Ashikaga Yoshimitsu: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia

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{{Short description|Third shōgun of the Ashikaga shogunate of Japan (1358–1408)}}

{{Japanese name|Ashikaga}}

{{family name hatnote|Ashikaga|lang=Japanese}}

{{Infobox officeholder

| name = Ashikaga Yoshimitsu<br />{{lang|ja|足利 義満}}

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| predecessor = [[Ashikaga Yoshiakira]]

| successor = [[Ashikaga Yoshimochi]]

| signature = Ashikaga Yoshimitsu kao.jpg

| spouse = {{plainlist|

* ''Wife:''<br />[[{{ill|Hino Nariko]]|ja|日野業子|vertical-align=sup}}

* ''Concubine:''<br />[[Hino Yasuko]]

''Among others...''

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| children = {{plainlist|

* [[Ashikaga Yoshimochi]]

* [[Ashikaga Yoshitsugu]]

* [[Ashikaga Yoshinori]]

* [[Gishō]]

''Among others...''

}}

| parents = {{Plainlist|

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}}

[[Image:Kinkaku3402CBcropped.jpg|thumb|Kinkakuji Temple, the Golden Pavilion at [[Kinkaku-ji]], originated as the villa of Ashikaga Yoshimitsu.]]

{{nihongo|'''Ashikaga Yoshimitsu'''|足利 義満||extra=September 25, 1358 – May 31, 1408}} was the 3rdthird ''[[shōgun]]'' of the [[Ashikaga shogunate]], which was in powerruling from 1368 to 1394 during the [[Muromachi period]] of [[Japan]]. Yoshimitsu was [[Ashikaga Yoshiakira]]'s third son but the oldest son to survive, his childhood name being Haruō ({{lang|ja|春王}}). Yoshimitsu was appointed ''shōgun'', a hereditary title as head of the military estate, in 1368 at the age of ten; at twenty he was admitted to the imperial court as Acting Grand Counselor (''Gon Dainagon'' {{lang|ja|権大納言}}).

In 1379, Yoshimitsu reorganized the institutional framework of the Gozan Zen {{lang|ja|五山禅}} establishment before, two years later, becoming the first person of the [[Samurai|warrior]] (samurai) class to host a reigning emperor at his private residence. In 1392, he negotiated the end of the [[Nanboku-chō period|Nanboku-chō]] imperial schism that had plagued politics for over half a century. Two years later he became Grand Chancellor of State (''Dajō[[Daijō-daijin|Daijō daijin]]'' {{lang|ja|太政大臣}}), the highest-ranking member of the imperial court.

Retiring from that and all public offices in 1395, Yoshimitsu took the tonsure and moved into his Kitayama-dono ({{lang|ja|北山殿}}) retirement villa which, among other things, boasted a pavilion two-thirds covered in gold leaf (''Kinkaku shariden'' {{lang|ja|金閣舎利殿}}). There, he received envoys from the [[Ming dynasty|Ming]] and [[Joseon]] courts on at least six occasions and forged the terms of a Sino-Japanese trade agreement that endured for over a century. In recognition for his diplomatic efforts (and overt displays of subservience), the Chinese sovereign pronounced Yoshimitsu "King of Japan" (''Nihon kokuō'' {{lang|ja|日本国王}}).

