Ashikaga Yoshiaki

Ashikaga Yoshiaki 足利 義昭
Shōgun
In office 1568–1573
Monarch	Ōgimachi
Preceded by	Ashikaga Yoshihide
Succeeded by	Tokugawa Ieyasu
Personal details
Born	5 December 1537 Ashikaga shogunate
Died	19 October 1597(1597-10-19) (aged 59) Azuchi–Momoyama period
Parents	Ashikaga Yoshiharu (father) Keiju-in, daughter of Konoe Hisamichi (mother)
Signature

Ashikaga Yoshiaki (足利 義昭, 5 December 1537 – 19 October 1597)^[1] was the 15th and final shōgun of the Ashikaga shogunate in Japan who reigned from 1568 to 1573 when he staged a revolt and was overthrown.^[2] His father, Ashikaga Yoshiharu, was the twelfth shōgun, and his brother, Ashikaga Yoshiteru, was the thirteenth shōgun.^[3]

Biography

He was born to Ashikaga Yoshiharu on 5 December 1537.^[1] He entered Kofuku-ji temple as monk, but when his older brother Yoshiteru was killed by the Miyoshi clan, he returned to secular life and took the name "Yoshiaki".^[4] At the time, the Ashikaga shogunate had been severely weakened; its authority was largely ignored across Japan. Regardless, various factions still fought to control the central government, as it still held some prestige despite its dimished status. Ashikaga Yoshiteru attempted to overthrow the Miyoshi who effectively controlled him, but his conspiracies led the Miyoshi and Matsunaga Hisahide to organize a coup d'état as well as force Yoshiteru to commit suicide. They then opted to install Ashikaga Yoshihide as the fourteenth shogun in Kyoto, but were unable to control the capital.^[5]

There was no effective central authority in Kyoto until Ashikaga Yoshiaki was able to enlist warlord Oda Nobunaga to support his cause. The Oda armies entered Kyoto in 1568, re-establishing the Muromachi shogunate under Ashikaga Yoshiaki as a puppet shōgun. This marked the beginning of the Azuchi–Momoyama period. Ashikaga Yoshihide, the fourteenth shōgun, was deposed without ever entering the capital.^[6][7] Before long, Yoshiaki became dissatisfied with Oda Nobunaga's overlordship and tried to regain state power.^[7] In 1569, Yoshiaki's Nijō residence was constructed, becoming a notable symbol of his authority.^[8]

Yoshiaki's revolt and escape

In 1573, Ashikaga Yoshiaki requested the aid of another warlord, Takeda Shingen, in overthrowing the Oda clan. Oda Nobunaga responded by deposing the shogun, forcing him to flee the capital.^[9] Most historians consider this the Ashikaga shogunate's end. Yoshiaki became a Buddhist monk, shaving his head and taking the name Sho-san, which he later changed to Rei-o In.^[10] However, Yoshiaki did not formally relinquish his title as shogun. Accordingly, the empty shell of the Ashikaga shogunate could be said to have continued for several more years. Despite a renewed central authority in Kyoto and Nobunaga's attempt to unify the country, the struggle for power among warring states continued. Yoshiaki acted as a rallying point for anti-Oda forces. He even raised troops himself, and sent them to fight against Nobunaga's army during the Ishiyama Hongan-ji War.^[11] Even after Nobunaga had died in 1582, the former shogun continued his efforts to regain power. According to historian Mary Elizabeth Berry, Yoshiaki still resisted Nobunaga's de facto successor Toyotomi Hideyoshi by 1590.^[12]

He died in 1597.^[9]

Symbols

Ashikaga Yoshiaki's standard was a white Hata-jirushi with golden lettering and a red sun. His banner was white and had "Hachiman Dai Bosatsu" written on it in black.^[9]

Family

• Father: Ashikaga Yoshiharu
• Mother: Keijuin (1514–1565)
• Concubines:
  • Osako no Kata
  • Kosaki no Tsubone
• Children:
  • Ashikaga Yoshihiro (1572–1605)
  • Isshi Yoshitaka
  • Nagayama Yoshiari (1575–1635)
  • Yajima Hideyuki

Eras of Yoshiaki's bakufu

The span of years in which Yoshiaki was shōgun are more specifically identified by more than one era name or nengō.^[13]

• Eiroku (1558–1570)
• Genki (1570–1573)
• Tenshō (1573–1592)

Notes

References

• Ackroyd, Joyce. (1982) Lessons from History: the Tokushi Yoron. Brisbane: University of Queensland Press. ISBN 9780702214851; OCLC 7574544
• Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). Nihon Ōdai Ichiran; ou, Annales des empereurs du Japon. Paris: Royal Asiatic Society, Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland. OCLC 585069
• Berry, Mary Elizabeth (1982). Hideyoshi. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. ISBN 9780674390256.
• Turnbull, Stephen (2004) [1st pub. 1998]. The Samurai Sourcebook (3rd ed.). London: Cassell. ISBN 1-85409-523-4.
• Sansom, George (1961). A History of Japan, 1334–1615. Stanford University Press. ISBN 0804705259.

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Ashikaga family tree

adoption

(1305-1358) Takauji(1) r. 1338-1358

(1330-1368) Yoshiakira(2) r. 1358-1367

(1358-1408) Yoshimitsu(3) r. 1367-1395

(1386-1428) Yoshimochi(4) r. 1395-1423

(1394-1441) Yoshinori(6) r. 1429-1441

(1407-1425) Yoshikazu(5) r. 1423-1425

(1433-1443) Yoshikatsu(7) r. 1442-1443

(1435-1491) Masatomo

(1436-1490) Yoshimasa(8) r. 1449-1474

(1439-1491) Yoshimi

(1481-1511) Yoshizumi(11) r. 1494-1508

(1465-1489) Yoshihisa(9) r. 1474-1489

(1466-1523) Yoshitane(10) r. 1490-1493, 1508-1521

(1509-1573) Yoshitsuna 1509-1573

(1510-1550) Yoshiharu(12) r. 1521-1545

(1538-1568) Yoshihide(14) r. 1568

(1535-1565) Yoshiteru(13) r. 1545-1565

(1537-1597) Yoshiaki(15) r. 1568-1573

References:

• 新井 (Arai), 白石 (Hakuseki) (1982). Lessons from History: The Tokushi Yoron. University of Queensland Press. pp. 298, 385. ISBN 978-0-7022-1485-1.
• Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric; Roth, Käthe (2002). Japan Encyclopedia. Oriental Translation Fund. pp. 55–57. ISBN 978-0-674-01753-5.