Portrait traditionally identified as that of Ashikaga Takauji
According to Zen master and intellectual Musō Soseki, who enjoyed his favor and collaborated with him, Takauji had three qualities. First, he kept his cool in battle and was not afraid of death.[4] Second, he was merciful and tolerant.[4] Third, he was very generous with those below him.[4]
His childhood name was Matagorō (又太郎). Takauji was a general of the Kamakura shogunate sent to Kyoto in 1333 to put down the Genkō War which had started in 1331. After becoming increasingly disillusioned with the Kamakura shogunate over time, Takauji joined the banished Emperor Go-Daigo and Kusunoki Masashige, and seized Kyoto. Soon after, Nitta Yoshisada joined their cause, and laid siege to Kamakura. When the city fell to Nitta, the Shogunal regent, Hōjō Takatoki, and his clansmen committed suicide. This ended the Kamakura shogunate, as well as the Hōjō clan's power and influence. Go-Daigo was enthroned once more as emperor, reestablishing the primacy of the Imperial court in Kyoto and starting the so-called Kenmu Restoration.[5]: 15–21
However, shortly thereafter, the samurai clans became increasingly disillusioned with the reestablished imperial court, which sought to return to the social and political systems of the Heian period. Sensing their discontent, Takauji pleaded with the emperor to do something before rebellion would break out, however his warnings were ignored.[5]
Hōjō Tokiyuki, son of Takatoki, took the opportunity to start the Nakasendai rebellion to try to reestablish the shogunate in Kamakura in 1335. Takauji put down the rebellion and took Kamakura for himself. Taking up the cause of his fellow samurai, he claimed the title of Sei-i Taishōgun and allotted land to his followers without permission from the court. Takauji announced his allegiance to the imperial court, but Emperor Go-Daigo sent Nitta Yoshisada to reclaim Kamakura.[5]: 37–39
Takauji defeated Yoshisada in the battles of Sanoyama and Mishima. This cleared the path for Takauji and Tadayoshi to march on to Kyoto.[5]: 39–41 He captured Kyoto for a few days in February 1336, only to be driven out and fled to Kyūshū due to the arrival of forces under Prince Takanaga, Prince Norinaga, Kitabatake Akiie and Yūki Munehiro.[5]: 43
After Takauji and his brother were forced to retreat to the west, he then allied himself with the clans native to Kyūshū. After defeating the Kikuchi clan at Hakata Bay in the Battle of Tatarahama (1336), Takauji was "virtually master of Kyushu".[attribution needed][5]: 44–47 His brother advanced simultaneously by land and both reached the environs of present-day Kobe in July.[5]: 48–50
At the decisive Battle of Minatogawa in 1336, Takauji defeated Yoshisada again and killed Masashige, allowing him to seize Kyoto for good. Emperor Kōmyō of the illegitimate Northern Court (see below) was installed as emperor by Takauji in opposition to the exiled Southern Court, beginning the turbulent Northern and Southern Court period (Nanbokuchō), which saw two emperors fight each other and which would last for almost 60 years.[6]
Besides other honors, Emperor Go-Daigo had given Takauji the title of Chinjufu-shōgun, or Commander-in-chief of the Defense of the North, and the courtly title of the Fourth Rank, Junior Grade.[3][7] His Buddhist name was Tojiinden Niyama Myogi dai koji Chojuji-dono (等持院殿仁山妙義大居士長寿寺殿).
1350 – Tadayoshi, excluded from administration, turns priest;[9] Tadayoshi's adopted son, Ashikaga Tadafuyu is wrongly repudiated as a rebel.[10]
1351–1358 – Struggle for Kyoto.
1351 – Tadayoshi joins Southern Court, southern army takes Kyoto; truce, Takauji returns to Kyoto; Tadayoshi and Takauji reconciled; Kō no Moronao and Kō no Moroyasu are exiled.[9]
Takauji's son Ashikaga Yoshiakira succeeded him as shōgun after his death. His grandson Ashikaga Yoshimitsu united the Northern and Southern courts in 1392.