In 1407, he set into motion a plan to become "DajōDaijō tenno" ({{lang|ja|太上天皇}}), a title customarily applied to a retired emperor. Although unrealized due to his sudden death the following year, this last venture was particularly audacious because Yoshimitsu never actually sat on the Japanese throne.<ref>Stavros, Matthew, and Norika Kurioka. "Imperial Progress to the Muromachi Palace, 1381 A Study and Annotated Translation of Sakayuku Hana". ''Japan Review'' 28 (2015): 3–46. https://www.jstor.org/stable/43684115</ref> Late in his career, it appears Yoshimitsu sought to legitimize his transcendent authority through the idiom of Buddhist kingship, deploying ritual, symbols, and monumentalism to cast him as a universal monarch or dharma king, not unlike his counterparts in Southeast Asia.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Stavros|first=Matthew|date=December 2017|title=Monuments and Mandalas in Medieval Kyoto: Reading Buddhist Kingship in the Urban Plan of Ashikaga Yoshimitsu|url=https://hjas.org/issues/december-2017|journal=Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies|volume=77|issue=2|pages=321–361|via=Project Muse|doi=10.1353/jas.2017.0029|s2cid=194880921}}</ref> His posthumous name was Rokuon'in ({{lang|ja|鹿苑院}}).

==TimelineBiography==

*In 1368 – Yoshimitsu was appointed ''shōgun'';<ref name="Sansom2">{{Cite book |last=Sansom |first=George |title=A History of Japan, 1334-1615 |publisher=Stanford University Press |year=1961 |isbn=0804705259 |pages=108–109}}</ref> at the same time Emperor [[Emperor Chōkei|Chōkei]] ascends the southern throne. In the following year, the Southern Court samurai [[Kusunoki Masanori]] who was under the employ of the emperor defects to the Ashikaga bakufu (but would later defect again to royalist forces under Emperor [[Emperor Go-Kameyama|Kameyama]] in 1380). However, Kusunoki was defeated in 1390.<ref name="ackroyd329">Ackroyd, Joyce. (1982) ''Lessons from History: The "Tokushi Yoron",'' p. 329.</ref>▼

{{prose|date=November 2015}}

Significant events shape the period during which Yoshimitsu was ''shōgun'':

▲* 1368 – Yoshimitsu appointed ''shōgun'';<ref name=Sansom2>{{Cite book |last=Sansom |first=George |title=A History of Japan, 1334-1615 |publisher=Stanford University Press |year=1961 |isbn=0804705259 |pages=108–109}}</ref> [[Emperor Chōkei|Chōkei]] ascends southern throne.<ref name="ackroyd329">Ackroyd, Joyce. (1982) ''Lessons from History: The "Tokushi Yoron",'' p. 329.</ref>

* 1369 – [[Kusunoki Masanori]] defects to Ashikaga.<ref name="ackroyd329"/>

* 1370 – [[Imagawa Sadayo]] sent to subdue Kyushu.<ref name="ackroyd329"/>

* 1371 – Attempts to arrange truce.<ref name="ackroyd329"/>

* 1373–1406 – Embassies between China and Japan.<ref name="ackroyd329"/>

* 1374 – [[Emperor Go-En'yū|En'yū]] ascends northern throne.<ref name="ackroyd329"/>

* 1378 – Yoshimitsu builds the [[Muromachi palace]] in Kyoto's elite district of Kamigyo, on the site of the former residence of the nobleman Saionji Sanekane.<ref name="a555">Stavros, Matthew. (2009) "Locational Pedigree and Warrior Status in Medieval Kyoto: The Residences of Ashikaga Yoshimitsu", in ''Japanese Studies'' (vol. 29, no. 1, May) p. 8.</ref>▼

* 1379 – [[Shiba Yoshimasa]] becomes ''[[Kanrei]]''.<ref name="ackroyd329"/>

* 1380 – [[Kusunoki Masanori]] rejoins [[Emperor Go-Kameyama|Kameyama]]; southern army suffers reverses.<ref name="ackroyd329"/>

* 1382 – Go-Komatsu ascends northern throne; resurgence of southern army.<ref name="ackroyd329"/>

* 1383 – Yoshimitsu's honors; Go-Kameyama ascends southern throne.<ref name="ackroyd329"/>

* 1385 – Southern army defeated at [[Koga Domain|Koga]].<ref name="ackroyd329"/>

* 1387–1389 – Dissension in Toki family in [[Mino Province|Mino]].<ref name="ackroyd329"/>

