Yoshinori Ashikaga

Japanese: 足利義教 - あしかが・よしのり

Year of death: 24 June 1441 (12 July 1441)
Year of birth: 13th June 1394 (11th July 1394)
The 6th Shogun of the Muromachi Shogunate. Son of Yoshimitsu, his mother was Keiko, the daughter of Aki Hogen, a priest at Sanboin Temple. He was Yoshimochi's younger brother by the same mother. He entered Shoren-in Temple in June 1403, and in March 1412 he became a monk and took the Buddhist name Gien. In July 1413 he was ordained, then promoted to Daisojo and was proclaimed jugo. He served as Tendai Zasu from November 1426 until April of the following year. When Yoshimochi died suddenly in January 1428 without an heir, his elders wanted him to name a successor in his will, but Yoshimochi refused. In consultation with the guardian monk Mansai, they decided to select him by drawing lots. This was in accordance with the common belief at the time that the decision on the family succession required the agreement of all family members, and as a result of the lottery it was decided that Gien would be the successor, and in March of the same year he returned to secular life and took the name Yoshiaki. He later became Yoshinori. In the sacred world, he held the highest rank of Jugo Daisojo, but after returning to secular life, the opinion that he should be gradually promoted was accepted, and he was first appointed as Saemon no Kami (Left Horse Captain) with a Junior Fifth Rank, and in March of the following year, he came of age and was proclaimed Shogun. In August 1432, he was appointed Minister of the Left, head of both Junna-in and Shogaku-in temples, and was appointed as the head of the Genji clan. At the beginning of his reign, he followed the wishes of his elders and maintained the council system, but at the same time, he re-established the Hyojoshu and Intsuke no Tonin (Chief Councillors) to curb the power of the Kanrei, and gradually aimed for the Shogun's autocracy. In 1211, he put down the rebellion of Kitabatake Mitsumasa, and after the death of Emperor Shoko, he welcomed the son of Fushiminomiya Sadanari and supported him as Emperor Gohanazono, demonstrating the power of the Shogunate. However, he was cold-hearted and extremely cruel, and executed many courtiers and generals for minor offenses, which earned him the nickname "the terror of all" and "the evil Imperial Palace." In February 1546, he suppressed the mountain gate, which had repeatedly filed suit, and the central hall was set on fire. In August 1547, when the Kanto kubo Ashikaga Mochiuji raised an army (the Eikyō Rebellion), he requested an imperial decree, which had been abolished since the time of Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, and put down the rebellion. He also actively intervened in the succession of the shugo families, and, using the name of the general council, he took control of most of the senior retainers, except for the Hosokawa family. In May 1549, he assassinated Isshiki Yoshitsura and Toki Mochiyori, and in January of the following year, he banished Hatakeyama Mochikuni. This caused panic among the shugo, and Akamatsu Mitsusuke, who wanted to escape the shogun's clutches by taking the initiative, invited him to his own residence, where he was slain during a banquet (the Kakitsu Incident). In terms of his authoritarianism, he resembled Oda Nobunaga rather than his father Yoshimitsu. <References> Sato Shinichi, "Collection of Essays on the History of the Middle Ages in Japan," Imaya Akira, "Domin Shinshin"

(Akira Imaya)

Source: Asahi Japanese Historical Biography: Asahi Shimbun Publications Inc. About Asahi Japanese Historical Biography

Japanese:

没年：嘉吉1.6.24(1441.7.12)
生年：応永1.6.13(1394.7.11)
室町幕府第6代将軍。義満の子で,母は三宝院坊官安芸法眼の娘慶子。義持の同母弟。応永10(1403)年6月青蓮院に入室,同15年3月得度して義円の法名を称す。同18年7月受戒,次いで大僧正に上り,准后の宣下を受ける。同26年11月より翌々年4月まで天台座主。正長1(1428)年1月,義持が嗣子なく急死するに当たり,宿老たちは遺言による後継指名を望んだが,義持は拒否。護持僧満済との協議でくじによる選出を決した。これは家督決定には一族内者の合意を不可欠とする当時の通念に従ったもので,くじの結果義円が後嗣と決定,同年3月還俗して義宣と名乗った。のちの義教である。聖界にあっては准后大僧正という最高位にあったが,還俗後は次第昇進を要すとの意見が通り,まず従五位下左馬頭に叙任,翌年3月元服し,将軍宣下を受けた。永享4(1432)年8月左大臣,淳和・奨学両院別当を兼ね,源氏長者に補された。治世のはじめは宿老たちの意向に従い合議制を守ったが,同時に評定衆や引付頭人を再設して管領権力の抑止を図り,漸次将軍専制を志向した。正長1年北畠満雅の蜂起を鎮圧し,称光天皇没後は伏見宮貞成の子を迎えて後花園天皇に擁立するなど幕権の威を示したが,性酷薄で残忍を極め,廷臣や諸将を小過を以て大量に処分したので「万人恐怖」「悪御所」と呼ばれて恐れられた。永享7年2月には嗷訴を繰り返す山門を弾圧,中堂は炎上した。同10年8月の関東公方足利持氏の挙兵(永享の乱)に際しては足利義満時以来廃絶していた綸旨を奏請して,これを鎮圧した。守護家の家督にも積極的に介入し,衆議に名を借りて細川氏を除くほとんどの宿老家の手入れを行った。同12年5月,一色義貫,土岐持頼を暗殺し,翌年1月には畠山持国を追放。そのため各守護は恐慌をきたし,先手を打つことで将軍の魔手を逃れんとした赤松満祐により自邸に招かれ,宴席中に斬殺された(嘉吉の変)。権威主義的な点で,父の義満に似ず織田信長に類似する。<参考文献>佐藤進一『日本中世史論集』,今谷明『土民嗷々』

(今谷明)

出典　朝日日本歴史人物事典：（株）朝日新聞出版朝日日本歴史人物事典について　情報

<<: Yoshiharu Ashikaga

>>: Yoshiteru Ashikaga - Yoshiteru Ashikaga