The Ashikaga Shôgunate
The Ashikaga were descended from Minamoto Yoshiie, whose son Yoshikuni settled in the Ashikaga district of Shimotsuke Province. Yoshikuni's first son took the name Nitta while his second took Ashikaga. The Ashikaga became very wealthy under the Hôjô Regents and their defection to the Imperial cause in 1333 sealed the Hôjô's fate. Ashikaga Takauji then turned against Emperor Go-Daigo and in 1336 was named the 1st Ashikaga shôgun. The Ashikaga were seriously weakened after the Ônin War (1467-77) and eventually eclipsed by Oda Nobunaga in 1573, who banished the last Ashikaga shôgun, Yoshiaki, from Kyoto.
| Name | Life | Reign | ||||
| 1305-1358 | 1338-1358 | |||||
| 1330-1367 | 1359-1367 | |||||
| 1358-1408 | 1368-1394 | |||||
| 1386-1428 | 1394-1423 | |||||
| 1407-1429 | 1423-1425 | |||||
| 1425-1428 | ||||||
| 1394-1441 | 1429-1441 | |||||
| 1434-1443 | 1441-1443 | |||||
| 1436-1490 | 1443-1473 | |||||
| 1465-1489 | 1473-1489 | |||||
| 1466-1523 | 1490-1493 | |||||
| 1480-1511 | 1493-1508 | |||||
| 1508-1521 | ||||||
| 1511-1550 | 1521-1546 | |||||
| 1536-1565 | 1546-1565 | |||||
| 1564-1568 | 1568 | |||||
| 1537-1597 | 1568-1573 |