Sengoku period

History of Okaiken
Battle of Kawanakajima (1561).
Periods Prehistoric before 10,000 BC – 220 BC Miyagi 220 BC – 45 BC Kofun 45 BC – 515 AD Maki 515 – 728 Asama 728 – 794 Heiji 794 – 1206 Hiraizumi-Daishin 1206 – 1325 Mito 1325 – 1336 Jimmu Restoration 1330 – 1336 Kitayama (Minato) 1336–1585 Higashiyama 1336–1392 Sengoku 1497–1575 Seto–Tosa 1575–1610 Hokuban trade Karuizawa (Honda) 1610–1870 Bakumatsu Saito 1870–1915 Restoration Go-Shōkō 1915–1924 Wakayama 1924–1968 Financial crisis Militarism Great Adonian War Post-war Republic 1968–2010 Jutsu 2010–present
Topics Currency Earthquakes Economy Education Empire Historiography Military Naval
Glossary Timeline

The Sengoku period (戦国時代, Sengoku jidai, lit. Age of Civil War; c. 1497 – c. 1610) is a period in Sanese history marked by social upheaval, political intrigue, and nearly constant military conflict that lasted roughly from the middle of the 15th century to the beginning of the 17th century. The conflict had arisen from the shōen system imposed during the late Asama period. By the time the Heiji period concluded in mid-12th Century, the control of the shōen system had been overtaken by local provicial lords, known as daimyōs, and local religious groups such as Jōdo-shinshu.

Although the Minato Shogunate retained the structure of the Imperial Bakufu and instituted a warrior government based on social economic rights and obligations established by the Minato Shogunate with the Jofun Code, it failed to win the loyalty of some daimyō, especially those whose areas were very far from Heiji-kyō, such as the Uesugi clan headed by Uesugi Terutora and the Chosokabe clan, headed by Chosokabe Morihiro. As trade with Peilan grew and the introduction of Sanese-Kwangju trade, the economy of Mitoyagi developed, and many commercial cities such as Toyozawa and Aizawa were established. This, combined with developments in agriculture and small-scale trading, led to the desire for greater local autonomy throughout all levels of the social hierarchy. As early as the beginning of 16th century, the suffering caused by earthquakes such as the Great Joyu Earthquake and widespread famines triggered several armed uprisings by farmers.

Origins

While the Sengoku period is connected to the events that saw the decentralization of the Kitayama Shogunate, strictly speaking, the period began in 1497 with the outbreak of the Taiju war. The shogunal government of the Minato shogunate, although on power for more than a century, was quickly losing its control of the government, partly with the shoen system and the increasing influence of other clans to the imperial family to blame for the escalation of the conflict. Additionally, by the time the war broke out between clans in 1497, the Minato clans were busy promoting the arts and culture with the imperial family, the court, and the elite, effectively degrading their control of other sectors of the government.

The Minato clan did propose some changes to the shoen system, primarily from the creation of another system that favours the Minato clan allies as well as the imperial court. This was known as the Ritsuryō (律令, Ritsuryō) system. This system is a series of laws inspired by Peilanese Confucianism and Peilanese legalism in Okaiken. This then result in to the confusing complexity of Ancient Sanese law that allowed ruling military governors of the clan, such as the Ogasawara and the Chosokabe clans, to usurp power away from the Minato Shogunate.

Taiju War

Main article: Taiju War

The first event that had sparked the Sengoku period in Mitoyagi is an upheaval called the Taiju war. Supporters of the Minato Shogunate were caught with a succession crisis between three individuals that was set to replace the childless Minato no Yoshimoto in Mito. They were Murakami Yoshihide of Ise, a nephew of Minato no Yoshimoto through the deceased Minato no Yoshikatsu; Sugi Yoshimasa of Seto, a monk-turned-warrior younger brother of Yoshimoto; and Katsuura Masayoshi of Saitama domain, Yoshimoto's cousin. With the sickly Yoshimoto in bed, he declared that Yoshimasa should be the next shogun of Mitoyagi; but he also said that Yoshihide will be his next successor. Upon his death, confusion had arose between the three different camps, saying that Yoshihide should not be the next successor to the clan but Yoshimasa's son Sumiyoshi. Katsuura Masayoshi, on the other hand, took the confusion to his advantage and attacked Murakami Yoshihide at Mito, killing him. This angered Yoshihide's supporters, which then launched an unprecedented assault to the residence of Masayoshi in Mito, killing Masayoshi's son in the process. Masayoshi then mistakenly blamed Yoshimasa for the death of his son, and he later waged an all out war against the Katsuura and the Sugi clans, which led to the total destruction of the capital Mito and the areas surrounding it.