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Appointed ''seisei shôgun''<ref>lit. "General of the Subjugation of the West"</ref>, Kanenaga was ostensibly an agent of the Southern Court and of the [[Ashikaga shogunate]]; however, he quickly began to claim power for himself, securing the allegiance of the samurai clans of Kyushu, and control of the island by [[1365]].  

Appointed ''seisei shôgun''<ref>lit. "General of the Subjugation of the West"</ref>, Kanenaga was ostensibly an agent of the Southern Court and of the [[Ashikaga shogunate]]; however, he quickly began to claim power for himself, securing the allegiance of the samurai clans of Kyushu, and control of the island by [[1365]].  

Acting as an independent authority, he then began to receive official envoys from [[Ming Dynasty]] China. The first such envoy, [[Yang Zai]], arrived at [[Hakata]] in [[1369]]. In response to the Chinese request that efforts be made to stem the tide of ''[[wako|wakô]]'' attacks, Kanenaga had the envoy detained, killed some of the members of the embassy, and refused to agree to any diplomatic ties. The following year, however, Kanenaga reversed his stance. When a new envoy, [[Zhao Zhi]], arrived in [[1370]], Prince Kanenaga, representing himself as "Yoshikane" (a reversal of his name, Kaneyoshi), sent the envoy back to China with horses and other [[tribute|gifts]], and roughly seventy Chinese men who had been captured by ''wakô'' and were in this way freed and repatriated. "Yoshikane" then received official [[investiture]] as "King of Japan" in the eyes of the Ming Court, and became the sole authority authorized to participate in the tribute trade, or any other formal diplomatic relations, with Ming China. Historian [[Amino Yoshihiko]] describes this as Kanenaga attempting (and perhaps succeeding, to some extent, however briefly) "to establish an independent country in Kyushu."<ref>Amino, 270.</ref>

Acting as an independent authority, he then began to receive official envoys from [[Ming Dynasty]] China. The first such envoy, [[Yang Zai]], arrived at [[Hakata]] in [[1369]]. In response to the Chinese request that efforts be made to stem the tide of ''[[wako|wakô]]'' attacks, Kanenaga had the envoy detained, killed some of the members of the embassy, and refused to agree to any diplomatic ties. The following year, however, Kanenaga reversed his stance. When a new envoy, [[Zhao Zhi]], arrived in [[1370]], Prince Kanenaga, representing himself as "Yoshikane" (a reversal of his name, Kaneyoshi), sent the envoy back to China with horses and other [[tribute|gifts]], and roughly seventy Chinese men who had been captured by ''wakô'' and were in this way freed and repatriated. "Yoshikane" then received official [[investiture]] as "King of Japan" in the eyes of the Ming Court, and became the sole authority authorized to participate in the tribute trade, or any other formal diplomatic relations, with Ming China. He sent three more successful embassies, in [[1371]], [[1378]], and [[1379]], though later embassies dispatched under his name in [[1380]], [[1381]], and [[1386]] were rebuffed by the Ming court, nominally on account of "insincerity."<ref>Gregory Smits, ''Maritime Ryukyu'', University of Hawaii Press (2019), 63.</ref> Historian [[Amino Yoshihiko]] describes Kanenaga's assumption of the title of "[[King of Japan]]" and engagement in tributary relations as Kanenaga attempting (and perhaps succeeding, to some extent, however briefly) "to establish an independent country in Kyushu."<ref>Amino, 270.</ref>

[[Ashikaga shogunate|Shogun]] [[Ashikaga Yoshimitsu]], displeased with this turn of events, rapidly took action to unseat Kanenaga as the recognized authority. He dispatched [[Imagawa Ryoshun|Imagawa Ryôshun]] to negotiate with the Ming emissaries, while he himself negotiated with the [[kuge|court aristocracy]] for permission to assemble and submit the necessary documents to have himself (the shogun, not the emperor) recognized as the King of Japan and the Ming's rightful partner in the tribute trade. Eventually, he simply went over the heads of the Court, so to speak, and submitted a formal letter to the Ming envoys acknowledging the authority and superiority of the Ming Emperor, who in turn recognized Yoshimitsu as the King of Japan, stripping Prince Kanenaga of that position.

[[Ashikaga shogunate|Shogun]] [[Ashikaga Yoshimitsu]], displeased with this turn of events, rapidly took action to unseat Kanenaga as the recognized authority. He dispatched [[Imagawa Ryoshun|Imagawa Ryôshun]] to negotiate with the Ming emissaries, while he himself negotiated with the [[kuge|court aristocracy]] for permission to assemble and submit the necessary documents to have himself (the shogun, not the emperor) recognized as the King of Japan and the Ming's rightful partner in the tribute trade. Eventually, he simply went over the heads of the Court, so to speak, and submitted a formal letter to the Ming envoys acknowledging the authority and superiority of the Ming Emperor, who in turn recognized Yoshimitsu as the King of Japan, stripping Prince Kanenaga of that position.