Yoshimitsu Ashikaga

The third Shogun of the Muromachi Shogunate. His father was the second Shogun Yoshiakira. His mother was Kino Yoshiko, the daughter of Zenpoji Tsusei, the inspector of Iwashimizu Hachimangu Shrine. He was born on August 22, 1611. His childhood name was Haruo. Yoshimitsu was born just after his grandfather Takauji died, and the power of the remnants of Tadayoshi's faction had finally weakened, but attacks from the Southern Court and internal strife within the Shogunate were fierce, and even the four-year-old Yoshimitsu had to flee to Shirahata Castle, the castle of Akamatsu Sokuyu, the guardian of Harima Province (Hyogo Prefecture). In 1367 (Shohei 22, Joji 6), Yoshiakira was on the verge of death when he handed over the family headship to 10-year-old Yoshimitsu, and appointed Hosokawa Yoriyuki, who had been summoned from Sanuki (Kagawa Prefecture), as Kanrei (regent) and entrusted his future affairs to him. The following year, in 1368, Yoshimitsu came of age and was appointed Seii Taishogun. In 1372, he held a ceremony to commemorate the beginning of the Imperial Rule, but the practical aspects of the shogunate remained in Yoriyuki's hands. Yoriyuki worked to strengthen the centralized system of the Muromachi shogunate, and successfully consolidated the foundations of the shogunate. However, this caused opposition from other powerful shugo daimyo who disliked Yoriyuki's excessive power, and in 1379 (Tenju 5, Kōryaku 1), Yoshimitsu ordered Yoriyuki to return to his home country (the Kōryaku Coup) and appointed Shiba Yoshimasa as Kanrei. This was likely due in part to Yoshimitsu's own will, as he gradually began to aspire to self-reliance in the shogunate government. In 1378 (Tenju 4, Eiwa 4), he built a new residence (Hana no Gosho) in Muromachi and moved there. This was the beginning of laying the foundations for the Yoshimitsu era. In order to make the shogun's power absolute, Yoshimitsu worked to reduce the influence of the powerful shugo daimyo. The first victim of this was the Toki clan (1390), a senior vassal since the founding of the shogunate. Then, in 1391 (Genchu ​​8, Meitoku 2), he defeated the Yamana clan, known as the Rokubunichishu, who held the shugo title for 11 provinces (Meitoku Rebellion), and in 1399 (Oei 6), he annihilated Ouchi Yoshihiro, a powerful clan leader in the Chugoku region (Oei Rebellion). Yoshimitsu tried to alienate the families of the powerful shugo daimyo and eventually wipe them out, so they raised anti-shogunate troops in response, but were defeated by Yoshimitsu's skillful tactics. These anti-shogunate forces often supported the Southern Court as the basis for their own legitimacy, but in 1392 (Genchu ​​9, Meitoku 3), Yoshimitsu forced Emperor Gokameyama of the Southern Court to hand over the sacred treasures to Emperor Gokomatsu of the Northern Court, effectively denying the Southern Court (unifying the Northern and Southern Courts). Battles were not the only way to subjugate anti-shogunate forces. Yoshimitsu traveled to various provinces by 1403 (Oei 10), starting with a sightseeing trip to Amanohashidate in 1386 (Genchu ​​3, Shitoku 3), but his true intention was to demonstrate the power of the shogunate and to confirm his submission to the shogun. This was not limited to the shugo daimyo, but also to the temple and shrine forces. In particular, with regard to controlling temples, he established the Gozan system and appointed Shun'oku Myoha as a monk registrar to manage the Zen religious organization, while also providing strong economic protection and allowing the Gozan culture to flourish.

