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88-513: Emperor Kōmei had issued a dispatch to shōgun Tokugawa Iemochi to expel the foreigners from Japan in early 1863. The shōgun answered with a visit to Kyoto in April, but he rejected the demands of the Jōi faction. On September 25 (8/13 in the old Japanese calendar) the emperor announced he would travel to Yamato province, to the grave of Emperor Jimmu , the mythical founder of Japan, to announce his dedication to

176-435: 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 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

264-560: A 220-year period of national seclusion . Emperor Kōmei did not care much for anything foreign, and he opposed opening Japan to Western powers. His reign would continue to be dominated by insurrection and partisan conflicts, eventually culminating in the collapse of the Tokugawa shogunate shortly after his death and the Meiji Restoration in the beginning of the reign of his son and successor Emperor Meiji . Before Kōmei's accession to

352-570: 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

440-482: A fatal violent bout of vomiting and diarrhea, and had purple spots on his face. Emperor Kōmei's death was distinctly convenient for the anti-bakufu forces whom Kōmei had consistently opposed. It was rumored at the time that he was assassinated either by radicals from Choshu, or radical officials in the court. British diplomat Sir Ernest Satow wrote, "it is impossible to deny that [the Emperor Kōmei's] disappearance from

528-420: 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 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

616-570: 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 the Ashikaga shogunate system. The shogunate gradually lost influence and control over the daimyo . The beginning of the Sengoku Period

704-454: A single ruling term. Beginning with his successor, Emperor Meiji , a single era name (identical to the Emperor's eventual posthumous name ) was selected and did not change until his death. There were seven nengō during Kōmei's reign. The family included six children, four daughters and two sons; but the future Emperor Meiji was the only one to survive to adulthood. Kōmei's principal consort

792-615: 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

880-662: A transitional imperial realm. This impression was enforced by the ensuing pilgrimage by Emperor Kōmei to the Kamo shrine, with the shogun in tow. This public demonstration showed that a new order had now emerged in the realm. After reluctantly accepting the Harris Treaty, Japan quickly signed similar treaties, called the Ansei Treaties (also known as the Ansei Five-Power Treaties, with Russia , France , Great Britain , and

968-457: 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

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1056-456: Is also entombed at this Imperial mausoleum complex. Emperor Kōmei was the last Emperor to be given a posthumous name chosen after his death. Beginning with the reign of his son, Emperor Meiji , posthumous names were chosen in advance, being the same as their reign names. Kugyō ( 公卿 ) is a collective term for the very few most powerful men attached to the court of the Emperor of Japan in pre- Meiji eras. Even during those years in which

1144-604: 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 the Kanto region, killed Uesugi Noritada of Kantō kanrei ( 関東管領 ) , Kantō kubō's assistant. The various forces in

1232-465: Is the period in Japanese history in which civil wars and social upheavals took place almost continuously in 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

1320-552: 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),

1408-586: The Chrysanthemum Throne , his personal name ( imina ) was Osahito ( 統仁 ) and his title was Hiro-no-miya ( 煕宮 ) . Osahito was born on 22 July 1831 and was the fourth son of Emperor Ninkō and his consort Ōgimachi Naoko (正親町雅子). Osahito's Imperial Family lived with him in the Dairi of the Heian Palace . Prince Osahito was enthroned as Emperor on 10 March 1846 upon the death of his father. The succession

1496-635: 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

1584-714: 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

1672-680: The Imperial Court in Kyoto , in the Bunkyū coup . The shogunate sent troops to quell the Tenchūgumi, and they were finally defeated in September 1864. This Japanese history–related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Emperor K%C5%8Dmei Osahito (22 July 1831 – 30 January 1867), posthumously honored as Emperor Kōmei , was the 121st emperor of Japan , according to

1760-558: 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

1848-479: 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

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1936-602: 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 the Shugo to receive half of all taxes from the areas they controlled. The Shugo shared their newfound wealth with

2024-487: The Netherlands ). The treaties stipulated that the citizens of those foreign nations would be allowed to reside and trade at will in the cities of Edo, Nagasaki , Niigata , Kobe and Yokohama . Those five cities were to be opened to foreign trade with the four Western nations in the treaties. In addition, the treaties stipulated that a system of extraterritoriality would provide for the subjugation of foreign residents to

