Ashikaga shogunate

Ashikaga shogunate
足利幕府 (Ashikaga bakufu)
1336–1573
CapitalHeian-kyō
Common languagesLate Middle Japanese
Religion
Shinbutsu-shūgō
GovernmentAbsolute monarchy under a feudal military dictatorship
Emperor 
• 1332–1334
Kōgon
• 1557–1586
Ōgimachi
Shōgun 
• 1338–1358
Ashikaga Takauji
• 1568–1573
Ashikaga Yoshiaki
History 
• Established
11 August 1336
• Surrender of Emperor Go-Kameyama
15 October 1392
• Ōnin War
1467–1477
• Oda Nobunaga captures Heian-kyo
18 October 1568
• Ashikaga shogunate abolished
2 September 1573
CurrencyMon
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Kenmu Restoration
Ashikaga clan
Azuchi–Momoyama period

The Ashikaga shogunate (足利幕府, Ashikaga bakufu), also known as the Muromachi shogunate (室町幕府, Muromachi bakufu), was the feudal military government of Japan during the Muromachi period from 1336 to 1573.[1]

The Ashikaga shogunate was established when Ashikaga Takauji was appointed Shōgun after overthrowing the Kenmu Restoration shortly after it had overthrown the Kamakura shogunate in support of Emperor Go-Daigo.[2] The Ashikaga clan governed Japan from the Imperial capital of Heian-kyō (Kyoto) as de facto military dictators along with the daimyō lords of the samurai class.[3] The Ashikaga shogunate began the Nanboku-chō period between the Pro-Ashikaga Northern Court in Kyoto and the Pro-Go-Daigo Southern Court in Yoshino until the South conceded to the North in 1392. The Ashikaga shogunate collapsed upon outbreak of the Ōnin War in 1467, entering a state of constant civil war known as the Sengoku period, and was finally dissolved when Shōgun Ashikaga Yoshiaki was overthrown by Oda Nobunaga in 1573.

The Ashikaga shogunate's alternative name Muromachi and the Muromachi period are derived from the Muromachi district of Kyoto, where the third Shōgun, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, established his residence nicknamed the "Flower Palace" (花の御所, Hana no Gosho) on Muromachi Street in 1379.[1]

  1. ^ a b Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Muromachi-jidai" in Japan Encyclopedia, p. 669.
  2. ^ Roth 2002, p. 878.
  3. ^ Roth 2002, p. 53.