Ashikaga period (also known as the Muromachi period because of the Muromachi area of Kyoto where the third shogun Yoshimitsu established his residence) in Japanese history was the era of Ashikaga Shogunate (1338-1573). It was named after a KyÅto district, where the first Ashikaga shogun - Takauji built his executive and administrative headquarters. Although Takauji took the title of shogun for himself and his heirs, the complete control of Japan eluded him. This era also marks the supremacy and control of the Muromachi shogunate, which was officially recognised in 1336 by the first Muromachi shogun, Ashikaga Takauji. The period came to an end in 1573 when the 15th and last shogun, Ashikaga Yoshiaki, was moved out of the capital by Oda Nobunaga.
The initial years (1336-1392) of Ashikaga period are also known as Nanboku-cho or Northern and Southern Court period. The later years (1467-end) are known as Sengoku period.
The Ashikaga shogunate, Japanese Ashikaga bakufu, was a feudal samurai government ruled by the Ashikaga family shoguns. Shoguns were the de facto rulers of Japan though the authority of the Emperor was nominally accredited. He was kept in colonial remoteness as a distant but honored figure while governance devolved to the military dynasty.
The local nobles, the daimyo, also possessed and used substantial power and the Shogun could only ben in power with the assistance and cooperation of these men. As a result, a lot of skill was needed and the Shogun had to look into the welfare of the regional nobles in addition to his own interests. The Shogunate started by re-opening contact and business and trade with China and ended with the first contact with Europeans, including the Christian missionaries.
One of the most successful of the Ashikaga period rulers, the third shogun Yoshimitsu, was able to eliminate his rivals and settled a long-standing split in the colonial line, thereby creating a period of stability and firmness that lasted over several decades. Though a later succession dispute within the Ashikaga led to the ÅŒnin War (1467-77) and this was subsequently followed by a century of military hardship, also known as "the age of the country at war" (sengoku jidai).
Art and Culture
At the time of Ashikaga shogunate, no theatre and Chinese-style painting, Zen Buddhism existed or flourished in Japan. This was the period of buddhism and shintoism meshing together. Irrespective of the political disorder, the Muromachi era saw great cultural growth, especially under Zen Buddhism's influence. The unique Japanese arts of tea ceremony, flower arrangement, and nÅ drama were developed; and the Sung style of ink painting (sumi) flourished and was at its peak. In the field of architecture, overall simple and sober themes were the general rule. Golden Pavilion (Kinkakuji) and Silver Pavilion (Ginkakuji) in KyÅto, both were constructed as shogunal retreats during Muromachi era. Francis Xavier, the Jesuit disciple came to Japan in 1549 and began to establish a Christian foothold. Art and culture in particular developed and spread during the eighth Shogun's reign. Keene (2003) clearly shows how Ashikaga Yoshimasa ruled over an artistic renaissance along with how he almost single-handedly ended Shogun's successful power. The enmity between daimyo's became more aggressive and brutal with the start of fire arms towards the end of Ashigaka period, culture still helped to unite the Japanese people plus also increased trade thus resulting in increased affluence.
(Keene, Donald. Yoshimasa and the Silver Pavilion: The Creation of the Soul of Japan (Asia Perspectives). NY: Columbia University Press, 2003)
Cultural developments and the establishment of Buddhism
Some of Japan's legendary master-pieces were written during Nara period, including the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki, the first national histories, compiled in 712 and 720 respectively; the Man'yÅshÅ«, a compilation of poems; and the KaifÅ«sÅ, an anthology written in Chinese by the Japanese emperors and princes.
The permanent establishment of Buddhism was yet another key cultural milestone of this period. It was introduced by Baekje during sixth century, but had a varied response until the Nara period when it was positively adopted by Emperor ShÅmu. ShÅmu and his Fujiwara companion were ardent Buddhists and vigorously promoted and spread Buddhism, making it the "guardian of the state" and a mode of rising and establishing Japanese institutions.
During ShÅmu's reign, the TÅdai-ji (literally Eastern Great Temple) was built, and within it was placed the Great Buddha Daibutsu; a sixteen-metre-high, gilt-bronze statue. This Buddha was identified with the Sun Goddess, and a gradual syncretism of Buddhism and Shinto ensued. ShÅmu declared himself the "Servant of the Three Treasures" of Buddhism: the Buddha, the law or teachings of Buddhism, and the Buddhist community.
The central government also established temples called kokubunji in the provinces. The TÅdai-ji was the kokubunji of Yamato Province (present-day Nara Prefecture).
Although these efforts stopped short of making Buddhism the state religion, Nara Buddhism heightened the status of the imperial family. Buddhist influence at court increased under the two reigns of ShÅmu's daughter. As Empress KÅken (r. 749-758) she brought many Buddhist priests into court. KÅken abdicated in 758 on the advice of her cousin, Fujiwara no Nakamaro. When the retired empress came to favor a Buddhist faith healer named DÅkyÅ, Nakamaro rose up in arms in 764 but was quickly crushed. KÅken charged the ruling emperor with colluding with Nakamaro and had him deposed. KÅken reascended the throne as Empress ShÅtoku (r. 764-770). The empress commissioned the printing of 1 million prayer charms-the HyakumantÅ dharani -many examples of which survive. The small scrolls, dating from 770, are among the earliest printed works in the world. ShÅtoku had the charms printed to placate the Buddhist clergy. She may even have wanted to make DÅkyÅ emperor, but she died before she could act. Her actions shocked Nara society and led to the exclusion of women from imperial succession and the removal of Buddhist priests from positions of political authority.
