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119-702: During the Sengoku period , the Kikuchi , Aso clan, and Sagara clans emerged as powerful daimyo, each establishing their bases in the north, central, and southern regions respectively. This led to a relatively peaceful period within the Sengoku era. However, tensions arose when the Aso clan launched an attack on the Kikuchi clan. Despite their victory, the Aso clan faced their own internal conflicts and succession disputes among their relatives. As

238-455: A breakdown in the traditional master-servant relationship between a lord and his vassals, with many instances of vassals rebelling against their lords, internal dynastic conflict over lordships within noble families (in which vassals would take sides), and the installation of figurehead lords by cadet branches of noble families. The period was also marked by the loosening of samurai culture, with people born into other social strata sometimes making

357-444: A century of warfare. The political structure, established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and solidified under his two immediate successors, his son Tokugawa Hidetada (who ruled from 1616 to 1623) and grandson Tokugawa Iemitsu (1623–51), bound all daimyōs to the shogunate and limited any individual daimyō from acquiring too much land or power. The Tokugawa shogunate came to its official end on 9   November 1867, when Tokugawa Yoshinobu ,

476-570: A common enemy of Kenshin and Ujiyasu, but Shingen died of illness in 1573. After Takeda Shingen's death, he fell out with Oda Nobunaga and destroyed the Noto Hatakeyama clan, which was close to Nobunaga, at the Siege of Nanao in 1577, pacifying Noto Province . He then defeated Oda Nobunaga's forces at the Battle of Tedorigawa . However, he died of a cerebral hemorrhage in 1578 at the young age of 49. When

595-473: A formal declaration of the restoration of his power: The Emperor of Japan announces to the sovereigns of all foreign countries and to their subjects that permission has been granted to the Shōgun Tokugawa Yoshinobu to return the governing power in accordance with his own request. We shall henceforward exercise supreme authority in all the internal and external affairs of the country. Consequently,

714-478: A key role in developing castle towns and road networks. Kiyomasa also improved agriculture with new fields and irrigation systems. Today, Kumamoto residents still admire his civil engineering projects for their role in the region's prosperity. Recent studies on Kato Kiyomasa reveal his creation of a mobilization and tax system during military expeditions to Korea . This system, which appointed senior vassals as branch lords and gave power to peasants, continued even after

833-464: A loss of their cultural heritage. In the case of Hikone Castle , even though the government ordered its dismantling, it was saved by orders from the emperor himself. Nagoya Castle and Nijo Castle , due to their historical and cultural importance and sheer size and strategic locations, both became official imperial detached palaces, before they were turned over to the local authorities in the 1930s. Others such as Himeji Castle survived by luck. During

952-461: A name for themselves as warriors and thus becoming samurai. In turn, events sometimes allowed common samurai to rise to the rank of sengoku daimyo ; these included Hōjō Sōun (the first to do so), and Uesugi Kenshin , a Shugodai ( 守護代 , deputy Shugo ) who attained power by weakening and eventually replacing his lord. The most spectacular example of a sengoku -era rise is often considered to be that of Toyotomi Hideyoshi , who rose from

1071-603: A national system of public schools. These free schools taught students reading, writing, and mathematics. Students also attended courses in "moral training" which reinforced their duty to the Emperor and to the Japanese state. By the end of the Meiji period, attendance in public schools was widespread, increasing the availability of skilled workers and contributing to the industrial growth of Japan . The opening up of Japan not only consisted of

1190-478: A peasant background to successively become a samurai, sengoku daimyo , and kampaku (Imperial Regent). Modern Japan recognizes Oda Nobunaga , Toyotomi Hideyoshi , and Tokugawa Ieyasu as the three "Great Unifiers" ( 三英傑／さんえいけつ ) for their restoration of Japan's central government . During this period, although the Emperor of Japan was officially the ruler of the state and every lord swore loyalty to him, he

1309-557: A powerful defense force in the southern region and instead adopted advanced weapons and tactics. This strategic shift allowed them to adapt to the changing times and align themselves with the Shimazu's vision for progress. In a similar vein, the Aso clan experienced a comparable destiny as they were methodically dismantled by the Shimazu army during their conquest of Kyushu . This marked a significant turning point for both clans, as they had to navigate

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1428-510: A result of his military achievements and territorial acquisitions, Kato Kiyomasa solidified his power and influence in the region. The Kumamoto Domain was officially established, boasting a total holding of 520,000 koku under Kiyomasa's rule. This marked a significant shift in the balance of power in Kyushu during that period. Kumamoto Castle, built by Kato Kiyomasa , is one of Japan's famous castles. He not only oversaw its construction but also played

1547-698: A result, the Otomo clan from Bungo Province intervened and pacified the former Kikuchi territory. The Aso clan also came under the influence of the Otomo clan, further solidifying their control over the region. Following the introduction of firearms, the Sagara clan , known for their defensive prowess in Kagoshima and Shimazu, ultimately submitted to the Shimazu clan . Under the rule of the Shimazu clan , they willingly gave up their role as

1666-400: A strong centralized state defining its national identity, the government established a dominant national dialect, called "standard language" ( 標準語 , hyōjungo ) , that replaced local and regional dialects and was based on the patterns of Tokyo's samurai classes. This dialect eventually became the norm in the realms of education, media, government, and business. The Meiji Restoration, and

1785-615: A struggle for the succession of the Hosokawa clan, which was divided into the Hosokawa Sumimoto faction and the Hosokawa Takakuni faction, and started a war called Ryō Hosokawa War ( 両細川の乱 ) , which was won by Hosokawa Takakuni. Hosokawa Takakuni installed Ashikaga Yoshiharu as the 12th shogun. Meanwhile, Hosokawa Harumoto , son of Hosokawa Sumimoto, who had lost the war, collaborated with Miyoshi Motonaga to defeat Takakuni at

