Azuchi–Momoyama period
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Azuchi–Momoyama period
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1568–1600 | |||||||||||||
Feudal confederal military dictatorship | |||||||||||||
Emperor | |||||||||||||
• 1557–1586 | Ōgimachi | ||||||||||||
• 1586–1611 | Go-Yōzei | ||||||||||||
Shōgun | |||||||||||||
• 1568–1573 | Ashikaga Yoshiaki | ||||||||||||
• 1582–1582 | Akechi Mitsuhide | ||||||||||||
Head of government | |||||||||||||
• 1568–1582 | Oda Nobunaga | ||||||||||||
• 1582–1582 | Akechi Mitsuhide | ||||||||||||
• 1583–1598 | Toyotomi Hideyoshi | ||||||||||||
• 1598–1600 | Council of Five Elders | ||||||||||||
Legislature |
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• Death of Toyotomi Hideyoshi | September 18, 1598 | ||||||||||||
1598 | |||||||||||||
October 21, 1600 | |||||||||||||
Currency | Mon | ||||||||||||
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Part of a series on the |
History of Japan |
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The Azuchi–Momoyama period (安土桃山時代, Azuchi–Momoyama jidai) was the final phase of the
After the outbreak of the
Nobunaga overthrew Yoshiaki and dissolved the Ashikaga Shogunate in 1573, launching a war of conquest to politically unify Japan by force from his base in
The Azuchi–Momoyama period ended with the Tokugawa victory at the
Oda Nobunaga begins unification
During the last half of the 16th century, a number of
Nobunaga, who had prepared over a period of years for just such an opportunity by establishing an alliance with the Azai clan in northern Ōmi Province and then conquering the neighboring Mino Province, now marched toward Kyoto. After routing the Rokkaku clan in southern Ōmi, Nobunaga forced the Matsunaga to capitulate and the Miyoshi to withdraw to Settsu. He then entered the capital, where he successfully gained recognition from the emperor for Yoshiaki, who became the 15th and last Ashikaga shōgun.
Nobunaga had no intention, however, of serving the Muromachi bakufu, and instead now turned his attention to tightening his grip on the Kinai region. Resistance in the form of rival daimyōs, intransigent Buddhist monks, and hostile merchants was eliminated swiftly and mercilessly, and Nobunaga quickly gained a reputation as a ruthless, unrelenting adversary. In support of his political and military moves, he instituted economic reform, removing barriers to commerce by invalidating traditional monopolies held by shrines and guilds and promoting initiative by instituting free markets known as rakuichi-rakuza.
The newly installed shōgun
As the Oda army was bogged down by fighting on every corner, Takeda Shingen led what was by then widely considered as the most powerful army in Japan and marched towards the Oda home base of Owari, easily crushing Nobunaga's young ally and future shōgun Tokugawa Ieyasu in the Battle of Mikatagahara in 1573.
However, as the Takeda army was on the cusp of obliterating the Oda–Tokugawa alliance, Takeda Shingen suddenly perished, under mysterious circumstances. (Multiple suggestions for his demise include battlefield death from marksman, ninja assassination, and stomach cancer.) Having suddenly lost their leader, the Takeda army quickly retreated back to their home base in Kai Province and Nobunaga was saved.
With the death of Takeda Shingen in early 1573, the "Anti-Oda Alliance" that Ashikaga Yoshiaki created quickly crumbled as Nobunaga destroyed the alliance of the Asakura clan and Azai clan that threatened his northern flank, and soon after expelled the shōgun himself from Kyoto.
Even after Shingen's death, there remained several daimyōs powerful enough to resist Nobunaga, but none were situated close enough to Kyoto to pose a threat politically, and it appeared that unification under the Oda banner was a matter of time.
Nobunaga's enemies were not only other daimyōs but also adherents of a Jōdo Shinshū sect of Buddhism who were of the Ikkō-ikki faction, led by Kōsa. He endured though Nobunaga kept attacking his fortress for ten years. Nobunaga expelled Kennyo in the eleventh year, but, through a riot caused by Kennyo, Nobunaga's territory took the bulk of the damage. This long war was called the Ishiyama Hongan-ji War.
Nobunaga was highly interested in foreign cultures, especially those of western Europe. A significant amount of Western Christian culture was introduced to Japan by missionaries from Europe. From this exposure, Japan received new foods, a new drawing method, astronomy, geography, medical science, and new printing techniques. Most critically, trade with Europe provided Nobunaga's armies with new weapons, among them the matchlock rifle or arquebus.