* 1389 – Yoshimitsu pacifies Kyūshū and distributes lands; Yoshimitsu opposed by Kamakura ''kanrei'' [[Ashikaga Ujimitsu]].<ref name="ackroyd329"/>

* 1390 – Kusunoki defeated; Yamana Ujikiyo chastises Tokinaga.<ref name="ackroyd329"/>

* 1391 – Yamana Ujikyo attacks Kyoto – Meitoku War.<ref name="ackroyd330">Ackroyd, p. 330.</ref>

* 1392 – Northern and Southern courts reconciled under [[Go-Komatsu]].<ref name="ackroyd330"/>

* 1394 – Yoshimitsu officially cedes his position to his son;<ref>Titsingh, {{Google books|18oNAAAAIAAJ|p. 321.|page=321}}</ref> [[Ashikaga Yoshimochi]] appointed ''shōgun''.<ref name="ackroyd330"/>

* 1396 – Imagawa Sadayo dismissed.<ref name="ackroyd330"/>

* 1397 – Uprising in Kyūshū suppressed.<ref name="ackroyd330"/>

* 1398 – Muromachi administration organized.<ref name="ackroyd330"/>

* 1399 – [[Ōuchi Yoshihiro]] and [[Ashikaga Mitsukane]] rebel – Ōei War.<ref name="ackroyd330"/>

* 1402 – Uprising in Mutsu suppressed.<ref name="ackroyd330"/>

* 1404 – Yoshimitsu is recognized as ''Nippon Koku-Ō'' (King of Japan) by [[Yongle Emperor]].

* 1408 – Yoshimitsu dies.<ref name="ackroyd330"/>

While in 1370, the renowned commander [[Imagawa Sadayo]] was sent to subdue [[Kyushu]]; the region would later be pacified by 1389, which leads to Yoshimitsu distributing lands there.<ref name="ackroyd329" /> There was an uprising in Kyushu but this was later suppressed in 1397 (another uprising in [[Mutsu Province|Mutsu]] was suppressed in 1402).<ref name="ackroyd330">Ackroyd, p. 330.</ref>

==Muromachi==

Yoshimitsu constructed his residential headquarters along Muromachi Road in the northern part of [[Kyoto]] in 1378. As a result, in Japanese, the [[Ashikaga shogunate]] and the corresponding time period are often referred to as the [[Muromachi shogunate]] and Muromachi period.<ref>Morton, W. Scott ''et al.'' (2004). {{Google books|NC1bDncgKCQC| ''Japan: Its History and Culture,'' p. 89.|page=89}}</ref>

The southern army suffered reverses in 1380 but enjoyed a resurgence in 1382. The [[Koga Domain]], a region of the Southern army was defeated in 1385.<ref name="ackroyd329" />

Yoshimitsu resolved the rift between the [[Northern Court|Northern]] and [[Southern Court]]s in 1392, when he persuaded [[Emperor Go-Kameyama|Go-Kameyama]] of the Southern Court to hand over the [[Imperial Regalia of Japan|Imperial Regalia]] to [[Emperor Go-Komatsu]] of the Northern Court. Yoshimitsu's greatest political achievement was that he managed to bring about the end to ''[[Nanboku-chō]]'' fighting. This event had the effect of firmly establishing the authority of the Muromachi shogunate and suppressing the power of the regional age{{clarify|reason=What does "age" refer to?|date=January 2018}} ''[[daimyō]]s'' who might challenge that central authority.<ref>Turnbull, Stephen. (2005). {{Google books|EfevtkR8pJkC|''Samurai Commanders'', p. 31.|page=31}}</ref>▼

