＜prologue＞
I started a blog called “The Baby Boomer Generation’s Miscellaneous Blog”（Dankai-sedai no garakutatyou:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳） in July 2018, about a year before I fully retired. More than six years have passed since then, and the number of articles has increased considerably.
So, in order to make them accessible to people who don’t understand Japanese, I decided to translate my past articles into English and publish them.
It may sound a bit exaggerated, but I would like to make this my life’s work.
It should be noted that haiku and waka （Japanese short fixed form poems） are quite difficult to translate into English, so some parts are written in Japanese.
If you are interested in haiku or waka and would like to know more, please read introductory or specialized books on haiku or waka written in English.
I also write many articles about the Japanese language. I would be happy if these inspire more people to want to learn Japanese.
my blog’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳 | 団塊世代が雑学や面白い話を発信しています
my X’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多帳（@historia49）さん / X
How much do you know about the Onin War? It was a long civil war that burned down the entire capital of Kyoto for 11 years from 1467 to 1477, in which Katsumoto Hosokawa and Sohzen Yamana fought separately in the eastern and western camps.
However, even so, the “Onin War” is still a “messy civil war” or “lazy civil war” that is difficult to understand at this point.
I am digressing, but I do not use the word “messy” very often, but watching the five-hour long incomprehensible “messy press conference” by Yoshimoto Kogyo President Akihiko Okamoto on July 22 2019 in response to the July 20 apology press conference by Hiroyuki Miyasako and Ryo Tamura for their “black market problem,” I thought again, “The Onin War was a messy civil war, too.
Subsequently, a number of Yoshimoto Kogyo comedians have been speaking out on social networking services and in interviews with the media.
In addition, comments from government officials who collaborate with Yoshimoto Kogyo and comments from the Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) were also made, and it became clear that Yoshimoto Kogyo was in violation of compliance, power harassment, and antitrust law issues.
The focus of the problem now seems to have shifted to “the system and structure of Yoshimoto Kogyo itself.
It may take a few years for the “messy civil war at Yoshimoto Kogyo” to come to an end.
By the way, Yuichi Goza’s “Onin no Ran” (Chuko Shinsho), published in October 2016, became an exceptional hit, selling over 370,000 copies. It seems to be a topic of considerable interest to people.
In this issue, we would like to consider the “Onin War” from various angles.
１．What was the Onin War?
The Onin War was a major civil war that took place in Kyoto and other parts of Japan for 11 years from 1467 to 1477. It started at the end of the Muromachi period (1336-1573), when the Hatakeyama clan and the Ashikaga shoguns fought for the succession to the shogunate, and the Hosokawa and Yamana feudal lords, two powerful feudal lords, were divided into two camps, the east and west.
The Onin Rebellion was a futile battle with no outcome, which devastated the capital of Kyoto, caused suffering to the common people, and led to the collapse of the Muromachi shogunate. Many of the nobles, including the Shogunate’s chief advisor to the Emperor, avoided the war and retreated to the provinces.
２．Causes of the Onin War
What were the causes of the great civil war that continued around the capital of Kyoto for 11 long years?
（１）Direct causes
①The struggle for the succession of the Hatakeyama clan
Ashikaga Yoshimasa (1436-1490), the eighth shogun of the Muromachi Shogunate (1449-1473), initially ordered the succession of the Hatakeyama clan to his heir, Yoshinari, but showed indecisiveness in nominating Masanaga, Yoshinari’s cousin, in the process.
Yoshinari and Masanaga were at loggerheads over this inheritance issue, and two powerful guardians, Yamana Sozen (1404-1473) and Hosokawa Katsumoto (1430-1473), intervened. In addition, the guardians who joined each of them gathered in Kyoto.
②The Ashikaga Shoguns’ Struggle for Succession
Ashikaga Yoshimasa, on the other hand, initially considered his younger brother Yoshimi as his successor, but with the birth of his illegitimate son Yoshinao, Yoshimasa’s wife Hino Tomiko (1440-1496) moved to support Yoshinao, creating a conflict between the two factions.
Some of the court nobles began to plot Yoshimi’s assassination.
As a result, Yoshimi’s faction and Yoshinao’s faction joined the conflict between Yamana Sozen and Hosokawa Katsumoto.
Thus, the battle began, with the western side consisting of Hatakeyama Yoshinari, Yamana Sozen, and Ashikaga Yoshinao, and the eastern side consisting of Hatakeyama Masanaga, Hosokawa Katsumoto, and Ashikaga Yoshimi.
③Participation of Other Local Leaders
The other local leaders had no cause, so they either joined those they considered to be influential in order to expand their own power, or betrayed and turned on the other when they saw that the one they had initially joined was outnumbered. As a result, the conflict became a “messy civil war” that repeatedly went back and forth.
As a result, however, it was the common people of the capital of Kyoto who suffered the most, and not only the town houses of commoners and merchants, but also shrines, Buddhist temples, and other historic buildings and cultural assets were severely damaged.
