The Conflict Between Oda Nobunaga and Shogun Ashikaga Yoshiaki
──The Truth Behind the Rupture: A Political Historical Examination from Honeymoon to "Self-Destruction"
──Oda Nobunaga and Shogun Ashikaga Yoshiaki: The Light and Shadow of a "Dual Government"
In September 1568, Oda Nobunaga entered Kyoto while escorting Ashikaga Yoshiaki, who then assumed the position of the 15th Shogun of the Muromachi Shogunate. This union represented more than just a single warlord installing an Ashikaga shogun; it signified the establishment of a "dual government" (a community for the pacification of the realm) that fused the traditional shogunal authority of the Muromachi Shogunate with the military and leadership capabilities of the Oda clan. In the early stages, the two built a cooperative relationship in which Yoshiaki respected Nobunaga "like a father," and Nobunaga relied on Yoshiaki.
However, this honeymoon period cooled within just a few years, leading to the expulsion of Yoshiaki following the Battle of Makishima in 1573 and the subsequent collapse of the Muromachi Shogunate. What led to the breakdown between the two? Moving beyond simple emotional conflict or the popular historical view of "Nobunaga as the destroyer of old authority" and "Yoshiaki as a foolish puppet," this study clarifies the truth behind their rupture by examining the serious policy conflicts within the shogunate, structural economic failures, and the struggle for leadership over the "pacification of the realm."
1. Introduction: The Honeymoon Like Father and Son and the Start of the "Dual Government (Community for the Pacification of the Realm)"
The characteristic feature established by Ashikaga Yoshiaki's arrival in Kyoto and his inauguration as Shogun was a "dual government" structure in which the shogunate apparatus and Oda power complemented each other.
In the early stages of his arrival in Kyoto, Yoshiaki lacked a military base to control the Kinai region and relied on Nobunaga's mobilization power. On the other hand, Nobunaga also needed shogunal authority to justify his control over the Kinai region and his influence over other provinces. From the end of 1568 to the beginning of 1569, there was trust and a convergence of interests between the two, and this coalition functioned as an integrated institution for the "pacification of the realm."
At this stage, the relationship between Nobunaga and Yoshiaki was based on a division of roles: Nobunaga carried out military actions under Yoshiaki's orders, and Yoshiaki approved them as the forces of the "public authority." Yoshiaki valued Nobunaga as a "meritorious retainer for the pacification of the realm," and Nobunaga also showed a willingness to cooperate in maintaining the Shogun's residence and public order.
2. The Honkoku-ji Incident and the "Five-Article Memorandum"
The "Honkoku-ji Incident" that occurred in January 1569 became a turning point in solidifying this dual government's military cooperation system. It was an incident in which the Miyoshi Triumvirate, attempting a comeback from Awa, raided Yoshiaki's temporary residence at Honkoku-ji Temple in Rokujo while Nobunaga had returned to Gifu.
[The Honkoku-ji Incident and Political Trends]
Date of Occurrence-January 1569
Main Parties Involved-Attacking side: Miyoshi Triumvirate (Miyoshi Nagayasu, Miyoshi Sōi, Iwanari Tomomichi) - Defensive side: Ashikaga Yoshiaki, the Hokoshu (shogunal retainers), and the Oda-Miyoshi (Yoshitsugu) allied forces
Overview of the Incident-The Miyoshi Triumvirate attacked Kyoto while Nobunaga was absent, but were repelled by the garrison and relief forces.
Direct Impact-Started the "assistance construction" of a fortified "Samurai Castle (Nijo Palace)."
Institutional Outcome-January 1570, conclusion of the "Denchu On-okite (Five-Article Memorandum)."
Nobunaga, who rushed to the scene through heavy snow, keenly felt the need for a security system for the Shogun's residence and, at Yoshiaki's own suggestion, began construction of a newly built palace (Nijo Palace). Through "assistance construction" that gathered craftsmen from all over the country, the castle-style Nijo Palace, equipped with strong moats and stone walls, was completed.
