Kannō disturbance
Encyclopedia
Shogun
A was one of the hereditary military dictators of Japan from 1192 to 1867. In this period, the shoguns, or their shikken regents , were the de facto rulers of Japan though they were nominally appointed by the emperor...
Ashikaga Takauji
Ashikaga Takauji
was the founder and first shogun of the Ashikaga shogunate. His rule began in 1338, beginning the Muromachi period of Japan, and ended with his death in 1358...
and his brother, Ashikaga Tadayoshi
Ashikaga Tadayoshi
was a general of the Northern and Southern Courts period of Japanese history and a close associate of his elder brother Takauji, the first Muromachi shogun. Son of Ashikaga Sadauji and of a daughter of Uesugi Yorishige, the same mother as Takauji, he was a pivotal figure of the chaotic transition...
, thus dividing and weakening the early Ashikaga shogunate. These events are labeled Kannō
Kanno
-People:* Aya Kanno, manga artist* Naoe Kanno, a fictional character from the anime/manga Strike Witches* Takeshi Kanno, Japanese writer* Yoko Kanno, composer and musicianKannō may refer to:, Japanese era from 1350 to 1352...
after the Japanese era
Japanese era name
The Japanese era calendar scheme is a common calendar scheme used in Japan, which identifies a year by the combination of the and the year number within the era...
or nengō which was proclaimed by the Northern Court
Northern Court (Japan)
The , also known as the "Ashikaga Pretenders" or "Northern Pretenders", were a set of six pretenders to the throne of Japan during the Nanboku-chō period from 1336 through 1392...
during the years 1350 through 1351 in the Nanboku-chō period of Japanese history. One of the main effects of the Disturbance was the re-invigoration of the Southern Court
Southern Court
The were a set of four emperors whose legitimate claims were usurped during the Nanboku-chō period spanning from 1336 through 1392. In spite of the legitimacy of its claims to the throne, the Southern Court was permanently replaced in 1392 by the illegitimate Northern Court.-Nanboku-chō overview:...
's war effort due to the flow of renegades from Kyoto who followed Tadayoshi to the Southern capital of Yoshino
Yoshino, Nara
is a town located in Yoshino District, Nara Prefecture, Japan.As of September 1, 2007, the town had an estimated population of 9397 and a density of 97.93 persons per km². The total area was 95.65 km².-Geography:...
, near Nara
Nara, Nara
is the capital city of Nara Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan. The city occupies the northern part of Nara Prefecture, directly bordering Kyoto Prefecture...
.
The events
Takauji was nominally shogun but, having proved not to be up to the task of ruling the country, for more than ten years Tadayoshi governed in his stead. The relationship between the two brothers was however destined to be destroyed by an extremely serious episode called the Kannō Incident, an event which takes its name from the KannōKanno
-People:* Aya Kanno, manga artist* Naoe Kanno, a fictional character from the anime/manga Strike Witches* Takeshi Kanno, Japanese writer* Yoko Kanno, composer and musicianKannō may refer to:, Japanese era from 1350 to 1352...
era (1350–1351) during which it took place and which had grave consequences for the entire country. Trouble between the two started when Takauji made Kō no Moronao
Ko no Moronao
was a Japanese samurai of the Nanboku-chō period who was the first to hold the position of Shitsuji . He was appointed by Ashikaga Takauji, the first shogun of the Ashikaga shogunate. As Deputy, he served not only an administrative governmental function, but also as general of the Shogun's armies...
his shitsuji, or deputy. Tadayoshi did not like Moronao and his policies so (at least according to the Taiheiki
Taiheiki
The is a Japanese historical epic , written in the late 14th century. It deals primarily with the Nanboku-chō, the period of war between the Northern Court of Ashikaga Takauji in Kyoto, and the Southern Court of Emperor Go-Daigo in Yoshino....