Eras of Takauji's bakufu
Because of the anomalous situation, which he had himself created and which saw two Emperors reign simultaneously, one in Yoshino and one in Kyoto, the years in which Takauji was shōgun as reckoned by the Gregorian calendar are identified in Japanese historical records by two different series of Japanese era names (nengō), that following the datation used by the legitimate Southern Court and that formulated by the pretender Northern Court.[12]
Eras as reckoned by the Southern Court (declared legitimate by a Meiji era decree because in possession at the time of the Japanese Imperial Regalia):
Eras as reckoned by the pretender Northern Court (declared illegitimate by a Meiji era decree because not in possession at the time of the Japanese Imperial Regalia):
The story of Ashikaga Takauji, Emperor Go-Daigo, Nitta Yoshisada, and Kusunoki Masashige from the Genko rebellion to the establishment of the Northern and Southern Courts is detailed in the 40 volume Muromachi period epic Taiheiki.
^His name had originally been written with the characters 高氏，but he later received from Emperor Go-Daigo the right to use those 尊氏, under which he would become famous. According to Sansom (1977:87), in contemporary chronicles he is rarely called with his name, but referred to as Ō-gosho (大御所, Great shōgun) or Dainagon (Great Councillor).
Ackroyd, Joyce I. (1982) Lessons from History: the Tokushi Yoron. Brisbane: University of Queensland Press. ISBN9780702214851; OCLC 7574544
Matsuo, Kenji. (1997). 中世都市鎌倉をく: 源頼朝から上杉謙信まで (Chūsei toshi Kamakura o aruku: Minamoto no Yoritomo kara Uesugi Kenshin made). Tokyo: Chūkō Shinsho. ISBN9784121013927; OCLC 38970710
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
External links
Media related to Ashikaga Takauji at Wikimedia Commons
ashikaga, takauji, this, japanese, name, surname, ashikaga, 足利, 尊氏, august, 1305, june, 1358, founder, first, shōgun, ashikaga, shogunate, rule, began, 1338, beginning, muromachi, period, japan, ended, with, death, 1358, male, line, descendant, samurai, minamo. In this Japanese name the surname is Ashikaga Ashikaga Takauji 足利 尊氏 August 18 1305 June 7 1358 1 was the founder and first shōgun of the Ashikaga shogunate 2 His rule began in 1338 beginning the Muromachi period of Japan and ended with his death in 1358 3 He was a male line descendant of the samurai of the Minamoto Seiwa Genji line meaning they were descendants of Emperor Seiwa who had settled in the Ashikaga area of Shimotsuke Province in present day Tochigi Prefecture Ashikaga Takauji足利 尊氏ShōgunIn office 1338 1358MonarchsGo Daigo Go MurakamiPreceded byPrince Narinaga Kenmu Restoration Succeeded byAshikaga YoshiakiraPersonal detailsBornAugust 18 1305Uesugi shō Ayabe Kyoto orKamakura Kanagawa or Ashikaga Tochigi JapanDiedJune 7 1358 1358 06 07 aged 52 Masuya chō Kamigyō ku Kyoto JapanRelationsAshikaga Takayoshi older brother Ashikaga Tadayoshi younger brother ChildrenAshikaga Yoshiakira Ashikaga Motouji Tsur ō Ashikaga TakewakamaruParentsAshikaga Sadauji Uesugi KiyokoSignaturePortrait traditionally identified as that of Ashikaga Takauji According to Zen master and intellectual Musō Soseki who enjoyed his favor and collaborated with him Takauji had three qualities First he kept his cool in battle and was not afraid of death 4 Second he was merciful and tolerant 4 Third he was very generous with those below him 4 Contents 1 Life 2 Family 3 Family tree 4 Timeline of shogunate 5 Eras of Takauji s bakufu 6 Literary references 7 Honours 8 References 9 Sources 10 External linksLife Edit Ashikaga Takauji s ō yoroi shoulder guards missing here Kamakura or Muromachi period early 14th century The Metropolitan Museum of Art His childhood name was Matagorō 又太郎 Takauji was a general of the Kamakura shogunate sent to Kyoto in 1333 to put down the Genkō War which had started in 1331 After becoming increasingly disillusioned with the Kamakura shogunate over time Takauji joined the banished Emperor Go Daigo and Kusunoki Masashige and seized Kyoto Soon after Nitta Yoshisada joined their cause and laid siege to Kamakura When the city fell to Nitta the Shogunal