Subsequently, in January 1570, Nobunaga had Yoshiaki approve the "Denchu On-okite (Five-Article Memorandum)." In traditional historical views, this memorandum has been interpreted as a restriction imposed by Nobunaga to limit the Shogun's power and turn him into a puppet. However, recent research (by Masashi Kuno and others) has revealed that it was a "promise document" in which Yoshiaki formally delegated to Nobunaga the "right to maintain the pacification of the realm (the right to mobilize the shogunate army and the Oda army under his own command to punish hostile forces)."
During the "Genki Disturbance" that unfolded at the end of 1570 (the Battle of Anegawa, the Battle of Noda and Fukushima, the Siege of Shiga, etc.), Yoshiaki and Nobunaga acted as "allies" throughout. Even when Honganji Kennyo raised an army against Nobunaga, Kennyo himself wrote that "because the Shogun (Yoshiaki) is an ally of Nobunaga, our relations with the temple have been severed," indicating that Yoshiaki and Nobunaga had formed a coalition to confront a common enemy.
3. The Burning of Mount Hiei and the Rift Within the Government
The rift within the dual government began to appear with Nobunaga's "burning of Mount Hiei" in September 1571 and the accompanying policy conflict within the shogunate government.
On January 18, 1572 (Genki 3), a fierce argument broke out in the presence of the Shogun between his close aides, Ueno Nakatsukasa no Tayu Kiyonobu and Hosokawa Hyo-bu no Tayu Fujitaka (later Yusai). Ueno Kiyonobu and his faction vehemently denounced Nobunaga's burning of Mount Hiei as "wicked and lawless," advocating for a militant stance to hunt down and destroy Nobunaga. In response, Hosokawa Fujitaka argued that, considering their history of cooperation and the military balance, attacking Nobunaga would be a "reckless endeavor akin to clutching a stone and jumping into an abyss," and urged them to stop.
Regarding this dispute, the Hosokawa family's compiled historical record, the "Menko Shuroku," tends to emphasize the legitimacy of Fujitaka and criticize the Shogun and his close aides. However, the essence of this was not merely a conflict between aides, but a clash of political agendas within the Shogunate.
Forces within the Shogunate were largely split into two factions. The "Hardline/Anti-Nobunaga Faction," centered around Ueno Kiyonobu and Ueno Hidemasa, aimed to restore the Shogun's direct rule and order by condemning Nobunaga's reckless behavior and aligning with external forces such as Takeda Shingen, Asakura Yoshikage, and the Hongan-ji to eliminate him. In contrast, the "Peace/Pro-Nobunaga Faction," including Hosokawa Fujitaka and Akechi Mitsuhide, sought compromise and cooperation with Nobunaga, pursuing political stability based on the premise of Oda's military power.
Yoshiaki gradually leaned toward the advice of Ueno Kiyonobu and began to distance himself from Fujitaka and others who sought cooperation with Nobunaga. As a result, the discord within the dual government over whether to "protect or eliminate Nobunaga" became decisive.
4. Structural Defects of the Shogunate and the "Seventeen Articles of Dissent"
The factors that made the conflict between Oda Nobunaga and Ashikaga Yoshiaki irreversible were the economic and institutional defects inherent in the Muromachi Shogunate, as well as the collapse of its land policy.
The Muromachi Shogunate had very few direct holdings (goryosho) and lacked the capacity to provide legitimate "new grants (land assignments)" to the retainers and shogunate officials who served Yoshiaki loyally. Consequently, as a means to provide relief to his retainers, Yoshiaki was forced to tacitly condone the illegal proxy control and seizure of temple, shrine, and court noble lands (buke-o-shoryo). While outwardly conducting Shogunate trials and issuing rulings to stop such disturbances, he applied a double standard, allowing or exempting "disturbances" (iran: acting against order or rules, or raising objections against the opinions or actions of others) under the pretext that "the internal affairs are at my discretion."
Nobunaga viewed this situation as "misgovernment that disrupts local order." The foundation of Nobunaga's politics lay in the "guarantee of current land holdings" and the maintenance of legal order; the self-help and disturbances by shogunate retainers contradicted the peaceful order Nobunaga sought to establish.
