Muromachi Period The Ashikaga Shogunate (1333-1573)

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Muromachi PeriodThe Ashikaga Shogunate
(1333-1573)

• Following the Kamakura and Warring States Period
  Ashikaga Takauji is the most successful of the
  warrior clans and takes over Kyoto.
• Establishment of the Ashikaga Shogunate.
  (Muromachi)
• Ashikaga Takauji put his own choice for Emperor
  into position who then validated Ashikagas
  power.

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• Defeated Emperor, Go-Daigo, escaped in 1337 and
  again declared himself the true Emperor.
• This period of time is called Nanbokucho, or the
  "north and south dynasties" period.
• This lasted until 1392 when the Northern and
  Southern Courts were reunited.

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• Thus began the Ashikaga Shogunate (1336-1573).
• This period is also known as the Muromachi
  Period, from the name of the Muromachi area of
  Kyoto.
• It was in this area of central Japan on southern
  Honshu, where the third shogun Yoshimitsu
  established his residence.

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• Because Ashikaga Takauji sided with the Emperor,
  the Ashikagas shared more of their authority with
  the Imperial government than the Kamakura had.
• Thus, it was the weakest of the three shogunates
  including the Kamakura and the later Tokugawa.
• However, most of the regional power still
  remained with the provincial daimyo.

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• military power depended mostly on daimyo loyalty
  to the Ashikaga.
• daimyo increasingly fought among themselves for
  power, hence loyalty to the Ashikaga grew
  increasingly strained.
• This led to open warfare in the late Muromachi
  period referred to as the Sengoku Period.

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• The Ashikaga shogunate was destroyed in 1573 when
  Oda Nobunaga drove the 15th and last Ashikaga
  shogun, Yoshiaki out of Kyoto.
• The Ashikaga family still survive to this day.

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Outside Kyoto

• The War of Onin was a major civil war lasting
  from 1467 to 1477.
• Two daimyo, Hosokawa Katsumoto and Yamana Souzen
  began the fighting, as a result of very complex
  inter-house rivalries.
• The fighting between houses was reflected in
  various fights between other major daimyo houses.

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• This fight led to chaos throughout the country as
  similar fights broke out everywhere among the
  daimyos samurai warriors.
• Over time the authority of the Shogunate
  decreased as more and more actual power shifted
  to the daimyos.

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Muromachi Reading Quiz

1. What prevented the Kemmu Restoration from being
   successful in 1334?
2. When Go-Daigo fled, where did he go and what did
   he establish?
3. How long did the division last with the Northern
   and Southern Courts?
4. What happened on a regular basis as a result of
   this division?

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• 5. What was the result of trade relations with
  Ming China, improvements in agriculture and a new
  heritance system during the rein of Ashikaga
  Yoshimitsu?
• 6. Political newcomers of the Muromachi Period
  were members of land owning, military families
  called what?
• 7. The new feudal lords of these political
  newcomers were called what?

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• 8. Define Sengoku Jidai.
• 9. What new ideas or technology was introduced to
  Japan in 1542?
• 10. Was trade encouraged with the west? Why?
• 11. Who made the first big steps towards
  unification of Japan as an entire country in 1573?

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Arts Among Discontent

• On the positive side, the arts flourished.
• Flower arrangement ???? ???
• Tea Ceremony ??? ??
• Nou Theatre ?? ?
• Kano school of painting
• Rock Gardens ?????? ???

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???? ???

• A disciplined art form that unifies nature and
  humanity.

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• More than simply putting flowers in a container,
  ikebana is a disciplined art form in which nature
  and humanity are brought together. Contrary to
  the idea of floral arrangement as a collection of
  particolored or multicolored arrangement of
  blooms, ikebana often emphasizes other areas of
  the plant, such as its stems and leaves, and
  draws emphasis towards shape, line, form. Though
  ikebana is a creative expression, it has certain
  rules governing its form. The main(?) rule is
  that all the elements used in construction must
  be organic, be they branches, leaves, grasses, or
  flowers. The artist's intention behind each
  arrangement is shown through a piece's color
  combinations, natural shapes, graceful lines, and
  the usually implicit meaning of the arrangement.

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??? ??

• A multifaceted traditional activity strongly
  influenced by Zen Buddhism, in which powdered
  green tea, or matcha (??), is ceremonially
  prepared and served to others.

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• Tea Room Floor Plan

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?? ?

• Oldest form minimalist appealed to aristocracy
• Grew during the 14th century
• combination of Chinese performing arts and
  traditional Japanese dance
• Props without scenery
• 3 or 4 traditional musical instruments
• characters created with masks and elaborate
  costumes.
• Storyline is familiar to educated audience
  (spiritual)

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Kano School of Painting

• Kano painters often worked on a large scale,
  painting nature scenes of birds, plants, water,
  or other animals on sliding doors or screens,
  covering the background with gold leaf.

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Kano Naizen
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Kano Eitoku

• One of six folding screens ink on paper. Shows
  people playing go.

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Kare-sansui gardening(dry or rock gardens)

• The main elements are rocks and sand, with the
  sea symbolized by sand raked in patterns that
  suggest rippling water. Plants are much less
  important (and sometimes nonexistent).
• Express Buddhist and Taoist beliefs, places for
  ceremonies, amusement, and contemplation and also
  shoguns simply enjoyed gardens.

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Adachi Museum of Art in Matsue, Shimane Prefecture
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Shitennoji Honbo
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Ryoanji - Kyoto
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Tofukuji - Kyoto
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Arts Affect other Aspects of Culture

• Tea Ceremony
• influenced production of pottery, iron, lacquer
  and bamboo products division of labor/mass
  production
• Architecture
• few buildings survive today due to wooden
  construction and civil war.
• shonin-zukuri style became forerunner of the
  present-day Japanese house with tatami mats.
• The Golden Pavilion, Rokuon-ji, Kyoto, built by
  Ashikaga Yoshimitsu for his retirement.

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Golden Pavilion Rokuon-ji Kyoto