Nobunaga decided to reduce the power of the
The activities of European traders and
During the period from 1576 to 1579, Nobunaga constructed, on the shore of Lake Biwa at Azuchi, Azuchi Castle, a magnificent seven-story castle that was intended to serve not simply as an impregnable military fortification, but also as a sumptuous residence that would stand as a symbol of unification.
Having secured his grip on the Kinai region, Nobunaga was now powerful enough to assign his generals the task of subjugating the outlying provinces. Shibata Katsuie was given the task of conquering the Uesugi clan in Etchū, Takigawa Kazumasu confronted the Shinano Province that a son of Shingen, Takeda Katsuyori governed, and Hashiba Hideyoshi was given the formidable task of facing the Mōri clan in the Chūgoku region of western Honshū.
In 1575, Nobunaga won a significant victory over the Takeda clan in the Battle of Nagashino. Despite the strong reputation of Takeda's samurai cavalry, Oda Nobunaga embraced the relatively new technology of the arquebus, and inflicted a crushing defeat. The legacy of this battle forced a complete overhaul of traditional Japanese warfare.[4]
In 1582, after a protracted campaign, Hideyoshi requested Nobunaga's help in overcoming the resistance. Nobunaga, making a stop-over in Kyoto on his way west with only a small contingent of guards, was attacked by one of his own disaffected generals, Akechi Mitsuhide, and committed suicide.
Hideyoshi completes the unification
What followed was a scramble by the most powerful of Nobunaga's retainers to avenge their lord's death and thereby establish a dominant position in negotiations over the forthcoming realignment of the Oda clan. The situation became even more urgent when it was made known that Nobunaga's oldest son and heir, Nobutada, killed himself, leaving the Oda clan with no clear successor.
Quickly negotiating a truce with the Mōri clan before they could learn of Nobunaga's death, Hideyoshi now took his troops on a forced march toward his adversary, whom he defeated at the Battle of Yamazaki less than two weeks later.
Although a commoner who had risen through the ranks from foot soldier, Hideyoshi was now in a position to challenge even the most senior of the Oda clan's hereditary retainers, and proposed that Nobutada's infant son, Sanpōshi (who became Oda Hidenobu), be named heir rather than Nobunaga's adult third son, Nobutaka, whose cause had been championed by Shibata Katsuie. Having gained the support of other senior retainers, including Niwa Nagahide and Ikeda Tsuneoki, Sanpōshi was named heir and Hideyoshi appointed co-guardian.
Continued political intrigue, however, eventually led to open confrontation. After defeating Shibata at the
Japan under Hideyoshi
Land survey
With all of Japan now under Hideyoshi's control, a new structure for national government was set up. The country was unified under a single leader, but daily governance remained decentralized. The basis of power was distribution of territory as measured by rice production, in units of
Control measures
A number of other administrative innovations were instituted to encourage commerce and stabilize society. In order to facilitate transportation, toll booths and other checkpoints along roads were largely eliminated, as were unnecessary military strongholds. Measures that effectively froze class distinctions were instituted, including the requirement that different classes live separately in different areas of a town and a prohibition on the carrying or ownership of weapons by farmers. Hideyoshi ordered the collection of weapons in a great "sword hunt" (katanagari).[citation needed]
Prosecution of Christians
In 1586, Hideyoshi conquered
Unification
Hideyoshi sought to secure his position by rearranging the holdings of the daimyōs to his advantage. In particular, he reassigned the Tokugawa family to the Kanto region, far from the capital, and surrounded their new territory with more trusted vassals. He also adopted a hostage system, in which the wives and heirs of daimyōs resided at his castle town in Osaka.
Hideyoshi attempted to provide for an orderly succession by taking the title taikō, or "retired Kanpaku (Imperial regent)", in 1591, and turned the regency over to his nephew and adopted son Toyotomi Hidetsugu. Only later did he attempt to formalize the balance of power by establishing administrative bodies. These included the Council of Five Elders, who were sworn to keep peace and support the Toyotomi, the five-member Board of House Administrators, who handled routine policy and administrative matters, and the three-member Board of Mediators, who were charged with keeping peace between the first two boards.
Korean campaigns
Hideyoshi's last major ambition was to conquer the
During the peace talks that ensued between 1593 and 1597, Hideyoshi, seeing Japan as an equal of Ming China, demanded a division of Korea, free-trade status, and a Chinese princess as consort for the emperor. The Joseon and Chinese leaders saw no reason to concede to such demands, nor to treat the invaders as equals within the Ming trading system. Japan's requests were thus denied and peace efforts reached an impasse.
