Ashikaga Takauji was a Japanese warrior and statesman who founded the Muromachi, or Ashikaga, shogunate. After helping overthrow the Kamakura shogunate and initially supporting Emperor Go-Daigo, he turned against the imperial restoration, established the Northern Court in Kyoto, and became shogun in 1338.
Background
Ashikaga Takauji was born on August 18, 1305, in Ashikaga, Japan, into the powerful Ashikaga family, a branch of the Seiwa Genji and Minamoto warrior lineage. The family had long served the Hōjō regents who controlled the Kamakura shogunate, and its estates and political connections placed Takauji within the leading military house of eastern Japan.
Takauji was the son of Ashikaga Sadauji and Uesugi Kiyoko and the elder brother of Ashikaga Tadayoshi. His early life coincided with the weakening of Kamakura rule and the growing challenge posed by Emperor Go-Daigo, whose efforts to restore direct imperial authority culminated in the conflicts of the 1330s.
Career
Takauji first served the Kamakura shogunate as a military commander during the campaigns against Emperor Go-Daigo. In 1333 he was sent toward Kyoto to reinforce the shogunate's defenses, but he changed sides, attacked the Rokuhara Tandai headquarters, and helped bring down Kamakura rule. The Kamakura shogunate had governed through a warrior administration centered in eastern Japan, while the Rokuhara Tandai represented its authority in western Japan.
Takauji initially participated in Go-Daigo's Kenmu Restoration, the attempt to return political power to the imperial court. When a Hōjō uprising recaptured Kamakura in 1335, Takauji defeated the rebel forces and then became increasingly opposed to the emperor's distribution of authority and rewards. He gathered support among dissatisfied warriors, defeated imperial forces in Kyoto, and established an alternative imperial court under Emperor Kōmyō.
In 1336 Takauji founded a new warrior administration in Kyoto with the assistance of his brother Tadayoshi. The Muromachi shogunate, also called the Ashikaga shogunate, became Japan's second major warrior government and exercised military authority until 1573. The Northern Court appointed Takauji seii taishōgun in 1338, while Go-Daigo continued to claim legitimacy from the Southern Court at Yoshino.
Takauji's authority was never completely secure. Rivalries within the Ashikaga family, including the conflict between Takauji and Tadayoshi, weakened the new government, and the Northern and Southern Courts remained at war throughout the rest of his life. Alongside his military and political activities, Takauji composed waka and renga poetry, supported Zen institutions, and sponsored the construction and restoration of Buddhist temples, including Tenryū-ji.
Achievements
Ashikaga Takauji founded the Muromachi, or Ashikaga, shogunate, the second major warrior government in medieval Japan. The administration established in Kyoto in 1336 and formalized through his appointment as shogun in 1338 retained military dominance over Japan until 1573.
Takauji played a decisive role in the overthrow of the Kamakura shogunate, first supporting Emperor Go-Daigo's restoration movement and later defeating the imperial forces and establishing the Northern Court. His actions initiated the Northern and Southern Courts conflict, which divided the imperial institution until 1392.
Takauji supported Zen Buddhism and major temple projects, including Tenryū-ji in Kyoto, which he ordered built as a memorial to Emperor Go-Daigo. His patronage contributed to the religious and cultural foundations of the Muromachi period.
Takauji was a practitioner of waka and renga poetry, demonstrating the literary and cultural interests of a medieval warrior ruler.
Religion
Ashikaga Takauji was a Buddhist whose religious identity was expressed particularly through devotion to Zen institutions and Buddhist memorial practice. His Buddhist name was Tojiinden Niyama Myogi dai koji Chojuji-dono.
Takauji maintained a close association with the Zen master and intellectual Musō Soseki. He ordered the construction of Tenryū-ji in Kyoto as a memorial to Emperor Go-Daigo, supported the restoration of Buddhist shrines, and participated in the transcription of Buddhist scriptures. His patronage reflected the important role of Buddhist temples in the religious, cultural, and political life of medieval Japan.
Politics
Takauji's political authority rested on the institutions of warrior government rather than on a modern political party. His career unfolded during the collapse of the Kamakura shogunate and the failed Kenmu Restoration, when disputes over imperial rule, warrior privilege, and the distribution of military authority divided Japan.
After initially supporting Emperor Go-Daigo's attempt to restore direct imperial government, Takauji came to represent the interests of many warrior families dissatisfied with the new court-centered administration. He established a rival imperial line in Kyoto and founded the Muromachi, or Ashikaga, shogunate, while Go-Daigo maintained the Southern Court at Yoshino. The resulting Northern and Southern Courts conflict continued until 1392, long after Takauji's death.
Personality
According to the Zen master and intellectual Musō Soseki, Takauji remained composed in battle, showed little fear of death, was merciful and tolerant, and was generous toward people of lower status.
Quotes from others about the person
Musō Soseki described Takauji as calm and fearless in battle, merciful and tolerant in conduct, and generous toward those beneath him.
Interests
Waka poetry, renga linked verse, Zen Buddhism, and Buddhist temple patronage.
Connections
Takauji was the son of Ashikaga Sadauji and Uesugi Kiyoko and the brother of Ashikaga Tadayoshi. He married Akahashi Toshi, also known as Nariko, who was the mother of his heir Ashikaga Yoshiakira and several other children.
His children included Ashikaga Yoshiakira, Ashikaga Motouji, Tazuō, Ashikaga Tadafuyu, Seiomaru, and Ashikaga Takewakamaru. His family connections extended across the leading warrior houses of the late Kamakura and Nanboku-chō periods.
Father:
Ashikaga Sadauji
He lived from 1273 to 1331 and belonged to the Ashikaga warrior family.
Mother:
Uesugi Kiyoko
She lived from 1270 to 1343.
Mistress:
Echizen no Tsubone
Mistress:
Kako no Tsubone
Wife:
Akahashi Toshi
Also known as Akahashi Nariko; she lived from 1306 to 1365 and was the mother of Ashikaga Yoshiakira and several other children.
Daughter:
Yoriko
She died in 1353.
Daughter:
Tazuo
She was born to Akahashi Toshi.
Son:
Ashikaga Tadafuyu
He lived from 1327 to 1387.
Son:
Seiomaru
He lived from 1338 to 1345.
Son:
Ashikaga Takewakamaru
He died in 1333.
Son:
Ashikaga Motouji
He lived from 1340 to 1367 and served as the Kamakura kubō.
Son:
Ashikaga Yoshiakira
He lived from July 4, 1330, to December 28, 1367, and succeeded Takauji as the second Ashikaga shogun.
Japan Search: Ashikaga Takauji
A National Diet Library Japan Search record documenting Takauji as the first shogun of the Muromachi shogunate, his Ashikaga and Seiwa Genji lineage, his role in the overthrow of the Kamakura shogunate, and his relationship with Akahashi Toshi.
Kyushu National Museum Exhibition: Ashikaga Takauji
An institutional account of Takauji's political career, Buddhist faith, association with Musō Soseki, construction of Tenryū-ji, and support for Buddhist scripture transcription.
The Encyclopedia of Biwako Otsu's History: Ashikaga Takauji
A historical overview of Takauji's overthrow of the Kamakura shogunate, establishment of the Northern Court and Muromachi shogunate, Buddhist activities, and role in the Nanboku-chō period.