At the end of 1572 (Genki 3) (previously thought to be September, but recent research suggests a December submission), Nobunaga presented Yoshiaki with a fierce letter of inquiry known as the "Seventeen Articles of Dissent."
【Content of Nobunaga's Denunciation and Structural Background】
Articles 3 and 7 -You do not grant rewards to loyal subjects (such as Hosokawa Fujitaka), while providing biased (henpa: unfair or favoritistic) stipends to those who are undeserving.
Article 5 -You granted Kamo Shrine lands to Iwanari Tomomichi, outwardly holding trials while inwardly condoning the seizure.
Articles 10 and 13 -You confiscated the pledges of the women of Koizumi and seized the land taxes paid by Akechi Mitsuhide under false pretenses.
Articles 14 and 16 -You sell stored rice for gold and silver, hoarding wealth instead of stockpiling provisions and weapons.
Articles 15 and 17 -You grant unreasonable profits to your favored young attendants, leading commoners to gossip about the "wicked Shogun's palace."
What Nobunaga denounced in the "Seventeen Articles of Dissent" was not only Yoshiaki's personal greed but also the collapse of the Shogunate's reward system and the tacit condoning of disturbances and self-help used to cover it up. Nobunaga had offered as early as 1570 that "if rewards for shogunate retainers are insufficient, they may be granted from Oda lands," but Yoshiaki rejected this to maintain his independence, and Nobunaga questioned him for the resulting neglect of disturbances.
Furthermore, even in December 1572, as seen in the confirmation of Myoshin-ji temple lands in Kyoto and the litigation rulings for Matsuo Shrine lands, the Shogunate and Nobunaga's magistrates (such as Kinoshita Tokichiro) were cooperating in the governance of Kyoto. Therefore, the rupture between the two was not due to a long-standing grudge (shukuen: deep-seated resentment held for a long time), but rather erupted all at once as a result of the convergence of Takeda Shingen's westward advance at the end of 1572 and the limitations of the Shogunate's land policy.
5. Fujitaka's Lonely Struggle and the "Three Requests"
Hosokawa Fujitaka, who continued to seek reconciliation with Nobunaga within the government, attempted a lonely struggle to stop the reckless behavior of Shogun Yoshiaki.
At the beginning of the 4th year of Genki (1573), Fujitaka, isolated among the Shogun's close aides, refrained from attending court and secluded himself in his villa at Koke-dani and Shoryuji Castle. To his brother, Mitsubuchi Fujihide, who visited to persuade him to stay, Fujitaka submitted a 'Three-Article Request' to Yoshiaki. The content was a stern questioning: first, to immediately cease the conflict and hostility with Nobunaga; second, to correct the error of befriending and inviting to Kyoto the enemy of his brother (the former Shogun, Yoshiteru), Miyoshi Yoshitsugu; and third, to refrain from the recklessness of favoring the bitter enemies involved in the assassination of Yoshiteru (such as Amago Takahisa, Bando Yoshimoto, Iwanari Tomomichi, and Arakawa Masatsugu).
These three articles were a blunt criticism of Yoshiaki's apostasy, as he was so intent on opposing Nobunaga that he was willing to cast aside the ethics and morality of the Shogunate to align with anti-Nobunaga forces. Although Yoshiaki outwardly appeared to accept this remonstrance, it is said that behind the scenes, he was even planning to have Fujitaka executed.
From February of the 4th year of Genki onwards, Fujitaka began regularly reporting to Nobunaga on the situation in Kyoto and signs of 'treason against the public authority.' A letter from Nobunaga dated February 23, 1573, expresses gratitude for Fujitaka's continuous reports and even carefully conveys Nobunaga's own analysis of the situation. Nobunaga placed such trust in Fujitaka that he even left the selection of 'people to be brought into their camp' to him; this can be said to have been an intelligence alliance that went far beyond mere private correspondence between shogunal retainers.