In 1392, the Northern and Southern courts were reconciled under Emperor [[Go-Komatsu]].<ref name="ackroyd330" /> Yoshimitsu officially ceded his position to his son [[Ashikaga Yoshimochi]] in 1394 who was appointed the new ''shōgun''. The Muromachi administration was later organized in 1398.<ref name="ackroyd330" /><ref>Titsingh, {{Google books|18oNAAAAIAAJ|p. 321.|page=321}}</ref> Although Yoshimitsu retired in 1394, the old ''shōgun'' did not abandon any of his powers. Yoshimitsu continued to maintain authority over the shogunate until his death.<ref name="titsingh325">Titsingh, {{Google books|18oNAAAAIAAJ|p. 325.|page=325}}</ref> Yoshimitsu is recognized as ''Nippon Koku-Ō'' (King of Japan) by [[Yongle Emperor]] in 1404.<ref name="ackroyd330" />

Concordant with increased communication between the Muromachi Shogunate and the Ming Dynasty in modern day China, during this period Japan received a significant influx of Ming influence to its economic system, architecture, philosophy and religion, and writing.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://mie-u.repo.nii.ac.jp/?action=pages_view_main&active_action=repository_view_main_item_detail&item_id=6709&item_no=1&page_id=13&block_id=21|title=日本の中国観 ― 中世・近世 ― : 日中比較文化学の視点}}</ref>

Yoshimitsu died suddenly in 1408<ref name="titsingh325" /> at age 5049.<ref>Turnbull, [https://books.google.com/books?id=EfevtkR8pJkC&pg=PA31 p. 32.]</ref> After his death, his retirement villa (near Kyoto) became [[Rokuon-ji]], which today is famous for its three-storied, gold-leaf covered reliquary known as "Kinkaku". So famous is this single structure, in fact, that the entire temple itself is often identified as the [[Kinkaku-ji]], the Temple of the Golden Pavilion. A statue of Yoshimitsu is found there today.<ref>Pier, Garrett. (1915). {{Google books|3wBDAAAAIAAJ|''Temple Treasures of Japan,'' pp. 228–237.|page=228}}</ref>▼

Although Yoshimitsu retired in 1394 and his son was confirmed as the fourth ''shōgun'' [[Ashikaga Yoshimochi]], the old ''shōgun'' did not abandon any of his powers. Yoshimitsu continued to maintain authority over the shogunate until his death.<ref name="titsingh325">Titsingh, {{Google books|18oNAAAAIAAJ|p. 325.|page=325}}</ref>

==Contributions==

Yoshimitsu also played a major role in the genesis of [[Noh]] theatre, as the patron and lover of [[Zeami Motokiyo]], the actor considered to be Noh's founder, whom Yoshimitsu encouraged to give a loftier treatment to his art.<ref>{{cite book|author=Louis Crompton|title=Homosexuality and Civilization|url=https://archive.org/details/homosexualityciv00crom|url-access=registration|publisher=Harvard University Press|year=2003|page=[https://archive.org/details/homosexualityciv00crom/page/424 424]}}</ref>▼

▲Yoshimitsu resolved the rift between the [[Northern Court|Northern]] and [[Southern Court]]s in 1392, when he persuaded [[Emperor Go-Kameyama|Go-Kameyama]] of the Southern Court to hand over the [[Imperial Regalia of Japan|Imperial Regalia]] to [[Emperor Go-Komatsu]] of the Northern Court. Yoshimitsu's greatest political achievement was that he managed to bring about the end to ''constant fighting during the [[Nanboku-chō]]'' fightingperiod. This event had the effect of firmly establishing the authority of the Muromachi shogunate and suppressing the power of the regional age{{clarify|reason=What does "age" refer to?|date=January 2018}} ''[[daimyō]]s'' who might challenge that central authority.<ref>Turnbull, Stephen. (2005). {{Google books|EfevtkR8pJkC|''Samurai Commanders'', p. 31.|page=31}}</ref>