2112-615: The Sengoku ("warring states") period. The Emperor's younger sister, Imperial princess Kazu-no-Miya Chikako ( 和宮親子内親王 ) , was married to the Tokugawa shōgun Tokugawa Iemochi as part of the Movement to Unite Court and Bakufu . Both the Emperor and his sister were against the marriage, even though he realized the gains to be had from such familial connections with the true ruler of Japan. Emperor Kōmei did not care much for anything foreign, and he opposed opening Japan to Western powers, even as

2200-554: The Shimabara Rebellion in 1638, deep into what is traditionally considered the Edo period . Regardless of 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) ,

2288-567: 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

2376-529: 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

2464-643: 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

2552-659: 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 ,

2640-461: 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

2728-519: 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,

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2816-516: 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

2904-561: 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

2992-505: 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

3080-494: The Emperor's refusal to approve them. He twice expressed his will to resign from his position in protest. During his reign he started to gain more power as the Tokugawa shogunate declined, though this was limited to consultation and other forms of deference according to protocol. Emperor Kōmei generally agreed with anti-Western sentiments, and, breaking with centuries of imperial tradition, began to take an active role in matters of state. As opportunities arose, he fulminated against

3168-499: The Jōi cause. Following this, a group called Tenchūgumi consisting of 30 samurai and rōnin from Tosa and other fiefs marched into Yamato Province and took over the Magistrate office in Gojō . They were led by Yoshimura Toratarō and Fujimoto Tesseki . The next day, shogunate loyalists from Satsuma and Aizu reacted by expelling several imperial officials of the sonnō jōi faction from

3256-462: 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

3344-744: 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

3432-472: 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

3520-510: 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

3608-566: 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,

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3696-625: 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

3784-645: 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

3872-472: 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,

3960-439: 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

4048-560: The bombardments of Shimonoseki and Kagoshima, and the destruction of Japanese warships, coastal guns, and assorted military infrastructure throughout the country. These incidents showed that Japan could not match the military might of the Western powers at the time, and that military confrontation could not prove to be a diplomatic solution. In January 1867 the Emperor was diagnosed with smallpox , which caused surprise because Kōmei had allegedly never been ill before. On 30 January 1867 he suffered

4136-718: The book" through uncharted waters with well-settled theories and history as the only reliable guide. Hayashi Akira was dispatched from Edo to Kyoto in October 1858 to explain the terms of the Treaty of Amity and Commerce ( 日米修好通商条約 , Nichibei Shūkō Tsūshō Jōyaku ) , also known as the Harris Treaty . Hayashi's twofold task was to both explain the terms to a sceptical Emperor and gain the sovereign's assent to it. Kōmei did ultimately acquiesce in February 1859 when he came to understand that there

4224-434: 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

4312-462: The court's actual influence outside the palace walls was minimal, the hierarchic organization persisted. In general, this elite group included only three to four men at a time. These were hereditary courtiers whose experience and background would have brought them to the pinnacle of a life's career. During Kōmei's reign, this apex of the Daijō-kan included: Emperor Kōmei was the last Japanese Emperor who had more than one era name ( nengō ) during

4400-497: 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

4488-406: 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 ,

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4576-427: 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

4664-422: 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

4752-430: The increased numbers of messengers streaming back and forth between Edo and Kyoto during the next decade. Concerning these difficult Imperial audiences in Kyoto, it is somewhat remarkable that the shogun and his bakufu were represented by Hayashi Akira, a 19th-century neo-Confucian scholar/bureaucrat who might have been somewhat surprised to find himself at a crucial nexus of managing political change—moving arguably "by

4840-421: 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 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 ,

4928-453: 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

5016-408: The laws of their own consular courts instead of the Japanese legal system. Emperor Kōmei was infuriated with nearly every development during his reign as Emperor, and during his lifetime he never saw any foreigners nor did he know much about them. Unequal trade treaties with the Western powers, such as the Treaty of Kanagawa and the Harris Treaty were signed without Imperial sanction and in spite of

5104-440: 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

5192-465: 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 , 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,

5280-402: 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

5368-473: 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

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5456-399: The new challenge of open trade with the West. At the time, Emperor Kōmei still retained only symbolic power at his court in Kyoto. As the shogunate, divided by internal disputes, gradually surrendered sovereignty to the foreign powers under threat of military force, Emperor Kōmei began to assert himself and regain many of the powers his ancestors had conceded to the Tokugawa clan at the close of