While suppressing the anti-Shogunate forces and establishing a Shogun dictatorship, Yoshimitsu was appointed Minister of the Left in 1382 (Kōwa 2/Eitoku 2) and Jusango in the following year (1383) while still in his position as Shogun. In 1394 (Ōei 1), he handed over the Shogun position to his son Yoshimochi and became Daijō-daijin, but Yoshimitsu himself continued to hold real power as Shogun. After resigning from his position as Daijō-daijin and becoming a monk in 1395, he attempted to imitate the Emperor, and then built Kitayama-tei, which imitated the Sento Imperial Palace. The Kinkakuji is part of this mountain villa. Yoshimitsu conducted government affairs here, gathered the upper classes of the Imperial Court and the military, and enjoyed various events such as waka poetry, linked verse, music and sarugaku, and collected famous paintings from the Song and Yuan dynasties, allowing Kitayama culture to flourish here.

Regarding foreign affairs, Yoshimitsu officially resumed diplomatic relations with China in 1401 (Oei 8), which had been suspended since the Mongol invasions, in order to gain trade benefits and diplomatic rights as a sign of national sovereignty. The aforementioned Oei War was also intended to defeat the Ouchi clan, who had privately controlled overseas trade. In the following year, 1402, an imperial edict from a Ming envoy was written as "King of Japan, Minamoto Michiyoshi," and Yoshimitsu himself sent a reply as "Subordinate Minamoto of the King of Japan," and he was invested by the Ming after suppressing the Wako pirates. There were voices of criticism at the time for this subservient diplomacy toward the Ming, but it was probably intended to alleviate dissatisfaction with being formally under the Emperor, even though he was a powerful man who had in effect unified the Japanese nation.

In March 1408 (Oei 15), Yoshimitsu welcomed Emperor Gokomatsu to Kitayama-tei, and the following April, he had his favorite son Yoshitsugu (Yoshimochi's half-brother) come of age in the same manner as an Imperial Prince. This was probably a move to solidify his own position as the sovereign over the Imperial Court and the military, going beyond the traditional position of Shogun. However, Yoshimitsu fell ill with a cough and died suddenly on May 6th at Kitayama-tei. He was 51 years old. His posthumous name was Rokuon-in Tenzan Dogi. His grave is in Rokuon-in, Shokoku-ji. The Imperial Court tried to give him the honorary title of Dajo Emperor, but Yoshimochi firmly refused. With the support of Shiba Yoshimasa and others, the current Shogun Yoshimochi was selected as his successor.

[Hiromi Tanaka]

"Ashikaga Yoshimitsu" by Nobuyoshi Usui (1960, Yoshikawa Kobunkan) "The People Who Created Japan 11: Ashikaga Yoshimitsu" by Shinichi Sato (1980, Heibonsha)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

室町幕府第3代将軍。父は2代将軍義詮(よしあきら)。母は石清水八幡宮検校(いわしみずはちまんぐうけんぎょう)善法寺通清(ぜんぽうじつうせい)の娘紀良子(きのよしこ)。延文(えんぶん)3年8月22日生まれ。幼名春王。義満の生まれたのは、祖父尊氏(たかうじ)が亡くなった直後で、直義(ただよし)派残党の勢力はようやく衰えていたものの、南朝方の攻撃、幕府の内訌(ないこう)は激しく、4歳の義満さえ播磨(はりま)国（兵庫県）守護(しゅご)赤松則祐(あかまつそくゆう)の白旗(しらはた)城に難を逃れねばならなかった。1367年（正平22・貞治6）義詮は死に臨んで10歳の義満に家督を譲り、讃岐(さぬき)（香川県）から呼び寄せた細川頼之(よりゆき)を管領(かんれい)に任じて後事を託した。翌1368年、義満は元服し、征夷(せいい)大将軍に任ぜられ、1372年には判始(はんはじめ)の式を行っているが、幕政の実務は頼之の手にあった。頼之は室町幕府の集権的体制を強化することに努め、よく幕府の基礎を固めた。しかし、頼之の権力があまりに肥大化することを嫌った他の有力守護大名の反発を招き、1379年（天授5・康暦1）義満は頼之に帰国を命じ（康暦(こうりゃく)の政変）、斯波義将(しばよしまさ)を管領とした。これは、しだいに幕政の自専を志向し始めた義満自身の意志でもあったろう。1378年（天授4・永和4）には、室町に新邸（花の御所）を造営して移住。義満時代の基礎を築き始めていたのである。義満は将軍権力を絶対化するため、有力守護大名たちの勢力削減に努めた。その最初の犠牲が、幕府創業以来の重臣土岐(とき)氏（1390）であった。ついで1391年（元中8・明徳2）、11か国の守護職をもち六分一衆とよばれた山名氏を討ち（明徳(めいとく)の乱）、1399年（応永6）には中国地方の雄族大内義弘(よしひろ)を滅ぼしている（応永(おうえい)の乱）。有力守護大名の一族を離間させ、ついには掃滅しようという義満に、彼らは反幕の兵をあげて応じたが、巧みな義満の術策の前に敗れ去ったのである。こうした反幕軍はしばしば南朝を担いで自らの正統性の根拠としたが、1392年（元中9・明徳3）義満は、南朝の御亀山(ごかめやま)天皇に神器を北朝の御小松(ごこまつ)天皇へ譲り渡させ、事実上南朝を否定した（南北朝合一）。反幕勢力を圧伏する方法は戦闘に限らなかった。義満は、1386年（元中3・至徳3）天橋立(あまのはしだて)の景勝遊覧に出かけたのをはじめ、1403年（応永10）までの間に諸国を遊覧したが、その真意は幕府権力の示威や、将軍に対する臣従を確認するためであった。それは、守護大名に限らず、寺社勢力に対するものでもあった。とくに寺院統制の面では、五山(ござん)制度を整備し、春屋妙葩(しゅんおくみょうは)を僧録に任じ禅宗教団を管理すると同時に、経済的にも厚い保護を加え、五山文化を盛行させた。