Concordant with increased communication between the Muromachi Shogunate and the Ming dynasty in what is now China, during this period Japan received a significant influx of Ming influence to its economic system, architecture, philosophy and religion, and writing.<ref>{{Cite journal |date=27 March 2015 |title=日本の中国観 ― 中世・近世 ― : 日中比較文化学の視点 |url=https://mie-u.repo.nii.ac.jp/?action=pages_view_main&active_action=repository_view_main_item_detail&item_id=6709&item_no=1&page_id=13&block_id=21 |journal=三重大学国際交流センター紀要 |volume=10 |pages=35–46}}</ref> The embassies of Japan and China encountered communications between 1373–1406.<ref name="ackroyd329" /> During this time, Yohimitsu accepted the title "King of Japan" from the Ming Dynasty, even though the official sovereign of Japan still resided in Kyōto. Yoshimitsu was the first and only Japanese leader in the early modern period to accept a title from China.<ref>Howe, Christopher. The Origins of Japanese Trade Supremacy: Development and Technology in Asia. p. 337</ref>

▲Yoshimitsu died suddenly in 1408<ref name="titsingh325"/> at age 50.<ref>Turnbull, [https://books.google.com/books?id=EfevtkR8pJkC&pg=PA31 p. 32.]</ref> After his death, his retirement villa (near Kyoto) became [[Rokuon-ji]], which today is famous for its three-storied, gold-leaf covered reliquary known as "Kinkaku". So famous is this single structure, in fact, that the entire temple itself is often identified as the [[Kinkaku-ji]], the Temple of the Golden Pavilion. A statue of Yoshimitsu is found there today.<ref>Pier, Garrett. (1915). {{Google books|3wBDAAAAIAAJ|''Temple Treasures of Japan,'' pp. 228–237.|page=228}}</ref>

▲* 1378 – Yoshimitsu buildscommissions the [[Muromachi palace]] in Kyoto's elite district of Kamigyo in 1378, on the site of the former residence of the nobleman Saionji Sanekane.<ref name="a555">Stavros, Matthew. (2009) "Locational Pedigree and Warrior Status in Medieval Kyoto: The Residences of Ashikaga Yoshimitsu", in ''Japanese Studies'' (vol. 29, no. 1, May) p. 8.</ref>

▲YoshimitsuHe also played a major role in the genesis of [[Noh]] theatre, as the patron and lover of [[Zeami Motokiyo]], the actor considered to be Noh's founder, whom Yoshimitsu encouraged to give a loftier treatment to his art.<ref>{{cite book|author=Louis Crompton|title=Homosexuality and Civilization|url=https://archive.org/details/homosexualityciv00crom|url-access=registration|publisher=Harvard University Press|year=2003|page=[https://archive.org/details/homosexualityciv00crom/page/424 424]|isbn=9780674011977}}</ref>

The [[Ashikaga shogunate]] and the corresponding time period are often referred to as the [[Muromachi shogunate]] or the Muromachi period in Japanese historiography because Yoshimitsu constructed his residential headquarters along the Muromachi Road in the northern part of [[Kyoto]] in 1378.<ref>Morton, W. Scott ''et al.'' (2004). {{Google books|NC1bDncgKCQC|''Japan: Its History and Culture,'' p. 89.|page=89}}</ref>

==Family==

* Father: [[Ashikaga Yoshiakira]]

* Mother: KinoKi no Yoshiko (1336–1413) (among others){{clarify|reason="Among other" mothers?|date=January 2018}}

* Wife: Hino Nariko (1351–1405)

* Concubines:

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==Eras of Yoshimitsu's ''bakufu''==

The years in which Yoshimitsu was ''shōgun'' are more specifically identified by more than one [[Japanese era names|era name]] or ''[[nengō]]''.<ref>Titsingh, {{Google books|18oNAAAAIAAJ|pp. 308–321.|page=308}}</ref>

'''''Nanboku-chō'' southern court'''

*Eras as reckoned by legitimate Court (as determined by Meiji rescript):

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'''''Post-Nanboku-chō'' reunified court'''

*Eras merged as ''Meitoku'' 3 replaced ''Genchū'' 9 as Go-Kameyama abdicated.