（２）Indirect or Distant Causes
①Ashikaga Yoshimasa’s indecisive character and flight from politics
He was indecisive by nature, and despite his position as Shogun, he left politics to his wife Hino Tomiko and influential patron lords, while he himself immersed himself in the world of Noh drama and hobbies. On the positive side, however, this allowed the “Higashiyama culture” to flourish, a culture that has a connection to modern Japan…
②Conflict between Yamana Sozen and Hosokawa Katsumoto
At first, the two powerful patron lords worked together to support the Muromachi shogunate, but eventually they came into conflict due to power struggles, and Yamana Sozen became an ally of Hino Tomiko.
③The Shogun and the Emperor were made puppet generals of the two armies.
If it was a small dispute between local powerful men, there was no need for the Shogunate to intervene. However, Hosokawa Katsumoto grew increasingly concerned about the growing power of Yamana Sozen, and surrounded Ashikaga Yoshimasa’s residence to intimidate him, forcing him to appoint himself to the “shogunate army.
The nobles did not want to tolerate Hosokawa Katsumoto’s arrogant and forceful actions, but Yoshimasa half-heartedly acquiesced, and the military power of the shogunate was now monopolized by Hosokawa Katsumoto.
In response, Yamana Sozen invited the surviving emperor of the Southern Court lineage (the Southern Emperor of Nishijin) to his own residence and claimed that he was the “Emperor’s Army”.
Thus, Yamana Sozen and Hosokawa Katsumoto called allies from various regions to Kyoto in order to establish their authority, leading to a major civil war that interested Shugo (Military Governors) from all over Japan.
Wikipedia has a map of the forces of the East and West in 1467 (light blue: East, yellow: West, yellow-green: both armies facing each other) for reference.
３．course of the Onin War (1467-1477)
①Ashikaga Yoshimi’s Turnabout
Deprived of his hope of becoming the next shogun, Ashikaga Yoshimi initially cooperated with Yoshimasa and worked hard for peace between the East and West armies.
However, Yoshimi gradually came to be regarded as an enemy by Yoshimasa’s entourage, so he accepted the invitation of Yamana Sozen and switched sides with the western forces.
②The Dilemma of the Shugo (Military Governors)’ Immobility
The Shugo (Military Governors) who had gathered in Kyoto at the invitation of Yamana Sozen and Hosokawa Katsumoto were also facing “family disturbances” and “territorial disputes” in their hometowns, and while they were away, the problems became more complicated or their territories were attacked by the enemy. They were faced with the dilemma of really wanting to return home but being unable to move because they had enemies in front of them.
③Deaths of Yamana Sozen and Hosokawa Katsumoto
In 1473, Yamana Sozen and Hosokawa Katsumoto, the ringleaders of the rebellion, died of illness one after the other. Negotiations for peace were immediately conducted between the successors of the two families, but the civil war did not end due to the presence of many “anti-peace” factions.
④Civil war continued under the leadership of Masahiro Ouchi
The spearhead of the war was Ouchi Masahiro (1446-1495), the de facto general of the Western Army at the time. He showed his determination to continue the war by hiding Ashikaga Yoshimi in his own residence.
At the same time, Yoshimasa formally handed over the governorship to Yoshinao and retired.
Yoshimi also tried to make peace with Yoshimasa as soon as possible through Hino tomiko. Under these circumstances, some Shugo (Military Governors) began to stop fighting and return home.
However, only Ouchi Masahiro continued to fight against Hosokawa Katsumoto’s son, Masamoto.
However, he too finally lost the meaning of fighting, as the general Yoshimi showed his willingness to vassal Yoshimasa.
In the end, Hino Tomiko lobbied the Imperial Court and allowed Masahiro Ouchi to return home alive with his fiefdom and government position intact.
With this, Ouchi Masahiro returned home, and the remaining Western forces retreated en masse, finally bringing the Onin War to an end.
４．What changed as a result of the Onin War
(1) Loss of authority and decline of the Muromachi Shogunate
The authority of the Muromachi Shogunate had been on the decline for some time, but the Onin War decisively undermined its authority and rendered the Shogunate powerless. Thereafter, wars became the norm in various parts of Japan, triggering the start of the “Sengoku Period” in which influential feudal lords jostled each other for supremacy over the rest of the country.
The conflict between the Shogun and the Hosokawa family also became clear, and the Shogun was used as a tool in the struggle for the Hosokawa family’s power.
（２）The spread of the “Gekokujo” spirit
The shogunate’s rule by “authority” was no longer valid, and the Sengoku period became a time when rule by “merit” was all that mattered.
（３）The Rise of the “Kokujin Ryosyu(national feudal lords)” and “Dogoh So(local feudal lords)” in the Villages
The “national feudal lords” and “local feudal lords,” who had established roots in the locality and developed a steady lord system, became more powerful in place of the “Syugo Daimyo(military guardian lords)
,” such as the “absentee landlords,” who had neglected local rule.
This is symbolized by the movement of “Syugodai(guardian deputies)” overthrowing “Syugo Daimyo(military guardian lords)” and becoming “Sengoku Daimyo(feudal lords of the Warring States).
（４）Changes in Warfare
After the Onin War, “ashigaru” (foot soldiers) came to the forefront, greatly influencing the way of warfare during the Warring States period.
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