5544-478: 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

5632-459: 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

5720-420: 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

5808-558: The political scene, leaving as his successor a boy of fifteen or sixteen [actually fourteen], was most opportune". However, there is no evidence of this and it is generally believed that he was simply one more victim of what was a worldwide pandemic at the time. Nevertheless, by the time of Emperor Kōmei's death the government was faced with bankruptcy and near collapse. Japan was also surrounded by colonial powers, who stood poised to gain considerable influence with substantial investments in Japanese trade. Kōmei's son, Imperial Prince Mutsuhito,

5896-443: The shogun continued to accept foreign demands. On 22 January 1858, Daigaku-no-kami Hayashi Akira headed the bakufu delegation which sought advice from Emperor Kōmei in deciding how to deal with newly assertive foreign powers. This would have been the first time the Emperor's counsel was actively sought since the establishment of the Tokugawa shogunate. The most easily identified consequence of this transitional overture would be

5984-507: 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

6072-420: 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 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

6160-409: The traditional order of succession . Kōmei's reign spanned the years from 1846 through 1867, corresponding to the final years of the Edo period . During his reign there was much internal turmoil as a result of Japan 's first major contact with the United States , which occurred under Commodore Perry in 1853 and 1854, and the subsequent forced re-opening of Japan to western nations, ending

6248-494: The treaties and attempted to interfere in the shogunal succession. His efforts culminated in 1863 with his " Order to expel barbarians ". Although the Shogunate had no intention of enforcing the order, it nevertheless inspired attacks against the Shogunate itself and against foreigners in Japan: the most famous incident was the killing of British trader Charles Lennox Richardson , for which the Tokugawa government paid an indemnity of 100,000 pound sterling . Other incidents included

6336-442: 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

6424-403: 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

6512-524: Was Asako Kujō ( 九条夙子 ) . After Kōmei's death in 1867, Asako was given the title Empress Dowager Eishō ( 英照皇太后 ) by Emperor Meiji . Unless otherwise noted (as BC), years are in CE  / AD   Imperial Consort and Regent Empress Jingū is not traditionally listed. Sengoku period The Sengoku period , also known as Sengoku Jidai ( Japanese : 戦国時代 , Hepburn : Sengoku Jidai , lit.   ' Warring States period ' ) ,

6600-450: 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

6688-495: 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

6776-413: 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

6864-556: 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

6952-508: 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

7040-462: 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

7128-586: Was considered to have been received by the new monarch; and shortly thereafter, Emperor Kōmei is said to have acceded the throne. The years of Kōmei's reign correspond with a period in which Tokugawa Ieyoshi , Tokugawa Iesada , Tokugawa Iemochi , and Tokugawa Yoshinobu were leaders at the pinnacle of the Tokugawa shogunate . On 8 July 1853 US Commodore Matthew Perry arrived with his " Black Ships " to force trade with Japan. The Tokugawa shogunate, which had controlled military and civil affairs in Japan's feudal provinces for some three centuries, proved unable to meet

7216-702: Was crowned as Emperor Meiji on 12 September 1868 and these issues were put to rest under the Meiji Restoration . After Kōmei's death in 1867, his kami was enshrined in the Imperial mausoleum, Nochi no Tsukinowa no Higashi no misasagi ( 後月輪東山陵 ) , which is at Sennyū-ji in Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto . Also enshrined in this mausoleum complex are Kōmei's immediate predecessors since Emperor Go-Mizunoo : Meishō , Go-Kōmyō , Go-Sai , Reigen , Higashiyama , Nakamikado , Sakuramachi , Momozono , Go-Sakuramachi , Go-Momozono , Kōkaku and Ninkō . Empress Dowager Eishō

7304-503: 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

7392-714: 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

7480-478: Was no alternative. The pilgrimage of the 14th shogun Tokugawa Iemochi to Kyoto in 1863 was a defining moment not only in 19th century relations between the military bakufu and the Imperial Court, but also in what history would come to call the Meiji Restoration . The reception by Emperor Kōmei of the shogun in the Kyoto palace can be seen as a moment at which the political realm was thoroughly redefined, becoming

7568-415: 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

7656-433: 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

7744-416: 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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