regent Hōjō Takatoki and his clansmen committed suicide This ended the Kamakura shogunate as well as the Hōjō clan s power and influence Go Daigo was enthroned once more as emperor reestablishing the primacy of the Imperial court in Kyoto and starting the so called Kenmu Restoration 5 15 21 However shortly thereafter the samurai clans became increasingly disillusioned with the reestablished imperial court which sought to return to the social and political systems of the Heian period Sensing their discontent Takauji pleaded with the emperor to do something before rebellion would break out however his warnings were ignored 5 Hōjō Tokiyuki son of Takatoki took the opportunity to start the Nakasendai rebellion to try to reestablish the shogunate in Kamakura in 1335 Takauji put down the rebellion and took Kamakura for himself Taking up the cause of his fellow samurai he claimed the title of Sei i Taishōgun and allotted land to his followers without permission from the court Takauji announced his allegiance to the imperial court but Emperor Go Daigo sent Nitta Yoshisada to reclaim Kamakura 5 37 39 Tomb of Ashikaga Takauji at Tōji in in KyotoTakauji defeated Yoshisada in the battles of Sanoyama and Mishima This cleared the path for Takauji and Tadayoshi to march on to Kyoto 5 39 41 He captured Kyoto for a few days in February 1336 only to be driven out and fled to Kyushu due to the arrival of forces under Prince Takanaga Prince Norinaga Kitabatake Akiie and Yuki Munehiro 5 43 After Takauji and his brother were forced to retreat to the west he then allied himself with the clans native to Kyushu After defeating the Kikuchi clan at Hakata Bay in the Battle of Tatarahama 1336 Takauji was virtually master of Kyushu attribution needed 5 44 47 His brother advanced simultaneously by land and both reached the environs of present day Kobe in July 5 48 50 At the decisive Battle of Minatogawa in 1336 Takauji defeated Yoshisada again and killed Masashige allowing him to seize Kyoto for good Emperor Kōmyō of the illegitimate Northern Court see below was installed as emperor by Takauji in opposition to the exiled Southern Court beginning the turbulent Northern and Southern Court period Nanbokuchō which saw two emperors fight each other and which would last for almost 60 years 6 Besides other honors Emperor Go Daigo had given Takauji the title of Chinjufu shōgun or Commander in chief of the Defense of the North and the courtly title of the Fourth Rank Junior Grade 3 7 His Buddhist name was Tojiinden Niyama Myogi dai koji Chojuji dono 等持院殿仁山妙義大居士長寿寺殿 Family EditParents and siblings Father Ashikaga Sadauji 足利 貞氏 1273 1331 Mother Uesugi Kiyoko 上杉 清子 1270 1343 Siblings Half siblings Ashikaga Takayoshi 足利高義 1297 1317 Natural Siblings Ashikaga Maagoro Ashikaga Tadayoshi 足利 直義 Consorts and issue Wife Akahashi Toshi 赤橋 登子 1306 4 May 1365 Son Ashikaga Yoshiakira 足利 義詮 July 4 1330 December 28 1367 Son Ashikaga Motouji 足利基氏 1340 1367 Daughter Tsur ō 鶴王 d 1353 Concubine Kako no Tsubone Son Ashikaga Takewakamaru 足利 竹若丸 d 1333 8 Concubine Echizen no Tsubone 越前局 Adopted son Ashikaga Tadafuyu 足利 直冬 1327 1387 Concubine Unknown name Daughter Unknown name d 2 October 1342 Son Seiōmaru 聖王丸 d 1 August 1345 Daughter Ashikaga Tadayoshi s adopted daughter d 14 October 1347 Daughter Unknown name Son Noritoshi Einaka 英仲法俊 d 26 February 1416 Family tree EditEmperor Seiwa Hachimantarō YoshiieMinamoto no YoshichikaMinamoto no YoshikuniNitta clanAshikaga clanMinamoto no TameyoshiNitta YoshishigeAshikaga YoshiyasuYamana clanMinamoto no YoshitomoNitta YoshikaneYamana YoshinoriAshikaga YoshikaneMinamoto no YoshikiyoMinamoto no YoritomoAshikaga YoshiujiHirosawa YoshizaneKira clanHosokawa clanAshikaga YasuujiKira OsaujiHosokawa YoshisueUesugi clanImagawa clanUesugi ShigefusaAshikaga YoriujiKira MitsuujiImagawa KuniujiUesugi YorishigeAshikaga IetokiUesugi KiyokoAshikaga SadaujiHojō HisatokiNitta YoshisadaAshikaga TakaujiAakahashi TōshiHōjō MoritokiAshikaga YoshiakiraTimeline of shogunate EditSignificant events which shaped the period during which Takauji was shōgun are 1338 Takauji appointed shōgun 9 1349 Go Murakami flees to A