Many of the Japanese artworks and imported treasures from other countries during the era of Emperors ShÅmu and ShÅtoku are archived in ShÅsÅ-in of TÅdai-ji temple. They are called ShÅsÅin treasures, and illustrate the cosmopolitan culture also known as TempyÅ culture. Imported treasures show various influences of Silk Road areas, including China, Korea, India, and Islamic Empire. Also, Shosoin stores more than 10,000 paper documents so-called ShÅsÅin documents (æ£å€‰é™¢æ-‡æ›¸?). These are records written in the reverse side of the sutra or in the wrapping of imported items, and survived as a result of reusing wasted official documents. ShÅsÅin documents contribute greatly to the research of Japanese political and social systems of the Nara period, while they even indicate the development of Japanese writing systems (such as katakana)
ECONOMIC AND CULTURAL DEVELOPEMENT
Contact with the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) China was renewed during the Muromachi period after the Chinese sought support in suppressing Japanese pirates in coastal areas of China. Japanese pirates of this era and region were referred to as wokou, by the Chinese (Japanese wakÅ). Wanting to improve relations with China and to rid Japan of the wokou threat, Yoshimitsu accepted a relationship with the Chinese that was to last for half a century. In 1401 he restarted the tribute system, describing himself in a letter to the Chinese Emperor as "Your subject, the King of Japan". Japanese wood, sulphur, copper ore, swords, and folding fans were traded for Chinese silk, porcelain, books, and coins, in what the Chinese considered tribute but the Japanese saw as profitable trade.[citation needed]
During the time of the Ashikaga bakufu, a new national culture, called Muromachi culture, emerged from the bakufu headquarters in Kyoto to reach all levels of society. Zen Buddhism played a large role in spreading not only religious but also artistic influences, especially those derived from painting of the Chinese Song (960-1279), Yuan, and Ming dynasties. The proximity of the imperial court to the bakufu resulted in a commingling of imperial family members, courtiers, daimyÅ, samurai, and Zen priests. Art of all kinds-architecture, literature, Noh drama, comedy, poetry, the tea ceremony, landscape gardening, and flower arranging-all flourished during Muromachi times.
Shintoism
There also was renewed interest in Shinto, which had quietly coexisted with Buddhism during the centuries of the latter's predominance. In fact, Shinto, which lacked its own scriptures and had few prayers, as a result of syncretic practices begun in the Nara period, had widely adopted Shingon Buddhist rituals. Between the eighth and fourteenth centuries, Shintoism was nearly totally absorbed by Buddhism and became known as Ryobu Shinto (Dual Shinto). The Mongol invasions in the late thirteenth century, however, had evoked a national consciousness of the role of the kamikaze in defeating the enemy. Less than fifty years later (1339-43), Kitabatake Chikafusa (1293-1354), the chief commander of the Southern Court forces, wrote the Jin'nÅshÅtÅki (神皇æ£çµ±è¨˜, Chronicle of the Direct Descent of the Divine Sovereigns). This chronicle emphasized the importance of maintaining the divine descent of the imperial line from Amaterasu to the current emperor, a condition that gave Japan a special national polity (kokutai). Besides reenforcing the concept of the emperor as a deity, the Jin'nÅshÅtÅki provided a Shinto view of history, which stressed the divine nature of all Japanese and the country's spiritual supremacy over China and India. As a result, a change gradually occurred in the balance between the dual Buddhist-Shinto religious practices. Between the fourteenth and seventeenth centuries, Shinto reemerged as the primary belief system, developed its own philosophy and scripture (based on Confucian and Buddhist canons), and became a powerful nationalistic force.
Western influence
By the end of the Muromachi period, the first Europeans had arrived. The Portuguese landed in southern KyÅ«shÅ« in 1543 and within two years were making regular port calls, initiating the century-long Nanban trade period. The Spanish arrived in 1587, followed by the Dutch in 1609. The Japanese began to attempt studies of European civilization in depth, and new opportunities were presented for the economy, along with serious political challenges. European firearms, fabrics, glassware, clocks, tobacco, and other Western innovations were traded for Japanese gold and silver. Significant wealth was accumulated through trade, and lesser daimyÅ, especially in KyÅ«shÅ«, greatly increased their power. Provincial wars became more deadly with the introduction of firearms, such as muskets and cannons, and greater use of infantry.
Christianity
Soon after the European traders, Christian missionaries arrived and began winning converts to their new religion. Christianity had an impact on Japan, largely through the efforts of the Jesuits, led first by Saint Francis Xavier (1506-1552), who arrived in Kagoshima in southern Kyūshū in 1549. Both peasants and daimyo and merchants seeking better trade arrangements with the Portuguese were among the converts. Xavier wrote of the Japanese that they were "the best who have as yet been discovered, and it seems to me that we shall never find among the heathens another race to equal the Japanese."
By 1560 Kyoto had become another major area of missionary activity in Japan. In 1568 the port of Nagasaki, in northwestern Kyūshū, was established by a Christian daimyo and was turned over to Jesuit administration in 1579. By 1582 there were as many as 150,000 converts (two percent of the population) and two hundred churches. But bakufu tolerance for this alien influence diminished as the country became more unified and openness decreased. Proscriptions against Christianity began in 1587 and outright persecutions in 1597. Although foreign trade was still encouraged, it was closely regulated, and by 1640 the exclusion and suppression of Christianity had become national policy.