), after every effort to get rid of him failed, he tried to have him assassinated. Tadayoshi in 1349 was forced by Moronao to leave the government, shave his head and become a Buddhist monk with the name Keishin under the guidance of Zen
Zen
Zen is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism founded by the Buddhist monk Bodhidharma. The word Zen is from the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese word Chán , which in turn is derived from the Sanskrit word dhyāna, which can be approximately translated as "meditation" or "meditative state."Zen...
master, poet, and old associate Musō Soseki
Muso Soseki
was a Rinzai Zen Buddhist monk and teacher, and a calligraphist, poet and garden designer. The most famous monk of his time, he is also known as , a posthumous name given him by Emperor Go-Daigo...
. In 1350 he rebelled and joined his brother's enemies, the supporters of the Southern court
Southern Court
The were a set of four emperors whose legitimate claims were usurped during the Nanboku-chō period spanning from 1336 through 1392. In spite of the legitimacy of its claims to the throne, the Southern Court was permanently replaced in 1392 by the illegitimate Northern Court.-Nanboku-chō overview:...
, whose Emperor Go-Murakami appointed him general of all his troops. In 1351 he defeated Takauji, occupied Kyoto
Kyoto
is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...
, and entered Kamakura
Kamakura, Kanagawa
is a city located in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, about south-south-west of Tokyo. It used to be also called .Although Kamakura proper is today rather small, it is often described in history books as a former de facto capital of Japan as the seat of the Shogunate and of the Regency during the...
. During the same year he captured and executed the Kō brothers
Kō brothers
Kō brothers may refer to:* Kō no Moronao* Kō no Moroyasu...
at Mikage (Settsu province
Settsu Province
was a province of Japan, which today comprises the eastern part of Hyōgo Prefecture and the northern part of Osaka Prefecture. It was also referred to as or .Osaka and Osaka Castle were the main center of the province.-History:...
). The following year his fortunes turned and he was defeated by Takauji at Sattayama. A reconciliation between the brothers proved to be brief. Tadayoshi fled to Kamakura, but Takauji pursued him there with an army. In March 1352, shortly after an ostensible second reconciliation, Tadayoshi died suddenly, according to the Taiheiki
Taiheiki
The is a Japanese historical epic , written in the late 14th century. It deals primarily with the Nanboku-chō, the period of war between the Northern Court of Ashikaga Takauji in Kyoto, and the Southern Court of Emperor Go-Daigo in Yoshino....
by poisoning.
Their background
The extremely divisive Kannō Incident that divided the Muromachi regime put a temporary hold on the new shogunate's integration. Before the Incidet, the bureaucratic organs of the early regime were under the separate jurisdiction of the Ashikaga brothers Takauji and Tadayoshi, creating a bifurcated administration. Takauji was the leader of the house vassals, and thus controlled the Board of Retainers (the Samurai-dokoro) and the Office of Rewards (the Onshō-kata), while Tadayoshi was the bureaucratic leader controlling the Board of Inquiry's administration of the regime's judicial functions.The Board of Retainers was used as a disciplinary organ towards house vassals; brigandage and other crimes were prosecuted. The Office of Rewards was used to hear the claims of and to give fiefs to deserving vassals. The Office of Rewards was used to enroll new warriors who were potential adversaries of the regime. The major judicial organ, the Board of Coadjutors, decided on all land dispute cases and quarrels involving inheritance. All judicial functions are par excellence used to resolve conflicts and disputes legally, within an institutional framework. Bureaucrats (bugyōnin) for the new regime were recruited from the ranks of those who served the Hōjō
Hojo clan
See the late Hōjō clan for the Hōjō clan of the Sengoku Period.The in the history of Japan was a family who controlled the hereditary title of shikken of the Kamakura Shogunate. In practice, the family had actual governmental power, many times dictatorial, rather than Kamakura shoguns, or the...
regime before its fall. They were valuable because they knew how to read and write, a task beyond the reach of most warriors.