no Ashikaga Tadayoshi and Kō no Moronao quarrel Ashikaga Motouji son of Takauji appointed Kamakura Kanrei 9 1350 Tadayoshi excluded from administration turns priest 9 Tadayoshi s adopted son Ashikaga Tadafuyu is wrongly repudiated as a rebel 10 1351 1358 Struggle for Kyoto 1351 Tadayoshi joins Southern Court southern army takes Kyoto truce Takauji returns to Kyoto Tadayoshi and Takauji reconciled Kō no Moronao and Kō no Moroyasu are exiled 9 1352 Tadayoshi dies Southern army recaptures Kyoto Nitta Yoshimune captures Kamakura Ashikaga forces recapture Kamakura and Kyoto Tadafuyu joins Southern Court Yamana Tokiuji joins Tadafuyu 9 1353 Kyoto retaken by Southern forces under Yamana Tokiuji retaken by Ashikaga forces 9 1354 Takauji flees with Go Kōgon Kitabatake Chikafusa dies 9 1355 Kyoto taken by Southern army Kyoto retaken by Ashikaga forces 9 1358 Takauji dies 11 Takauji s son Ashikaga Yoshiakira succeeded him as shōgun after his death His grandson Ashikaga Yoshimitsu united the Northern and Southern courts in 1392 Eras of Takauji s bakufu EditBecause of the anomalous situation which he had himself created and which saw two Emperors reign simultaneously one in Yoshino and one in Kyoto the years in which Takauji was shōgun as reckoned by the Gregorian calendar are identified in Japanese historical records by two different series of Japanese era names nengō that following the datation used by the legitimate Southern Court and that formulated by the pretender Northern Court 12 Eras as reckoned by the Southern Court declared legitimate by a Meiji era decree because in possession at the time of the Japanese Imperial Regalia Engen 1336 1340 Kōkoku 1340 1346 Shōhei 1346 1370 Eras as reckoned by the pretender Northern Court declared illegitimate by a Meiji era decree because not in possession at the time of the Japanese Imperial Regalia Ryakuō 1338 1342 Kōei 1342 1345 Jōwa 1345 1350 Kan ō or Kannō 1350 1352 Bunna 1352 1356 Enbun 1356 1361 Literary references EditThe story of Ashikaga Takauji Emperor Go Daigo Nitta Yoshisada and Kusunoki Masashige from the Genko rebellion to the establishment of the Northern and Southern Courts is detailed in the 40 volume Muromachi period epic Taiheiki Honours EditJunior First Rank 9 July 1358 posthumous References Edit His name had originally been written with the characters 高氏 but he later received from Emperor Go Daigo the right to use those 尊氏 under which he would become famous According to Sansom 1977 87 in contemporary chronicles he is rarely called with his name but referred to as Ō gosho 大御所 Great shōgun or Dainagon Great Councillor Ashikaga Takauji in The New Encyclopaedia Britannica Chicago Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc 15th edn 1992 Vol 1 p 625 a b Ashikaga Takauji Encyclopedia of Japan Tokyo Shogakukan 2012 OCLC 56431036 Archived from the original on 2007 08 25 Retrieved 2012 06 03 a b c Matsuo 1997 105 a b c d e f g Sansom George 1961 A History of Japan 1334 1615 Stanford University Press p 34 ISBN 0804705259 Turnbull Stephen 1977 The Samurai A Military History MacMillan Publishing Co Inc pp 102 103 ISBN 0026205408 Titsingh Isaac 1834 Annales des empereurs du japon p 290 p 290 at Google Books eldest son a b c d e f g h Ackroyd Joyce 1982 Lessons from History the Tokushi Yoron p 329 Historiographical Institute Ashikaga Tadafuyu s Call to Arms Dai Nihon shi ryō VI xiv 43 Titsingh p 304 p 304 at Google Books Titsingh pp 290 304 p 290 at Google BooksSources EditAckroyd Joyce I 1982 Lessons from History the Tokushi Yoron Brisbane University of Queensland Press ISBN 9780702214851 OCLC 7574544 Matsuo Kenji 1997 中世都市鎌倉をく 源頼朝から上杉謙信まで Chusei toshi Kamakura o aruku Minamoto no Yoritomo kara Uesugi Kenshin made Tokyo Chukō Shinsho ISBN 9784121013927 OCLC 38970710 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 585069External links Edit Media related to Ashikaga Takauji at Wikimedia Commons Kenmu Restoration Shōgun Ashikaga Takauji1338 1358 Succeeded byAshikaga Yoshiakira Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Ashikaga Takauji amp oldid 1129159785, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