** ''[[Meitoku]]'' (1393–13841393–1394)‡

** ''[[Ōei]]'' (1394–1428)

==Notes References ==

{{Reflist|1}}

==ReferencesSources==

* [[Joyce Ackroyd|Ackroyd, Joyce I.]] (1982) ''Lessons from History: the Tokushi Yoron''. Brisbane: University of Queensland Press. {{ISBN|9780702214851}}; [httphttps://www.worldcat.org/title/lessons-from-history-the-tokushi-yoron/oclc/7574544&referer=brief_results OCLC 7574544]

* Morton, W. Scott and J. Kenneth Olenik. (1973). ''Japan: Its History and Culture''. Newton Abbot, Devon: David & Charles. {{ISBN|9780715357682}}; [httphttps://www.worldcat.org/title/japan-its-history-and-culture/oclc/462186835?referer=di&ht=edition OCLC 462186835]

* Pier, Garrett Chatfield. (1914). [https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_3wBDAAAAIAAJ <!-- quote=Ashikaga Yoshimitsu. --> ''Temple Treasures of Japan''.] New York: Frederick Fairchild Sherman. [httphttps://www.worldcat.org/title/temple-treasures-of-japan/oclc/535337&referer=brief_results OCLC 535337]

* Stavros, Matthew, and Norika Kurioka. "Imperial Progress to the Muromachi Palace, 1381 A Study and Annotated Translation of Sakayuku Hana". ''Japan Review'' 28 (2015): 3–46. <nowiki>https://www.jstor.org/stable/{{JSTOR|43684115</nowiki>}}

* Stavros, Matthew (December 2017). "Monuments and Mandalas in Medieval Kyoto: Reading Buddhist Kingship in the Urban Plan of Ashikaga Yoshimitsu". ''Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies''. '''77''': 321–361

* [[Isaac Titsingh|Titsingh, Isaac.]] (1834). ''[[Nihon Ōdai Ichiran]]''; ou, [https://books.google.com/books?id=18oNAAAAIAAJ&dq=nipon+o+dai+itsi+ran ''Annales des empereurs du Japon''.] Paris: Royal Asiatic Society, Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland. [httphttps://www.worldcat.org/title/nipon-o-dai-itsi-ran-ou-annales-des-empereurs-du-japon/oclc/5850691 OCLC 585069]

* [[Stephen Turnbull (historian)|Turnbull]], Stephen. (2005). ''Samurai Commanders''. Oxford: Osprey Press. {{ISBN|9781841767437}}; {{ISBN|9781841767444}}; [httphttps://www.worldcat.org/title/samurai-commanders/oclc/60834971&referer=brief_results OCLC 60834971]

* Worden, Robert L. (1994). [http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/jptoc.html "Kamakura and Muromachi Periods, 1185–1573; Economic and Cultural Developments"], ''A Country Study: Japan''. Washington, D.C.: [[Federal Research Division]], [[Library of Congress]].

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{{Ashikaga dynasty (Japan)}}

{{Ashikaga chronology (Japan)}}

{{Shoguns}}

{{Daijō-daijin}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ashikaga, Yoshimitsu}}

[[Category:1358 births]]

[[Category:1408 deaths]]

[[Category:14th-century Buddhist nunsmonks]]

[[Category:15th-century Buddhist nunsmonks]]

[[Category:Muromachi period Buddhist monksclergy]]

[[Category:Japanese Buddhist monksclergy]]

[[Category:14th-century Japanese people]]

[[Category:15th-century Japanese peopleshōguns]]

[[Category:14th-century shōguns]]

[[Category:Ashikaga shōguns|Yoshimitsu]]

[[Category:Shudo]]

[[Category:Ashikaga clan|Yoshimitsu]]

[[Category:Rinzai Buddhists]]

[[Category:BisexualLGBTQ royalty]]

[[Category:Medieval14th-century LGBTLGBTQ people]]