The Ōnin War (応仁の乱; 1467 – 1477) was a ten-year long Japanese civil war that led to the Sengoku period.[1]
Prelude[]
Beginning as a dispute over who would succeed the heirless shōgun Ashikaga Yoshimasa,[1] with a faction supporting his younger brother Yoshimi and another supporting his infant son Yoshihisa, the conflict soon escalated from the political arena into open conflict,[2] fueled in part by the animosity between the Hosokawa and the Yamana clans.[3] Many samurai from around the country joined the fighting in the capital city of Kyoto, which lasted for 10 years.[1]
Aftermath[]
Kyoto suffered significant damage following the war, with an enormous proportion of it being destroyed in fire,[1] especially the upper class area that contained the palaces and temples. The part of Kyoto that housed merchants and artisans was spared from destruction, being considered too poor to loot, even though they had been accruing wealth by supplying and selling products to both side of the conflict.[3]
With the war's end, a number of lords returned to their provinces, some to due financial reasons and others because their houses in the capital had been destroyed. Many peasants and serfs made the opposite movement, leaving the countryside for the city and recreating themselves as merchants or artisans, leading to the development of a new culture.[3] Sometimes, returning samurai arrived to discover they had been usurped in the interim, though others become usurpers themselves upon their return. Those who managed to solidify their power became daimyō, independent warlords.[1]
The Ōnin War destroyed the idea of a functional shogunate, leading to the "Warring States" period. The Sengoku era is a period marked by the absence of a central authority in Japan because despite the continued existence of both the Imperial family and the shōguns in Kyoto, these groups were impoverished and functionally powerless, both politically and militarily.[1]
Appearances[]
- Echoes of History – Shadows (first mentioned)
- Assassin's Creed: Shadows (mentioned in Database entry only)
References[]