6. The Rupture and the Welcome at Mt. Osaka: Fujitaka's Anguish and Severance Seen in the Name Change to 'Nagaoka'
On February 13, 1573 (4th year of Genki), emboldened by Takeda Shingen's victory at the Battle of Mikatagahara and the capture of Noda Castle in Mikawa, Yoshiaki finally raised an army (committed treason) against Nobunaga.
On March 25 of the same year, Nobunaga departed from Gifu and entered Kyoto on March 29 with 10,000 elite troops. At this time, at Mt. Osaka, the entrance to Kyoto, Hosokawa Fujitaka and Araki Murashige welcomed Nobunaga. This was the moment Fujitaka broke with the Ashikaga Shogunate and clearly expressed his support for Nobunaga. Nobunaga highly valued this loyalty and rewarded them, giving Murashige a sword from Ogo and Fujitaka the famous 'Sadamune' short sword.
On July 10, after being granted the territory west of the Katsura River in Yamashiro Province by Nobunaga, Fujitaka changed his surname to 'Nagaoka' after the place name he was given. This act of temporarily returning the 'Hosokawa' surname, which had been tied to the authority of the Shogunate for generations, can be seen as an expression of Fujitaka's own anguish at having to betray his lord and his resolution toward the era.
7. The Battle of Makishima Castle and the Self-Destruction of the Muromachi Shogunate: Military Action as a 'Gosho-maki'
Regarding Yoshiaki's raising of an army, it was not the case that Nobunaga intended from the beginning to destroy the Shogunate and exile or eliminate the Shogun.
In April 1573 (4th year of Genki), even when he besieged the Nijo Palace and set fire to Kamigyo, Nobunaga repeatedly offered peace to Yoshiaki. Nobunaga showed the utmost submissive attitude, stating he would 'shave his head along with his heir, Nobutada, and have an audience unarmed and in plain clothes' and 'offer his own child as a hostage,' promising to preserve Yoshiaki's position as Shogun. This was because, for Nobunaga, the authoritative Shogun and the Shogunate apparatus were effective governing tools for indirectly ruling the Kinai and western regions.
Therefore, Nobunaga's military offensive was not intended to take Yoshiaki's life, but rather had the character of a 'Gosho-maki' (military intimidation to remove treacherous aides around the Shogun) to oust the shogunal retainers (such as Ueno Hidemasa) who had incited Yoshiaki toward a militant path.
Recent research focuses on the perspective of viewing this series of military actions as a 'Gosho-maki.' 'Gosho-maki' refers to a form of exerting pressure in the Muromachi period where the Shogun and his surroundings were surrounded by force, not to harm the Shogun himself, but to demand the removal and punishment of the aides around him who were leading the Shogun in a bad direction. The view has been presented that Nobunaga's siege of the Nijo Palace also had a strong character of demanding the punishment of the anti-Nobunaga group of aides, such as Ueno Hidemasa, who were said to have incited the uprising, rather than the subjugation of Yoshiaki himself. In fact, during the peace negotiations, Nobunaga repeatedly expressed his submission to Yoshiaki and continued to demand only the removal of the shogunal retainers.
The background to why Yoshiaki still broke the peace and raised an army repeatedly is thought to be Yoshiaki's own will to regain the initiative for 'peace under heaven' from Nobunaga through cooperation with a wide range of anti-Nobunaga forces, such as the Hongan-ji, Takeda Shingen, and the Mori clan. For Nobunaga, this was an act that betrayed the very logic of the 'Articles' he had established, and it was something that caused the Shogunate to lose the justification for its continued existence. The contemporary chronicler, Ota Gyuichi, described this outcome as 'self-destruction.' It is closer to the reality that while Nobunaga had no intention of destroying the Shogunate itself, Yoshiaki closed the path for himself.
【The Battle of Makishima Castle and the Progression of the Shogunate's Collapse】
April 7, 1573 –Yoshiaki accepts the Imperial peace decree and reconciles once.
July 3 –Yoshiaki breaks his oath and raises an army at Uji Makishima Castle with 3,700 soldiers.
July 10 –Nobunaga advances from Sakamoto to Kyoto using large ships he had constructed and captures the Nijo Palace.