In the 1350s, the Kannō Incident and its aftermath divided and nearly destroyed the early regime. On the surface the incident looks like a factional struggle pitting Ashikaga Tadayoshi, Takauji's brother, against the Kō brothers, Moronao and Moroyasu backed by Takauji. The conflict can be pinpointed to differences in opinion regarding the estate system and, behind these differing opinions, to the different bureaucracies controlled by Takauji and Tadayoshi. On the whole Takauji was the innovator, while Tadayoshi played the conservative, wanting to preserve the policies of the past. In his capacity as a military leader of vassal bands, Takauji did two things that conflicted with Tadayoshi: he appointed vassals to shugo
Shugo
was a title, commonly translated as "Governor," given to certain officials in feudal Japan. They were each appointed by the shogun to oversee one or more of the provinces of Japan...
posts as a reward for battlefield heroics, and he divided the shōen
Shoen
A was a field or manor in Japan. The Japanese term comes from the Tang dynasty Chinese term zhuangyuan.Shōen, from about the 8th to the late 15th century, describes any of the private, tax-free, often autonomous estates or manors whose rise undermined the political and economic power of the...
estates, giving half of them to his vassals in fief or as stewardships
Jito
were medieval land stewards in Japan, especially in the Kamakura and Muromachi Shogunates. Appointed by the shogun, jitō managed manors including national holdings governed by the provincial governor ....
. Tadayoshi strenuously contested these policies through the drafting of the Kemmu Formulary that opposed the appointment of shugo as a reward for battlefield service. He also opposed any sort of outright division of estate lands in his capacity as the leader of the Board of Coadjutors. There was therefore a clear division between the policies of Takauji and his brother Tadayoshi.
Conflict can thus be said to have emerged as a result of having two heads of state whose policies contradicted each other. The events which followed the incident testify to the extent to which the regime began to lose its support. Deep divisions between members of the Ashikaga family strengthened the opposition. Both of the pillars of the Muromachi regime, Tadayoshi and Takauji, enacted token submissions to the Southern Court to push their own agendas: Tadayoshi in his desire to destroy the Kō brothers
Kō brothers
Kō brothers may refer to:* Kō no Moronao* Kō no Moroyasu...
, and Takauji in his desire to defeat Tadayoshi. Ironically, even though the Southern Court was the enemy, it was used as the justification by regime members to attack each other.
Effects
One of the main effects of the Disturbance was the re-invigoration of the war effort of the Southern Court. To a large extent its renewed offensive was made possible by turncoats from the Muromachi regime. The imperialist offensive of 1352 directed against Takauji in Kamakura was made possible by the vast numbers of former adherents of Tadayoshi who became supporters of the imperialist leader Nitta YoshimuneNitta Yoshimune
was the third son of Nitta Yoshisada, and a commander of loyalist forces during the Nanbokuchō Wars.In 1352, Yoshimune led a force from Echigo Province to contribute to the loyalist efforts to drive the Shogun, Ashikaga Takauji, from the city...
. The imperialist offensive against Kyoto in 1353 was made possible through the defection of the shugo
Shugo
was a title, commonly translated as "Governor," given to certain officials in feudal Japan. They were each appointed by the shogun to oversee one or more of the provinces of Japan...
lord Yamana Tokiuji
Yamana clan
The ' was a Japanese samurai clan which was one of the most powerful of the Muromachi period ; at its peak, members of the family held the position of Constable over eleven provinces. Originally from Kōzuke province, and later centered in Inaba province, the clan claimed descendance from the Seiwa...
. Tadayoshi's adopted son Ashikaga Tadafuyu is an outstanding example of defection: he became the leader of the western armies of the Southern Court during the imperialist offensives against Kyoto in 1353 and 1354.
The end of the Disturbance on the other hand eliminated the sharing of power between the two Ashikaga brothers putting it all into Takauji's hands, strengthening his position and ultimately that of the early Muromachi shogunate as a whole.
See also
- Glossary of Japanese historyGlossary of Japanese historyThis is the glossary of Japanese history including the major terms, titles and events the casual reader might find useful in understanding articles on the subject.-A:...
-- Kannō "disturbance" - List of Japanese battles -- Kannō "incident"