1904-582: A sword or weapon to show their status. This led to a series of riots from disgruntled samurai. One of the major riots was the one led by Saigō Takamori, the Satsuma Rebellion , which eventually turned into a civil war. This rebellion was, however, put down swiftly by the newly formed Imperial Japanese Army , trained in Western tactics and weapons, even though the core of the new army was the Tokyo police force, which

2023-457: A wave of unbridled conflict would spread across Japan and consume the states in an age of war. Furthermore, weariness of war, socioeconomic unrest and poor treatment by aristocrats provoked the wrath of the peasant class. Farmers, craftsmen, merchants and even villages would organize uprisings (known as "ikki") against the ruling class. An extraordinary example is the Kaga Rebellion , in which

2142-426: Is equally true that the majority of samurai were content despite having their status abolished. Many found employment in the government bureaucracy, which resembled an elite class in its own right. The samurai, being better educated than most of the population, became teachers, gun makers, government officials, and/or military officers. While the formal title of samurai was abolished, the elitist spirit that characterized

2261-502: 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) or abolition of the Muromachi shogunate (1573) or entry into Azuchi Castle (1576), Hideyoshi's promulgation of the Sōbujirei ( ja ) law prohibiting war (1587), the siege of Odawara (1590) , the Battle of Sekigahara (1600),

2380-562: The Battle of Hakodate in Hokkaidō. The defeat of the armies of the former shōgun (led by Enomoto Takeaki and Hijikata Toshizō ) marked the final end of the Tokugawa shogunate, with the Emperor's power fully restored. Finally, by 1872, the daimyōs , past and present, were summoned before the Emperor, where it was declared that all domains were now to be returned to the Emperor . The roughly 280 domains were turned into 72 prefectures, each under

2499-476: The Battle of Sekigahara . However, issues like rural village depletion and power struggles among vassals have led to criticism of Kiyomasa's rule. The Kato clan suffered a setback in 1632 when their leader lost his fief for his involvement in the Suruga Dainagon Incident . He was banished to Shonai, isolating the clan. In 1870, Hosokawa Morihisa transformed into a Chihanji and joined the kzoku, leading

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2618-534: The Blood tax riots , the Meiji government put down revolts by Japanese samurai angry that the traditional untouchable status of burakumin was legally revoked. Under the Meiji Restoration, the practices of the samurai classes, deemed feudal and unsuitable for modern times following the end of sakoku in 1853, resulted in a number of edicts intended to 'modernise' the appearance of upper class Japanese men. With

2737-635: The Hatakeyama clan who served as Kanrei , and in 1547 defeated the 12th shogun, Ashikaga Yoshiharu and Hosokawa Ujitusna , son of Hosokawa Takakuni, in the Battle of Shari-ji ( 舎利寺の戦い ) . This further reduced the power of the Ashikaga Shogunate. Miyoshi Nagayoshi was told by a retainer of the Hosokawa family that Miyoshi Masanaga had played a dark role in his father's death, and he petitioned his lord Hosokawa Harumoto to overthrow Masanaga, but this petition

2856-665: The Honnō-ji Incident of 1582. At the same time, the Mōri clan overthrew the Ouchi clan in the Chūgoku region , and the Shimazu and Otomo clans became major powers in Kyushu . In this way, regional unification was promoted. Though a peasant by birth, Toyotomi Hideyoshi had risen through the ranks of ashigaru ( 足軽 , foot soldier) , samurai, and sengoku daimyo under Nobunaga to become

2975-481: The Jitsugaku Party . He requested to dismantle Kumamoto Castle, but dissenting voices halted the demolition. Kumamoto Prefecture was established in 1871 after feudal domains were abolished. The Hosokawa clan became marquis in 1884. In 1983, Hosokawa Morihiro , later the 79th Prime Minister, became governor of Kumamoto Prefecture before retiring to pursue ceramics. Kumamotoshinden Domain (肥後新田藩), also known as

3094-558: The Kinai , the most politically important region in Japan, Oda Nobunaga allied with Tokugawa Ieyasu to increase his power. Nobunaga defeated Imagawa Yoshimoto at the Battle of Okehazama in 1560 and moved to Kyoto in 1568 to support the 15th shogun, Ashikaga Yoshiaki . Nobunaga defeated Miyoshi Yoshitsugu in 1569, laid siege to Mount Hiei in 1571, defeated Asakura Yoshikage at the Siege of Ichijōdani Castle in 1573, defeated Asai Nagamasa at

3213-479: The Kiyosu Conference , and Hideyoshi began his path to becoming Nobunaga's successor. In 1582, Hideyoshi defeated Shibata Katsuie and Oda Nobutaka , who had been enemies over Nobunaga's succession, at the Battle of Shizugatake , and in 1583 he began construction of Osaka Castle . In 1584, he fought bitterly against the allied forces of Tokugawa Ieyasu and Oda Nobuo at the Battle of Komaki and Nagakute , but

3332-572: The Meiji era , during which time Japan rapidly industrialized and adopted Western ideas and production methods. In 1853, Commodore Matthew C. Perry arrived in Japan. A year later Perry returned in threatening large warships with the aspiration of concluding a treaty that would open up Japanese ports for trade. Perry concluded the treaty that would open up two Japanese ports (Shimoda and Hakodate) only for material support, such as firewood, water, food, and coal for U.S. ships. The Convention of Kanagawa

3451-567: The Shimazu clan in a Kyūshū campaign and pacified Kyūshū . In 1590, he defeated the Later Hōjō clan in the Siege of Odawara and pacified the Kantō region. In the same year, he forced the clans of the Tōhoku region to swear allegiance to him and finally achieved the unification of Japan. Date Masamune was a one-eyed warlord, a famous sengoku daimyo who is often said to have had the potential to unite

3570-489: The Shugo to receive half of all taxes from the areas they controlled. The Shugo shared their newfound wealth with the local samurai, creating a hierarchical relationship between the Shugo and the samurai, and the first early daimyo ( 大名 , feudal lords) , called shugo daimyo ( 守護大名 ) , appeared. In 1428, Ashikaga Yoshimochi , the fourth shogun, was ill and the question of his succession arose. Ashikaga Yoshikazu ,

