Sengoku Period

• Japanese: 戦国時代 (Sengoku jidai)

The Sengoku Period, which translates to the Warring States Period, is generally used to describe the period of civil war starting with the beginning of the Onin War, in 1467. Scholars differ on the exact dates, however. Some take it to 1568, when Oda Nobunaga entered Kyoto. Others consider the end to be 1573, coinciding with the last Ashikaga shogun, and the end of the Muromachi Period. Some even take it up through the first years of the 17th century and the Edo Period, when the Tokugawa Bakufu united the country.

This period of chaos overlaps with the end of the Muromachi Period and the Azuchi-Momoyama Period.

History

The Sengoku Period is characterized by the rise of the daimyo in the countryside, while the power Ashikaga Shogunate in the capital waned. As the shogunal court grew more insular, the shugo in the provinces lost their authority. Local lords--sometimes the previous vassals of the shugo--rose to fill the void, becoming the new daimyo.

Lesser houses would enter into vassalage under these new local powers, entering into a new age of feudalism. Disputes regarding resources or territories could lead to armed conflict between local lords and their allies.

During this period, there would be many more changes. Portuguese would land at Tanegashima, eventually bringing guns and Christianity to Japan.

In these tumultuous times, some of the local daimyo became even more ambitious, looking to install their own rule over the country. Three of these daimyo would eventually succeeed in uniting the country--Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu.

References

• Sansom, George. A History of Japan 13334-1615. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1963.
• Hall, John Whitney. Government and Local Power in Japan 500 to 1700: A Study Based on Bizen Province". Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1966.

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