home

=AZUCHI-MOMOYAMA = == =The Azuchi- Momoyama period was one that changed and unified Japan to make it what it is today.This period in time lasted from around 1568 to 1600. The first initial ruler of the Azuchi-Momoyama period was Oda Nobunaga. Oda Nobunaga ruled during this period of time in the capital Kyoto. The name of this period comes from the Azuchi and Momoyama castles located in Japan. Some of the major elements of this time period were its military and politics. Without these two things, the period in time would have never even existed. = =__Military__ = =Reestablishing a capital wasnt just settled over talking it out and making an agreement. It took hardwork and much planning. In 1568, Oda Nobunaga and his army invaded Kyoto to reestablish the Ashikaga Shougunate with Ashikaga Yoshiaki as shogunate. After about 5 years though, he was drivin out by Nobunaga himself for poor decisons and ruling. From there, Nobunaga became shogun of the capital. In this position, he was able to control the Bakufu but only by being careful backd by his military. Buddhist monks, rival daimyo, and hostiles all in regions surrrounding Kyoto tried to take him out. Nobunaga was not going to let this happen though. In 1571, he decided to deal with the Buddhist first. With his powerful and relentless army, he destroyed the monastic center at Mount Hiei. By the time of 1573, he had taken care of the rival daimyo trying to rebel. Also by this time, Nobunaga had comletely taken out the Ashikaga shogun. These two completions marked the start of the Azuchi-Momoyama period. = == =Nobunaga then constructed a seven story castle in Azuchi that could withstand heavy firepower.As time went on, Nobunaga broke down barriers and started to capture surrounding areas through large-scale warefare to expand his territory. He also began to create organization within the area by setting up taxes and administrative practices. Nobunaga's chief general, Hideyoshi, was sent to capture twelve new territories. He needed help though so as Nobunaga went to assist him, he was assinated. As Nobunagas most powerful reatainers found this out, they quickly stepped in the take back control to avenge their leader. They became more urgent to do so when they found out that Nobunaga's oldest son and heir, Nobutada, had also been murdered. The Oda clan no had no complete successor. The Mori clan had yet to hear of Nobunaga's death, so before they did, Hideyoshi made a truce with them to fight alongside him. From there he took his troops and marched toward his adversary and defeated them at the Battle of Yamazaki. Between 1583 and 1584, Hideyoshi defeated both Shibata at the Battle of Shizugatake and Tokugawa at the Battle of Komaki and Nagakute. This was the final act in taking complete control of Kyoto and becoming the ruler of the Oda domains. Both the Daimyo of Shikoku and Kyushu surrendered to Hideyoshi in the late 1580's. Hideyoshi was given the surname Toyotomi when he was adopted into the Fujiwara family. Because of this, he was granted the title Kanpuku and of all Japan he represented civil and military control. He had become alliances with three of the nine major daimyo clans after the following year. Through this he carried the war of unification to Sikoku and Kyushi. Hideyoshi defeated the Hojo clan in 1590 with 200,000 soldiers. Soon after this, the remaining daimyo fell apart, and the unification of Japan was completed. = =__Politics__ = =The Politics of the Azuchi-Momyama period were quite simple actually. Oda Nobunaga was the initial founder of the period. As he came into Kyoto, he reestablished Ashikaga Yoshiaki as the shogun. But after five years, he kicked him out and made himself shogun. After Oda Nobunaga was assasinated, Hideyoshi came into rule and continued what Nobunaga had started with the reunification of Japan. After Hideyoshi's death in 1590, Tokugawa Ieyasu took control of Japan and in 1603 marked the beginning of the Edo Period. =