3689-580: The Siege of Odani Castle in the same year, and expelled Ashikaga Yoshiaki from Kyoto in 1573, thus destroying the Ashikaga shogunate. He overpowered the Nagashima ikko ikki in 1574, defeated Takeda Katsuyori at the Battle of Nagashino in 1575, and defeated Ishiyama Hongan-ji in the Ishiyama Hongan-ji War in 1580. However, he was betrayed by his vassal Akechi Mitsuhide , who drove him to suicide in

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3808-643: 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 gekokujō ( 下克上 ) , which means "low conquers high". One of

3927-659: The Toki by the Saitō , 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 daimyōs . The monks of the Buddhist True Pure Land sect formed numerous Ikkō-ikki ,

4046-461: The sengoku daimyo Miyoshi Nagayoshi and his forces, and was finally killed in an attack by the forces of Miyoshi Yoshitsugu and Matsunaga Hisahide . Ashikaga Yoshiteru was known as a great swordsman and was a student of Tsukahara Bokuden , who was known as one of the strongest swordsmen. According to Yagyū Munenori , a swordsmanship instructor in the Tokugawa Shogunate, Ashikaga Yoshiteru

4165-565: The Ōnin War (1467–1477) between the Eastern Army, led by Hosokawa Katsumoto and including Hatakeyama Masanaga , Shiba Yoshitoshi, and Ashikaga Yoshimi, and the Western Army, led by Yamana Sōzen and including Hatakeyama Yoshinari, Shiba Yoshikado, and Ashikaga Yoshihisa.　In 1469, the war spread to the provinces, but in 1473, Hosokawa Katsumoto and Yamana Sōzen, the leaders of both armies, died. In 1477,

4284-516: The 10th shogun Ashikaga Yoshitane from Kyoto and installed Ashikaga Yoshizumi as the 11th shogun. Around this time, civil wars began to occur frequently throughout the country, and Buddhist temples in various regions grew as armed forces. Ashikaga Yoshihisa , who had become the ninth shogun during the Onin War, died at the age of 25, and Ashikaga Yoshitane became the 10th shogun. However, in 1493, Hosokawa Masamoto raised an army while shogun Yoshitane

4403-434: The 15th Tokugawa shōgun , "put his prerogatives at the Emperor's disposal" and resigned 10 days later. This was effectively the "restoration" ( Taisei Hōkan ) of imperial rule – although Yoshinobu still had significant influence and it was not until January   3, the following year, with the young Emperor's edict, that the restoration fully occurred. On 3 January 1868, the Emperor stripped Yoshinobu of all power and made

4522-520: The 15th and 16th centuries. The Kyōtoku incident (1454), Ōnin War (1467), or Meiō incident (1493) is generally chosen as the period's start date, but there are many competing historiographies for its end date, ranging from 1568, the date of Oda Nobunaga's march on Kyoto , to the suppression of the Shimabara Rebellion in 1638, deep into what is traditionally considered the Edo period . Regardless of

4641-499: The 1860s, principally by Westerners in the international settlements of Yokohama and Kobe, and some local lords, but these had relatively small impacts. It was only in the 1870s that imported technologies began to play a significant role, and only in the 1880s did they produce more than a small output volume. In Meiji Japan, raw silk was the most important export commodity, and raw silks exports experienced enormous growth during this period, overtaking China. Revenue from silk exports funded

4760-463: The 5th shogun, died of illness at the age of 19, so the 6th shogun was chosen from among Yoshimochi's four brothers, and to ensure fairness, a lottery was held. The sixth shogun was Ashikaga Yoshinori . But he was not educated to be a shogun, and his temperamental and despotic behavior caused resentment. Akamatsu Mitsusuke assassinated him during the Kakitsu Rebellion . This led to instability in

4879-561: The Aki-Takeda clan at the Siege of Koriyama in 1541. Motonaga adopted his sons into the Kikkawa clan and Kobayakawa clans to expand the power of the Mōri clan, and the three clans cooperated with each other. In 1554, Motonaga became independent of the Ōuchi clan, and after inciting the Ōuchi clan to internal divisions through political maneuvering, he defeated Sue Harukata , who had been in control of

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4998-586: The Ashikaga shogunate system. The shogunate gradually lost influence and control over the daimyo . The beginning of the Sengoku Period is considered to be the Kyōtoku incident , Ōnin War , or Meiō incident . The Kyōtoku Incident was a major war in the Kanto region that lasted from 1454 to 1482. The war began when Ashikaga Shigeuji of Kantō kubō ( 関東公方 ) , the office of the Ashikaga shogunate in charge of

5117-505: The Battle of Katsuragawa ( 桂川の戦い ) in 1527 and expel him from Kyoto. The authority of the Kanrei was thus destroyed, and with almost no support for Hosokawa Takakuni, he was forced to move from place to place. He gained the sengoku daimyo Uragami Muramune as an ally and fought Hosokawa Harumoto in a war called Daimotsu kuzure ( 大物崩れ ) in 1531, but was defeated. Hosokawa Harumoto seized power, but he alienated Miyoshi Motonaga, who

5236-608: The Dampatsurei Edict of 1871 issued by Emperor Meiji during the early Meiji Era , men of the samurai classes were forced to cut their hair short, effectively abandoning the chonmage ( chonmage ) hairstyle. During the Meiji Restoration, the practice of cremation and Buddhism were condemned and the Japanese government tried to ban cremation but were unsuccessful, then tried to limit it in urban areas. The Japanese government reversed its ban on cremation and pro-cremation Japanese adopted western European arguments on how cremation

5355-502: The Emperor to power. After Kōmei's death on 30 January 1867, Meiji ascended the throne on February   3. This period also saw Japan change from being a feudal society to having a centralized nation and left the Japanese with a lingering influence of modernity . In the same year, the koban was discontinued as a form of currency. The Tokugawa government had been founded in the 17th century and initially focused on reestablishing order in social, political and international affairs after

