengoku Daimyos
Preceded by