　反幕勢力を制圧し、将軍独裁制を築きながら義満は、将軍職在任のまま、1382年（弘和2・永徳2）には左大臣、翌1383年には准三后(じゅさんごう)宣下を受けた。そして、1394年（応永1）には将軍職を子の義持(よしもち)に譲り太政(だいじょう)大臣となったが、将軍としての実権は従前どおり義満自身が握ったままであった。1395年太政大臣を辞して出家して以後、自らを法皇に擬せんとし、ついで北山第(きたやまてい)を仙洞(せんとう)御所に擬して造営した。金閣はこの山荘の一部である。義満はここで政務をとり、公武上層貴族を集めて、和歌、連歌、管弦、猿楽など種々の催しに興じ、宋(そう)・元(げん)の名画を収集して、ここに北山文化を花開かせた。

　外交に関して義満は、貿易の利と、国家主権者の表徴たる外交権を手中に収めるため、元寇(げんこう)以来中断していた中国との国交を1401年（応永8）に正式に再開した。先述した応永の乱は、私的に海外貿易を掌握する大内氏を討つためでもあった。翌1402年の明(みん)使の詔書には「日本国王源道義」と記され、義満自身「日本国王臣源」として返書を送り、倭寇(わこう)を鎮圧して明の冊封(さくほう)を受けた。こうした明に対する追従外交には当時から非難の声があったが、事実上日本の国家を統一した実力者でありながら、形式的には天皇の下にあることに対する不満を解消する意図だったのであろう。

　1408年（応永15）3月、義満は後小松天皇を北山第(きたやまてい)に迎え、翌4月には、寵児(ちょうじ)義嗣(よしつぐ)（義持の異母弟）を親王の儀に準じて元服させた。これも、従来の将軍の地位を超えた、公武に君臨する自らの地位を確固たるものとするための布石だったのであろう。しかし、義満は咳病(がいびょう)を患って、5月6日北山第に急逝した。51歳。法号は鹿苑院(ろくおんいん)天山道義。墓は相国寺(しょうこくじ)鹿苑院にある。朝廷からは太上(だじょう)天皇の尊号を与えようとしたが、義持はこれを固辞した。後継者は斯波義将らの支持で、現将軍義持と定められた。

［田中博美］

『臼井信義著『足利義満』（1960・吉川弘文館）』▽『佐藤進一著『日本を創った人びと11　足利義満』（1980・平凡社）』

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