5474-654: The French Minister-Resident Léon Roches were the first European envoys ever to receive a personal audience with Meiji in Edo (Tokyo). This audience laid the foundation for (modern) Dutch diplomacy in Japan. Subsequently, De Graeff van Polsbroek assisted the emperor and the government in their negotiations with representatives of the major European powers. In 1869, the daimyōs of the Tosa , Hizen , Satsuma and Chōshū Domains , who were pushing most fiercely against

5593-487: The Japanese purchase of industrial equipment and raw materials. Although the highest quality silk remained produced in China, and Japan's adoption of modern machines in the silk industry was slow, Japan was able to capture the global silk market due to standardized production of silk. Standardization, especially in silkworm egg cultivation, yielded more consistency in quality, particularly important for mechanized silk weaving. Since

5712-632: The Kanto region, killed Uesugi Noritada of Kantō kanrei ( 関東管領 ) , Kantō kubō's assistant. The various forces in the Kanto region divided and fought between the Kubō and Kanrei sides, with the Ashikaga shogunate supporting the Kanrei side. Ashikaga Yoshimasa , the 8th shogun, tried to strengthen the power of the shogun, but his close associates did not follow his instructions, leading to political chaos and increasing social unrest. Since he had no sons, he tried to install his younger brother Ashikaga Yoshimi as

5831-744: The Kantō and Tōhoku regions left to unify Japan, enacted a law called the Sōbujirei ( 惣無事令 ) in 1587, which prohibited sengoku daimyo from waging war against each other, and Masamune's conquest of the Tōhoku region was a serious violation of this law. After destroying the Later Hōjō clan at the Siege of Odawara, Hideyoshi wanted to destroy the Date clan and other sengoku daimyo in the Tōhoku region who were reluctant to show their deference. Hideyoshi had his subordinate Maeda Toshiie question Masamune, who had arrived late to give

5950-616: The Kumamotoshinden domain, was a branch domain of the larger Kumamoto Domain. It was established in 1666 by Toshige, the younger brother of Hosokawa Tsunatoshi , the third lord of the Kumamoto Domain . Toshige received 35,000 koku of rice from the Kumamoto domain's rice store and set up his own domain. Unlike other feudal lords, Toshige resided in Teppozu, Edo and did not practice sankin kotai,

6069-520: The Kyoto area. However, one by one, his sons died in war or from disease, and the Miyoshi clan began to decline rapidly. By the time of the 13th shogun, Ashikaga Yoshiteru , the shogun already had few direct fiefs and direct military forces, and his sphere of influence was limited to a few lands around Kyoto, losing both economic and military power. As a result, Ashikaga Yoshiteru was often chased out of Kyoto by

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6188-545: The Meiji Restoration was the 1866 Satsuma-Chōshū Alliance between Saigō Takamori and Kido Takayoshi , leaders of the reformist elements in the Satsuma and Chōshū Domains at the southwestern end of the Japanese archipelago. These two leaders supported the Emperor Kōmei (Emperor Meiji's father) and were brought together by Sakamoto Ryōma for the purpose of challenging the ruling Tokugawa shogunate ( bakufu ) and restoring

6307-505: The Meiji Restoration, the events restored practical abilities and consolidated the political system under the Emperor of Japan . The goals of the restored government were expressed by the new emperor in the Charter Oath . The Restoration led to enormous changes in Japan's political and social structure and spanned both the late Edo period (often called the Bakumatsu ) and the beginning of

6426-484: The Meiji government considerable leeway to invest in new initiatives. During the Meiji period, powers such as Europe and the United States helped transform Japan and made them realize a change needed to take place. Some leaders went out to foreign lands and used the knowledge and government writings to help shape and form a more influential government within their walls that allowed for things such as production. Despite

6545-458: The Meiji restoration's Shinbutsu bunri , tens of thousands of Japanese Buddhist religious idols and temples were smashed and destroyed. Japan then closed and shut down tens of thousands of traditional old Shinto shrines in the Shrine Consolidation Policy and the Meiji government built the new modern 15 shrines of the Kenmu restoration as a political move to link the Meiji restoration to the Kenmu restoration for their new State Shinto cult. In

6664-460: The Miyoshi clan. However, after the assassination of the 13th Shogun, the trio fell out with another Miyoshi follower, Matsunaga Hisashige, over the 14th Shogun, Ashikaga Yoshihide , and war broke out. The latter three also came into conflict with Yoshitsugu. The Miyoshi regime virtually collapsed when Oda Nobunaga entered Kyoto in 1568. Miyoshi Yoshitugu and Matsunaga Hisahide submitted to Nobunaga, but were later killed by Nobunaga's forces. The trio

6783-513: The Portuguese brought the matchlock gun to Japan in 1543, it was improved and mass-produced in Japan, and a gun called the tanegashima began to be used in wars. With the introduction of guns, a standing army of ashigaru ( 足軽 , foot soldier) became essential to victory in war, making it impossible for small local lords to remain independent, and lands were consolidated under sengoku daimyo with vast territories, and battles between sengoku daimyo became more intense. During this period,

6902-459: The Shimazu clan. Following the defeat of the Shimazu clan, Kato Kiyomasa , the ruler of Kumamoto Castle , emerged as a prominent figure in the northern part of Higo Province . With a substantial holding of 250,000 koku, Kiyomasa's military prowess in the Battle of Sekigahara earned him the former territory of Konishi Yukinaga , Additionally, he expanded his domain by acquiring 20,000 koku from areas like Tsurusaki Province in Bungo Province . As

7021-428: The West" as a battle in which a small force defeated a large army. Motonari became head of the Mōri clan in 1523 at the age of 27. The Amago and Ōuchi clans were sharing power in the Chūgoku region at the time, and he switched the Mōri clan's allegiance from the Amago to the Ōuchi clan in 1525. Motonari destroyed the Takahashi clan by 1535 and ruled Aki province , Iwami province , and Bingo province , and destroyed

