Azuchi-Momoyama period

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Glossary

The Azuchi-Momoyama period (Japanese: 安土桃山時代, Azuchi-Momoyama-jidai) is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1568 to 1600. The period marks the governance of Oda Nobunaga (織田信長) and Toyotomi Hideyoshi (豊臣秀吉) in the capital of Kyoto (京都). The name comes from the names of their respective castles, Azuchi Castle (安土城) and Momoyama castle (桃山城 or 伏見城).

Image:FushimijoChashitsu.jpg The Azuchi-Momoyama period was the final part of the Sengoku period (戦国時代). It began in 1568 when the armies of Nobunaga entered Kyoto and reestablished the Ashikaga shogunate (足利幕府 Ashikaga bakufu or 室町幕府 Muromachi bakufu) under the 15th and last shogun Ashikaga Yoshiaki (足利義昭). The puppet shogunate lasted for 5 years until Yoshiaki was driven out of the capital by Nobunaga in 1573.

In 1582, Nobunaga was forced to commit suicide in a coup by retainer Akechi Mitsuhide (明智光秀) at Honno-ji (本能寺) in Kyoto (Incident at Honnoji, 本能寺の変 Honnōji-no-hen). Nobunaga's retainer Hashiba Hideyoshi (羽柴秀吉), who later took the name Toyotomi Hideyoshi (豊臣秀吉), vanquished Mitsuhide at the Battle of Yamazaki (山崎の戦い Yamazaki no Tatakai) and consolidated his own power in Kyoto to eventually conquer all of Japan by 1590.

When Toyotomi Hideyoshi died in 1598, his retainer Tokugawa Ieyasu (徳川家康) sought to subjugate the Toyotomi (豊臣). After the Battle of Sekigahara (関ヶ原の戦い Sekigahara no Tatakai) in 1600, Ieyasu held supreme power over Japan beginning the Edo period (江戸時代 Edo-jidai), and finally in 1603 received the title of shogun (将軍) officially establishing the Tokugawa shogunate (徳川幕府 Tokugawa bakufu or 江戸幕府 Edo bakufu) in Edo.

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Reunification, 1573-1600

Between 1560 and 1600, powerful military leaders arose to defeat the warring daimyo (大名) and unify Japan. Three major figures dominated the period in succession: Oda Nobunaga (織田信長, 1534-82), Toyotomi Hideyoshi (豊臣秀吉, 1536-98), and Tokugawa Ieyasu (徳川家康, 1542-1616), each of whom emerged as a major overlord with large military forces under his command. As their power increased, they looked to the imperial court in Kyoto for sanction. In 1568 Nobunaga, who had defeated another overlord's attempt to attack Kyoto in 1560, marched on the capital, gained the support of the emperor (天皇 Tennō), and installed his own candidate in the succession struggle for shogun. Backed by military force, Nobunaga was able to control the Ashikaga bakufu (足利幕府 or 室町幕府 Muromachi bakufu).

Initial resistance to Nobunaga in the Kyoto region came from the Buddhist monks, rival daimyo, and hostile merchants. Surrounded by his enemies, Nobunaga struck first at the secular power of the militant Tendai (天台宗 Tendai-shū) Buddhists, destroying their monastic center at Mount Hiei (比叡山 Hiei-zan) near Kyoto and killing thousands of monks in 1571. By 1573 he had defeated the local daimyo, banished the last Ashikaga shogun, and ushered in the Azuchi-Momoyama period (1573-1600). Having taken these major steps toward reunification, Nobunaga then built a seven-story castle surrounded by stone walls at Azuchi on the shore of Lake Biwa (琵琶湖 Biwa-ko). The castle (Azuchi Castle, 安土城) was able to withstand the repeatious siege of firearms and became a symbol of the age of reunification. Nobunaga's power increased as he enfeoffed the conquered daimyo, broke down the barriers to free commerce, and drew the humbled religious communities and merchants into his military structure. He secured control of about one-third of the provinces through the use of large-scale warfare, and he institutionalized administrative practices, such as systematic village organization, tax collection, and standardized measurements. At the same time, other daimyo, both those that Nobunaga had conquered and those beyond his control, built their own heavily fortified castles and modernized their garrisons. In 1577 Nobunaga dispatched two of his chief generals, Akechi Mitsuhide (明智光秀) and Hashiba Hideyoshi (羽柴秀吉), to conquer twelve western Honshu provinces. The war was a protracted affair, and in 1582, when Nobunaga led an army to assist Hideyoshi, he was assassinated.