July 18 – The elite Oda army forcibly crossed the Uji River, surrounded Makishima Castle, and launched a fierce attack. Yoshiaki surrendered.
July 28 – Obtained the imperial edict for a change of era name, changing the era from 'Genki' to 'Tensho'.
Yoshiaki surrendered his two-year-old child (Yoshinori) as a hostage, and having his life spared, he was exiled to Wakae Castle in Kawachi, appearing almost barefoot. It is said that the townspeople of Kyoto mocked the fallen Shogun, calling him the 'poverty-stricken Kubo.' As Ota Gyuichi described in the 'Shinchoko-ki' as 'self-destruction,' the fall of the Muromachi Shogunate was not caused by Nobunaga's violent destruction, but was the result of a structural collapse unable to adapt to the times and Yoshiaki's own strategic misjudgment.
8. The Trajectory of Ashikaga Yoshiaki After Exile and the 'Tomo Shogunate'
Although Ashikaga Yoshiaki was exiled from Kyoto, he was not stripped of his Shogun title by the Imperial Court, and he continued to engage in tenacious diplomatic warfare with the aim of reviving the 'Muromachi Shogunate'.
After his exile, Yoshiaki took refuge in Tomo in Bingo Province (present-day Fukuyama City, Hiroshima Prefecture) and installed Mori Terumoto as the deputy Shogun of the Shogunate (the so-called Tomo Shogunate). Yoshiaki continued to issue secret letters to various daimyo such as the Shimazu, Ryuzoji, Uesugi, and Takeda clans, aiming to reconstruct the encirclement net against Nobunaga. However, with the expansion of Nobunaga's power and Toyotomi Hideyoshi's unification of the country following the Honno-ji Incident in the 10th year of Tensho (1582), Yoshiaki's dream of reviving the Shogunate was crushed.
In the 15th year of Tensho (1587), Yoshiaki returned to Kyoto for the first time in 14 years through arrangements made by Hideyoshi. He resigned from the Shogun position, became a monk, took the name 'Shozan,' and received a stipend of 10,000 koku (as a quasi-Empress Dowager).
In the 2nd year of Keicho (1597), Yoshiaki closed his turbulent life at the age of 61. Nagaoka (Hosokawa) Fujitaka, who had once betrayed him and left for Nobunaga's side, remembered the virtues of his former lord and meticulously handled the preparations for his funeral and the aftermath. This sincere action by Fujitaka, which transcended political positions, symbolized his moral integrity as a samurai and his reminiscence of the 'peace under heaven' they had once aimed for.
9. Summary: The Turning Point of the Era and the End of the Men Who Chased the 'Ideal Shogun'
The process of conflict and rupture between Oda Nobunaga and Ashikaga Yoshiaki was a turning point where the limits of medieval authority and the birth of the early modern governance system intersected. The true triggers that led to their rupture were not individual personalities or emotional discord, but can be summarized by the following factors.
First, the contradiction between the old Shogunate structure, which had to tolerate self-help and the seizure of land by samurai, and the Nobunaga governance structure, which valued the confirmation of existing landholdings and legal order.
Second, the division within the government between the hardline Shogunate officials (such as Ueno Kiyonobu and Hidemasa) who aimed to eliminate Nobunaga through collusion with external forces (Takeda and Asakura), and the peace faction (such as Hosokawa Fujitaka) who sought survival through cooperation with Nobunaga.
Third, the dysfunction of a dual government caused by Yoshiaki attempting to transfer the initiative of the 'right to maintain peace under heaven,' which he had once delegated to Nobunaga, to Takeda Shingen and others.
For Nobunaga, the Shogun and the Shogunate were effective governing apparatuses that complemented his rule, and he sought their survival and reconciliation until the very end. However, due to the collapse of the Shogunate and Yoshiaki's 'self-destruction' incited by his hardline aides, the Muromachi Shogunate came to an end. The conclusion of this conflict can be said to be an event that symbolized the transition from a medieval state dependent on authority to an early modern unified state based on legal systems and military power.
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