7140-491: The age of 75. In 1546, Hōjō Ujiyasu defeated Uesugi Tomosada at the Siege of Kawagoe Castle , and the Later Hōjō clan established its power in the Kantō region . Uesugi Kenshin (Nagao Kagetora) was a sengoku daimyo based in Echigo Province who fought various sengoku daimyo and increased his power through aggressive invasions. After unifying Echigo in 1551, he invaded the Kantō region several times from 1552 to 1569 and fought against Hōjō Ujiyasu. He also invaded

7259-424: The beginning and end dates of the following Azuchi-Momoyama period. The Azuchi-Momoyama period refers to the period when Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi were in power. They and Tokugawa Ieyasu are the three unifiers of Japan. The name "Azuchi-Momoyama" comes from the fact that Nobunaga's castle, Azuchi Castle , was located in Azuchi, Shiga , and Fushimi Castle , where Hideyoshi lived after his retirement,

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7378-439: The beginning of the Sengoku period. Hosokawa Masamoto remained a bachelor for the rest of his life and adopted three people as his heirs. Following the advice of his vassals, Masamoto named Hosokawa Sumimoto as his successor instead of Hosokawa Sumiyuki , who had been adopted first. As a result, Masamoto was killed by Sumiyuki in 1507. This incident is called Eishō no sakuran ( 永正の錯乱 , Eishō delirium) . This triggered

7497-415: The challenges of relinquishing their traditional roles and embracing new strategies for survival and prosperity. The Shimazu clan, on the brink of conquering Kyushu, faced a crushing defeat at the hands of the formidable army led by Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Hideyoshi responded to the pleas of Oita and Otomo, mustering a massive force that ultimately subdued Kyushu, including the region of Higo which was abandoned by

7616-405: The clearly defined class system which the bakufu had envisaged, partly leading to their eventual downfall. The military of Japan, strengthened by nationwide conscription and emboldened by military success in both the Sino-Japanese War and the Russo-Japanese War , began to view themselves as a growing world power. Besides drastic changes to the social structure of Japan, in an attempt to create

7735-399: The control of a state-appointed governor. If the daimyōs peacefully complied, they were given a prominent voice in the new Meiji government. Later, their debts and payments of samurai stipends were either taxed heavily or turned into bonds which resulted in a large loss of wealth among former samurai. Emperor Meiji announced in his 1868 Charter Oath that "Knowledge shall be sought all over

7854-434: The country if only he had been born 20 years earlier. He became the head of the Date clan in 1584, two years after the death of Oda Nobunaga, destroyed the Nihonmatsu clan and other clans, and then in 1589, at the Battle of Suriagehara , defeated the Ashina clan to conquer the Aizu province , and continued to expand his territory to conquer most of the Tōhoku region . On the other hand, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who had only

7973-499: The dates chosen, the Sengoku period overlaps substantially with the Muromachi period (1336–1573). This period was characterized by the overthrow of a superior power by a subordinate one. The Ashikaga shogunate , the de facto central government, declined and the sengoku daimyo ( 戦国大名 , feudal lord of Sengoku period) , a local power, rose to power. The people rebelled against the feudal lords in revolts known as Ikkō-ikki ( 一向一揆 , Ikkō-shū uprising) . The period saw

8092-497: The domain or proclaim independence as a separate domain. Thus began the Sengoku period, a period of civil war in which the daimyo of various regions fought to expand their own power. Daimyo who became more powerful as the shogunate's control weakened were called sengoku daimyo ( 戦国大名 ) , and they often came from shugo daimyo , Shugodai , and kokujin or kunibito ( 国人 , local masters) . In other words, sengoku daimyo differed from shugo daimyo in that sengoku daimyo

8211-406: The earliest instances of this was Hōjō Sōun , who rose from relatively humble origins and eventually seized power in Izu Province in 1493. Building on the accomplishments of Sōun, the Hōjō clan remained a major power in the Kantō 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 ,

8330-427: The establishment of the Tokugawa shogunate (1603), the siege of Osaka (1615), or the suppression of the Shimabara Rebellion (1638). The old, well-known definition is that the Onin War initiated the Sengoku period in 1467; and that it ended in 1568, when Oda Nobunaga entered Kyoto in support of Ashikaga Yoshiaki . However, even if 1568 is the end date of the Sengoku period, there are also various theories about

8449-419: The ex- shōgun ' s army. All Tokugawa lands were seized and placed under "imperial control", thus placing them under the prerogative of the new Meiji government . With Fuhanken sanchisei , the areas were split into three types: urban prefectures ( 府 , fu ) , rural prefectures ( 県 , ken ) and the already existing domains. On March 23 the Dutch Minister-Resident Dirk de Graeff van Polsbroek and

8568-473: The foundations of the city as the center of the present-day Tōhoku region. In 1613, he sent Hasekura Tsunenaga as an ambassador to Europe, where he was granted an audience with the Pope Paul V . The upheaval resulted in the further weakening of central authority, and throughout Japan, regional lords, called daimyōs , rose to fill the vacuum. In the course of this power shift, well-established clans such as

8687-412: The help Japan received from other powers, one of the key factors in Japan's industrializing success was its relative lack of resources, which made it unattractive to Western imperialism. The farmer and the samurai classification were the base and soon the problem of why there was a limit of growth within the nation's industrial work. The government sent officials such as the samurai to monitor the work that

8806-406: The international market. With this, industrial zones grew enormously, and there was a massive migration to industrializing centers from the countryside. Industrialization additionally went hand in hand with the development of a national railway system and modern communications. With industrialization came the demand for coal. There was dramatic rise in production, as shown in the table below. Coal

8925-453: The lands, leaving the management of the lands to his retainers. This made it possible to efficiently change territories according to the performance of the vassals, thus eliminating land disputes. In addition, he made it possible to form a standing army by assigning military service to each region according to rice production. He encouraged the economic activities of the common people. In this way, he rapidly increased his power. In and around