A second invasion of Korea began in 1597, but it too resulted in failure as Japanese forces met with better organized Korean defenses especially under
Establishment of the Tokugawa shogunate
Hideyoshi had on his deathbed appointed a group of the most powerful lords in Japan—Tokugawa,
Social and commercial developments
The period saw the development of large urban centers and the rise of the merchant class. The ornate castle architecture and interiors adorned with painted screens embellished with gold leaf were a reflection of a daimyō's power but also exhibited a new aesthetic sense that marked a clear departure from the somber monotones favored during the
The art of the tea ceremony also flourished at this time, and both Nobunaga and Hideyoshi lavished time and money on this pastime, collecting tea bowls, caddies, and other implements, sponsoring lavish social events, and patronizing acclaimed masters such as Sen no Rikyū.
Hideyoshi had occupied
Chronology
- 1568: Nobunaga enters Kyoto, marking the beginning of the Azuchi–Momoyama period and installing Ashikaga Yoshiaki as the 15th shogun.
- 1573: Ashikaga Yoshiaki begins a Revolt against Oda, Oda overthrows Yoshiaki, exiles him and exerts control over central Japan.
- 1575: Nobunaga defeats the Takeda clan the Battle of Nagashino
- 1580: The Ikkō-ikki finally surrender their fortress of Ishiyama Hongan-ji to Nobunaga, after enduring an 11-year siege.
- 1582:
- Incident at Honnō-ji, Nobunaga is assassinated by Akechi Mitsuhide, who is then defeated by Toyotomi Hideyoshi at the Battle of Yamazaki.
- Hideyoshi initiated the Taikō kenchi surveys.
- Tenshō embassy is sent by the Japanese Christian lord Ōtomo Sōrin.
- 1584: Hideyoshi fights Tokugawa Ieyasu to a standstill at the Battle of Komaki and Nagakute.
- 1586: Osaka Castle is built by Toyotomi Hideyoshi.
- 1588: Hideyoshi issues the order of Sword hunt (刀狩, katanagari).
- 1590: Hideyoshi defeats the Hōjō clan, effectively unifying Japan.
- 1591: Sen no Rikyū is forced to commit suicide by Hideyoshi.
- 1592: Hideyoshi initiates the first invasion of Korea.
- 1593: Toyotomi Hideyori is born.
- 1595: Hideyoshi orders his nephew and reigning kampaku, Toyotomi Hidetsugu, to commit seppuku.
- 1597:
- Second invasion of Korea
- Execution of the 26 Martyrs of Japan.
- 1598: Hideyoshi dies.
- 1599: Maeda Toshiie dies.
- 1600: Ieyasu is victorious at the Battle of Sekigahara, marking the end of the Azuchi–Momoyama period.
See also
Notes
Citations
- ^ History of Ming [1] Archived 2015-09-24 at the Wayback Machine: 昖棄王城,令次子琿攝國事,奔平壤。已,複走義州,願內屬。七月,兵部議令駐劄險要,以待天兵;號召通國勤王,以圖恢復。而是時倭已入王京,毀墳墓,劫王子、陪臣,剽府庫,八道幾盡沒,旦暮且渡鴨綠江,請援之使絡繹於道。
- ^ 北関大捷碑 "其秋清正 入北道、兵鋭甚、鐡嶺以北無城守焉、於是鞠敬仁等叛、應賊、敬仁者會寧府吏也、素志不卒、及賊到富寧、隙危扇亂、執兩王子及宰臣、□播者、並傳諸長吏、與賊效欸"
- ^ History of Ming [2] Archived 2015-09-24 at the Wayback Machine: 明年,如松 (Li Rusong)師大捷於平壤,朝鮮所失四道並複。如松乘勝趨碧蹄館,敗而退師。
References
- ^ a b Kodansha Encyclopedia of Japan (first edition, 1983), section "Azuchi–Momoyama History (1568–1600)" by George Elison, in the entry for "history of Japan".
- ^ John Whitney Hall, ed. The Cambridge History of Japan, Vol. 4: Early Modern Japan (1991) table of contents
- ^ All Illustrated Encyclopedia, ed. Japanese History:11 Experts Reflect on the Past (1996), Kodansya International.Inc
- ISBN 978-1-873410-38-7.
- ^ Berry 1982, pp. 87–93
- ^ Berry 1982, pp. 91–93
- ^ "Martyrs List". Twenty-Six Martyrs Museum. Archived from the original on 2010-02-14. Retrieved 2010-01-11.
- ^ Jinju National Museum: Chronology, June 1592[permanent dead link]
- ^ a b The Columbia Encyclopedia, sixth edition; 2006 - "Hideyoshi": "In 1592 he attempted to conquer China but succeeded only in occupying part of Korea; just before his death he ordered withdrawal from Korea."
Further reading
- Momoyama, Japanese art in the age of grandeur. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 1975. ISBN 9780870991257.