After destroying the forces responsible for Nobunaga's death, Hideyoshi was rewarded with a joint guardianship of Nobunaga's heir, who was a minor. By 1584 Hideyoshi had eliminated the three other guardians, taken complete control of Kyoto, and become the undisputed successor of his late overlord. A commoner by birth and without a surname, Hideyoshi was adopted by the Fujiwara family (藤原氏), given the surname Toyotomi (豊臣), and granted the title Kanpaku (関白, regent for emperor), representing civil and military control of all Japan. By the following year, he had secured alliances with three of the nine major daimyo coalitions and continued the war of reunification in Shikoku (四国) and Kyushu (九州). In 1590, with an army of 200,000 troops, Hideyoshi defeated his last formidable rival, who controlled the Kanto region (関東地方) of eastern Honshu (本州). The remaining contending daimyo capitulated, and the military reunification of Japan was complete.

All of Japan was controlled by the dictatorial Hideyoshi either directly or through his sworn vassals, and a new national government structure had evolved: a country unified under one daimyo alliance but still decentralized. The basis of the power structure was again the distribution of territory. Wealth was measured according to koku (石). One koku was equivalent to about 180 liters of rice; daimyo were by definition those who held lands capable of producing 10,000 koku or more of rice. Hideyoshi personally controlled 2 million of the 18.5 million koku total national assessment (taken in 1598); in contrast, Tokugawa Ieyasu (徳川家康), a powerful daimyo (not completely under Hideyoshi's control) whom Hideyoshi had transferred to the Kanto, held 2.5 million koku.

Despite Hideyoshi's tremendous strength and the fear in which he was held, his position was far from secure. He attempted to rearrange the daimyo holdings to his advantage by, for example, reassigning the Tokugawa family to the conquered Kanto region and surrounding their new territory with more trusted vassals. He also adopted a hostage system for daimyo wives and heirs at his castle town at Osaka (大坂 or 大阪; he built the Osaka Castle at Osaka) and used marriage alliances to enforce feudal bonds. He imposed the koku system and land surveys to reassess the entire nation. In 1590 Hideyoshi declared an end to any further class mobility or change in social status, reinforcing the class distinctions between cultivators and bushi (only the latter could bear arms). He provided for an orderly succession in 1591 by taking the title Taiko (太閤), or retired kanpaku, turning the regency over to his son Toyotomi Hideyori (豊臣秀頼). Only toward the end of his life did Hideyoshi try to formalize the balance of power by establishing certain administrative bodies: the five-member Board of Regents (Council of five regents, 五大老 go-tairō), one of them Ieyasu, sworn to keep peace and support the Toyotomi, the five-member Board of House Administrators for routine policy and administrative matters, and the three-member Board of Mediators, who were charged with keeping peace between the first two boards.

Momoyama art (1573-1615), named after the hill on which Hideyoshi built his castle, called Fushimi Castle (伏見城) or Momoyama Castle (桃山城), at Fushimi (伏見), south of the center of Kyoto, flourished during this period. It was a period of interest in the outside world, the development of large urban centers, and the rise of the merchant and leisure classes. Ornate castle architecture and interiors adorned with painted screens embellished with gold leaf reflected daimyo power and wealth. Depictions of the Nanban (南蛮, "southern barbarians")--Europeans--were exotic and popular.

In 1577 Hideyoshi had seized Nagasaki (長崎), Japan's major point of contact with the outside world. He took control of the various trade associations and tried to regulate all overseas activities. Although China rebuffed his efforts to secure trade concessions, Hideyoshi succeeded in sending commercial missions to present-day Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand, under the system of Red seal ships (朱印船 Shuin-sen). He was suspicious of Christianity in Japan (Kirishitan 吉利支丹 or 切支丹), however, as potentially subversive to daimyo loyalties and he had some missionaries crucified.

Hideyoshi's major ambition was to conquer China, and in 1592, with an army of 200,000 troops, he invaded Korea, then a flourishing wealthy kingdom that enjoyed an alliance with China (Seven-Year War, 文禄・慶長の役). His armies quickly overran the peninsula before losing momentum in the face of a combined Korean-Chinese force and crushing naval defeats suffered due to Admiral Yi Sun-sin(李舜臣)'s efforts. During peace talks, Hideyoshi demanded a division of Korea, freetrade status, and a Chinese princess as consort for the emperor. The equality with China sought by Japan was rebuffed by the Chinese, and peace efforts ended. In 1597 a second invasion was begun, but it abruptly ended with Hideyoshi's death in 1598.

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