9044-496: The local ikki had staged a large-scale revolt with the support of the True Pure Land sect (thereby establishing the term ikkō ikki ) and assumed control of the entire province of Kaga . It is suggested by both scholars and authors that " these succession disputes still might not have led to war were it not for the shōgun's lack of leadership ." The Kyōtoku incident in 1454, Ōnin War in 1467, or Meiō incident in 1493

9163-402: The military confrontations between separate states, there was also domestic fallout. In contempt of the shogunate, the daimyo who were subjected to remain in Kyoto instead returned to their provinces . Consequentially, some of these daimyo found that their designated retainers or shugodai , representatives of their states appointed in a daimyo's absence, rose in power either to seize control of

9282-464: The military, the government instituted nationwide conscription in 1873, mandating that every male would serve for four years in the armed forces upon turning 21 years old, followed by three more years in the reserves. One of the primary differences between the samurai and peasant classes was the right to bear arms ; this ancient privilege was suddenly extended to every male in the nation. Furthermore, samurai were no longer allowed to walk about town bearing

9401-442: The more traditional practice of imperial rule, whereby the Emperor of Japan serves solely as the spiritual authority of the nation and his ministers govern the nation in his name. The Meiji oligarchy that formed the government under the rule of the Emperor first introduced measures to consolidate their power against the remnants of the Edo period government, the shogunate, daimyōs , and the samurai class. Throughout Japan at

9520-473: The most capable general of them all. When he learned that his lord Nobunaga had been effectively killed by Akechi Mitsuhide, he immediately made peace with the Mōri clan, who were in the midst of a battle, and turned his army back faster than anyone could have predicted, defeating Akechi Mitsuhide at the Battle of Yamazaki . Hideyoshi avenged his lord's death only 11 days after Nobunaga's death. The men who had been Nobunaga's chief vassals discussed future policy at

9639-708: The most successful of which, in Kaga Province , remained independent for nearly 100 years. Meiji Restoration The Meiji Restoration ( Japanese : 明治維新 , romanized :  Meiji Ishin ), referred to at the time as the Honorable Restoration ( 御維新 , Goishin ) , and also known as the Meiji Renovation , Revolution , Regeneration , Reform , or Renewal , was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji . Although there were ruling emperors before

9758-483: The new sectors of the economy could not be heavily taxed, the costs of industrialisation and necessary investments in modernisation heavily fell on the peasant farmers, who paid extremely high land tax rates (about 30 percent of harvests) as compared to the rest of the world (double to seven times of European countries by net agricultural output). In contrast, land tax rates were about 2% in Qing China. The high taxation gave

9877-478: The ninth shogun, but when his wife Hino Tomiko gave birth to Ashikaga Yoshihisa , a conflict arose among the shugo daimyo as to whether Yoshimi or Yoshihisa would be the next shogun. The Hatakeyama and Shiba clans were also divided into two opposing factions over succession within their own clans, and Hosokawa Katsumoto and Yamana Sōzen , who were father-in-law and son-in-law, were politically at odds with each other. In 1467, these conflicts finally led to

9996-416: The oligarchs to action. Whatever their true intentions, the oligarchs embarked on another slow and deliberate process to abolish the samurai class. First, in 1873, it was announced that the samurai stipends were to be taxed on a rolling basis. Later, in 1874, the samurai were given the option to convert their stipends into government bonds . Finally, in 1876, this commutation was made compulsory. To reform

10115-459: The order to participate in the Siege of Odawara, but after hearing Masamune's bold attitude, he decided to meet with Masamune. Masamune showed his reverence by appearing before Hideyoshi in a pure white death robe, ready to be executed. Hideyoshi placed his staff on Masamune's neck and said, "If you had come a little later, you would have been beheaded," and Masamune pledged his reverence to Hideyoshi. He did not lose his life, only some of his territory

10234-420: The organized use of large numbers of tanegashima (guns) was essential to winning the war. In order for the daimyo to win the war, they had to secure a large number of gunsmiths and arms dealers, import large quantities of lead , the raw material for bullets, and nitre , the raw material for gunpowder, conduct routine marksmanship training, and secure large quantities of materials for building war positions. It

10353-429: The ports being opened for trade, but also began the process of merging members of the different societies together. Examples of this include western teachers and advisors immigrating to Japan and also Japanese nationals moving to western countries for education purposes. All these things in turn played a part in expanding the people of Japan's knowledge on western customs, technology and institutions. Many people believed it

10472-421: The resultant modernization of Japan, also influenced Japanese self-identity with respect to its Asian neighbours, as Japan became the first Asian state to modernize based on the Western model, replacing the traditional Confucian hierarchical order that had persisted previously under a dominant China with one based on modernity. Adopting enlightenment ideals of popular education, the Japanese government established

10591-403: The samurai class lived on. The oligarchs also embarked on a series of land reforms . In particular, they legitimized the tenancy system which had been going on during the Tokugawa period. Despite the bakufu 's best efforts to freeze the four classes of society in place, during their rule villagers had begun to lease land out to other farmers, becoming rich in the process. This greatly disrupted

10710-452: The shogunate, were persuaded to "return their domains to the Emperor". Other daimyō were subsequently persuaded to do so, thus creating a central government in Japan which exercised direct power through the entire "realm". Some shogunate forces escaped to Hokkaidō , where they attempted to set up a breakaway Republic of Ezo ; however, forces loyal to the Emperor ended this attempt in May 1869 with

10829-641: The system of alternate attendance. However, with the advent of the Meiji Restoration in 1868, a provisional domain office was established at the Takase Town Magistrate's Office in Tamana City . Consequently, the domain's name was changed to Takase Domain. In 1870, a formal jinya, or administrative center, was completed and relocated to Iwasaki Village in Tamana District. In the same year, the domain

10948-717: The territory of Takeda Shingen , who ruled Kai and Shinano Provinces from 1553 to 1573, and fought in the Battle of Kawanakajima five times between 1553 and 1564. In 1559, Kenshin had an audience with Emperor Ōgimachi and the 13th Shogun, Ashikaga Yoshiteru. When Imagawa Yoshimoto was killed by Oda Nobunaga 's forces at the Battle of Okehazama in 1560, the Alliance Kai-Sagami-Suruga formed in 1554 between Takeda Shingen in Kai, Hojo Ujiyasu in Sagami , and Imagawa Yoshimoto in Suruga

11067-436: The threat of being colonized, bringing to an end the era known as sakoku . The word "Meiji" means "enlightened rule" and the goal was to combine "modern advances" with traditional "eastern" values ( 和魂洋才 , Wakonyosai ) . The main leaders of this were Itō Hirobumi , Matsukata Masayoshi , Kido Takayoshi , Itagaki Taisuke , Yamagata Aritomo , Mori Arinori , Ōkubo Toshimichi , and Yamaguchi Naoyoshi . The foundation of

11186-454: The time, the samurai numbered 1.9 million. For comparison, this was more than 10 times the size of the French privileged class before the 1789 French Revolution . Moreover, the samurai in Japan were not merely the lords, but also their higher retainers—people who actually worked. With each samurai being paid fixed stipends, their upkeep presented a tremendous financial burden, which may have prompted

11305-507: The title of Emperor must be substituted for that of Taikun , in which the treaties have been made. Officers are being appointed by us to the conduct of foreign affairs. It is desirable that the representatives of the treaty powers recognize this announcement. Shortly thereafter in January 1868, the Boshin War started with the Battle of Toba–Fushimi in which Chōshū and Satsuma 's forces defeated

11424-495: The treaty, opening Japanese ports to trade. Figures like Shimazu Nariakira concluded that "if we take the initiative, we can dominate; if we do not, we will be dominated", leading Japan to "throw open its doors to foreign technology." After the humiliation of the Unequal Treaties, the leaders of the Meiji Restoration (as this revolution came to be known), acted in the name of restoring imperial rule to strengthen Japan against

11543-442: The war ended when the western lords, including Hatakeyama Yoshinari and Ōuchi Masahiro , withdrew their armies from Kyoto. The war devastated two-thirds of Kyoto, destroying many aristocratic and samurai residences, Shinto shrines , and Buddhist temples, and undermining the authority of the Ashikaga shoguns, greatly reducing their control over the various regions. The war caused disarray which rippled across Japan. In addition to

11662-736: The world, and thereby the foundations of imperial rule shall be strengthened." Under the leadership of Mori Arinori , a group of prominent Japanese intellectuals went on to form the Meiji Six Society in 1873 to continue to "promote civilization and enlightenment" through modern ethics and ideas. However, during the restoration, political power simply moved from the Tokugawa shogunate to an oligarchy consisting of these leaders, mostly from Satsuma Province ( Ōkubo Toshimichi and Saigō Takamori ), and Chōshū Province ( Itō Hirobumi , Yamagata Aritomo , and Kido Takayoshi). This reflected their belief in

11781-501: The Ōuchi clan, at the Battle of Itsukushima in 1555, and defeated Ōuchi Yoshinaga in 1557, destroying the Ōuchi clan and pacifying Nagato and Suou provinces. Motonari destroyed the Amago clan at the Siege of Gassantoda Castle in 1567, and then pacified Izumo , Oki , and Hōki provinces , thus pacifying the Chūgoku region, and later extended his power to parts of Shikoku . He died in 1571 at

11900-503: Was Oda Nobunaga who did this most successfully. He built Azuchi Castle at a strategic distribution point, brought several gunsmithing centers under his control, and established friendly relations with the Portuguese and merchants in Sakai , which had become an international port. He examined the rice yields of the lands under his control and did not allow his retainers to take private ownership of

12019-495: Was able to make a truce with Nobuo by making peace with him. In 1585, he defeated Chōsokabe Motochika in an Invasion of Shikoku and pacified Shikoku . In 1586, he became Kampaku ( 関白 , Imperial Regent) and Daijō-daijin ( 太政大臣 , Chancellor of the Realm) for the first time in history, although he was not a native-born aristocrat. In 1586, he also succeeded in getting Ieyasu to swear allegiance to him. In 1587, he defeated

12138-413: Was able to rule the region on his own, without being appointed by the shogun. Historians often consider the Ōnin War, a ten-year conflict wrought by political turmoil, to be the trigger for what would come to be known as the Sengoku period. This civil war would clearly reveal the Ashikaga shogunate's reduced authority over its shogunal administration, the provincial daimyo and Japan as a whole; thereby

12257-556: Was away in Kyoto and installed the 11th shogun, Ashikaga Yoshizumi, in a de facto coup known as the Meio incident ( 明応の政変 ) . Masamoto held the position of Kanrei ( 管領 ) , second only to the shogun in the Ashikaga shogunate, and the equivalent of Shikken ( 執権 ) in the Kamakura shogunate. This made the shogun a puppet of the Hosokawa clan , which served as the Kanrei . In recent years, it has been theorized that this incident marked

12376-553: Was being done. Because of Japan's leaders taking control and adapting Western techniques it has remained one of the world's largest industrial nations. The rapid industrialization and modernization of Japan both allowed and required a massive increase in production and infrastructure. Japan built industries such as shipyards, iron smelters, and spinning mills, which were then sold to well-connected entrepreneurs. Consequently, domestic companies became consumers of Western technology and applied it to produce items that would be sold cheaply in

12495-508: Was broken. Kenshin used this as an opportunity to seize Hojo Ujiyasu's territories one by one, and cornered the Later Hōjō clan at the Siege of Odawara in 1561, but was unable to defeat them. On his return from the Siege of Odawara, he performed a ceremony at the Tsurugaoka Hachimangū and assumed the position of kantō kanrei . Kenshin made peace with Hōjō Ujiyasu, who ceded part of his territory to him in 1569, and made Takeda Shingen

12614-462: Was confiscated. He was later interrogated by Hideyoshi on suspicion of inciting a peasant uprising and participating in the rebellion of Toyotomi Hidetsugu , but he defended himself with his usual courage and dignity and was not punished. He was on the side of Tokugawa Ieyasu at the Battle of Sekigahara , and as the first lord of the Sendai domain during the Edo period , he developed Sendai and laid

12733-442: Was essential for Japan to acquire western "spirit" in order to become a great nation with strong trade routes and military strength. The Meiji Restoration accelerated the industrialization process in Japan, which led to its rise as a military power by the year 1895, under the slogan of "Enrich the country, strengthen the military" ( 富国強兵 , fukoku kyōhei ) . There were a few factories set up using imported technologies in

12852-864: Was good for limiting disease spread, so the Japanese government lifted their attempted ban in May 1875 and promoted cremation for diseased people in 1897. Even before the Meiji Restoration, the Tokugawa Shogunate government hired German diplomat Philipp Franz von Siebold as diplomatic advisor, Dutch naval engineer Hendrik Hardes for Nagasaki Arsenal and Willem Johan Cornelis, Ridder Huijssen van Kattendijke for Nagasaki Naval Training Center , French naval engineer François Léonce Verny for Yokosuka Naval Arsenal , and British civil engineer Richard Henry Brunton . Most of them were appointed through government approval with two or three years contract, and took their responsibility properly in Japan, except some cases. Then many other foreign specialists were hired. Despite

12971-503: Was his retainer but still held a strong position of power. Harumoto seduced the Ikkō-shū into a Ikkō-ikki against Motonaga, which resulted in Motonaga's death in 1532. Miyoshi Motonaga's son, Miyoshi Nagayoshi , fought against Hosokawa Harumoto, but chose to subordinate himself to Harumoto. As a follower of Harumoto, Miyoshi Nagayoshi defeated Kizawa Nagamasa , the most powerful member of

13090-625: Was largely a marginalized, ceremonial, and religious figure who delegated power to the shōgun , a noble who was roughly equivalent to a military dictator . From 1346 to 1358, during the Nanboku-cho period , the Ashikaga shogunate gradually expanded the authority of the Shugo ( 守護 ) , the local military and police officials established by the Kamakura shogunate , giving the Shugo jurisdiction over land disputes between gokenin ( 御家人 ) and allowing

13209-476: Was largely composed of former samurai. This sent a strong message to the dissenting samurai that their time was indeed over. There were fewer subsequent samurai uprisings and the distinction became all but a name as the samurai joined the new society. The ideal of samurai military spirit lived on in romanticized form and was often used as propaganda during the early 20th-century wars of the Empire of Japan . However, it

13328-663: Was located in Momoyama. The beginning date could be either when Oda Nobunaga entered Kyoto in 1568 to support Ashikaga Yoshiaki, or when Nobunaga expelled Ashikaga Yoshiaki from Kyoto in 1573 and destroyed the Muromachi Shogunate, or when Nobunaga moved to Azuchi Castle in 1576. It ended either when Toyotomi Hideyoshi died in 1598, or at the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, or with the opening of the Tokugawa shogunate in 1603. Kaga ikki occurred in 1488, Hōjō Sōun conquered Izu province in 1491, and in 1492 Hosokawa Masamoto banished

13447-515: Was merged with the Kumamoto domain and ultimately abolished. <ref> Genealogy </ref [REDACTED] Media related to Kumamoto Domain at Wikimedia Commons Sengoku period The Sengoku period , also known as Sengoku Jidai ( Japanese : 戦国時代 , Hepburn : Sengoku Jidai , lit.   ' Warring States period ' ) , is the period in Japanese history in which civil wars and social upheavals took place almost continuously in

13566-453: Was modernized and some parts of the castles were converted into modern military facilities with barracks and parade grounds, such as Hiroshima Castle . Others were handed over to the civilian authorities to build their new administrative structures. Some however were explicitly saved from destruction by interventions from various persons and parties such as politicians, government and military officials, experts, historians, and locals who feared

13685-443: Was needed for steamships and railroads. The growth of these sectors is shown below. The majority of Japanese castles were partially or completely dismantled in the late 19th century in the Meiji restoration by the national government. Since the feudal system was abolished and the fiefs ( han ) theoretically reverting to the emperor, the national government saw no further use for the upkeep of these now obsolete castles. The military

13804-415: Was not accepted, and, in turn, Nagayoshi was almost eliminated by Harumoto. In response, Miyoshi Nagayoshi attacked and defeated Miyoshi Masanaga, expelled Hosokawa Harumoto, Ashikaga Yoshiharu, the 12th shogun, and his son Ashikaga Yoshiteru from Kyoto, and established control over the Kyoto area in 1549. After that, he fought several times against Ashikaga Yoshiteru, who became the 13th shogun, for control of

13923-433: Was one of the five best swordsmen of his time. According to several historical books, including Luís Fróis ' Historia de Japam , he fought hard with naginata and tachi during a raid, defeating many of his enemies, but eventually ran out of strength and was killed. The trio ( 三好三人衆 ) of Miyoshi Nagayasu , Miyoshi Soui , and Iwanari Tomomichi supported the young head of the clan, Miyoshi Yoshitsugu, in leading

14042-486: Was signed in 1854 and opened up trade between the United States and Japan. Later, Japan reluctantly expanded its trade deals to France, Britain, the Netherlands and Russia due to American pressure. These treaties signed with Western powers came to be known as Unequal Treaties as Japan lost control over its tariffs while Western powers took control over Japanese lands. In 1858, Townsend Harris , ambassador to Japan, concluded

14161-466: Was weakened and the Miyoshi clan declined. Mōri Motonari was a sengoku daimyo who pacified the Chūgoku region and is famous for his parable of the "Three Arrows", which explains the importance of clan unity. In his first battle, the Battle of Arita-Nakaide in 1517, he defeated the overwhelming majority of the Aki-Takeda clan with a small force, which later became known as the " Battle of Okehazama in

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