The Asakura family, who claimed kinship with several emperors, lived in the province of Echizen. Its representatives were considered hereditary vassals of the Shiba clan. From the mid-15th century until their defeat by Oda Nobunaga's army in 1573, which resulted in the final destruction of the Asakura clan, they were a significant military and economic force.
Asakura Toshikage stood out for his outstanding abilities from a young age. In 1453, the Bakufu entrusted him with settling the feuds between the two branches of the Shiba clan. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Toshikage began to seize lands in the province of Echizen that belonged to temples and noble families. The influence of the Shiba family gradually weakened, and by 1471, Asakura had been appointed governor of the province of Etzen, a position that had traditionally belonged to the Shiba clan.
Toshikage built a castle in Ichijōgatani and moved his headquarters there. Over the next hundred years, the region experienced a period of economic and cultural prosperity. Ichijōgatani became a major trading center, which was only destroyed during the wars with Oda Nobunaga.
Toshikage himself is considered a typical example of a ruthless gokoku-daimyo — a representative of an impoverished samurai clan who managed to defeat the nobility. He was distinguished by his realistic mindset and was free from prejudice in politics. The seventeen articles, written in Chinese style, may have been compiled after his death, but they are believed to undoubtedly reflect Toshikage's ideas and character.
These articles are distinguished by their strict pragmatism and rationality, with an almost complete absence of religious motifs. The number of articles — seventeen — is reminiscent of the constitution of Shotoku Taishi, created in the 7th century and also consisting of seventeen paragraphs. Perhaps this contains a hint of the Asakura family's aspirations and the author's desire to leave a mark on history no less significant than that left by Shotoku Taishi.
See also
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Takeda Nobuyoshi
Takeda Nobuyoshi (1128–1186 or later) was a prominent Japanese samurai lord of the late Heian and early Kamakura periods and the founder of the Takeda clan.
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Tokugawa Iemochi
Tokugawa Iemochi (1846–1866) was the fourteenth shōgun of the Tokugawa shogunate and ruled from 1858 until his death. His reign came during the turbulent final years of the shogunate, when Japan faced growing Western pressure and serious internal political conflict.
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Tokugawa Ienari
Tokugawa Ienari (1773–1841) was the eleventh shōgun of the Tokugawa shogunate and ruled from 1787 to 1837, making him the longest-serving Tokugawa shōgun. He was a great-grandson of the eighth shōgun, Tokugawa Yoshimune.
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Matsudaira Nobuyasu
Matsudaira Nobuyasu was only twenty years old when his father ordered him to commit seppuku. The reason was not a defeat in battle, but a crisis inside the Tokugawa family that had become too dangerous to ignore.
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Yamagata Masakage
Masakage was one of Takeda Shingen’s most loyal and capable commanders. He was included in the famous list of the “Twenty-Four Generals of Takeda Shingen” and also belonged to the inner circle of four especially trusted warlords known as the Shitennō.
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Yagyu Munenori
Yagyū Munenori began his service under Tokugawa Ieyasu while his father, Yagyū Muneyoshi, was still at his side. In 1600, Munenori took part in the decisive Battle of Sekigahara. As early as 1601, he was appointed a kenjutsu instructor to Tokugawa Hidetada, Ieyasu’s son, who later became the second shogun of the Tokugawa clan.
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Yagyu Muneyoshi
A samurai from Yamato Province, he was born into a family that had been defeated in its struggle against the Tsutsui clan. Muneyoshi first took part in battle at the age of sixteen. Due to circumstances beyond his control, he was forced to enter the service of the Tsutsui house and later served Miyoshi Tōkei. He subsequently came under the command of Matsunaga Hisahide and in time became a vassal first of Oda and later of Toyotomi.
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Endo Naozune
Naozune served under Azai Nagamasa and was one of the clan’s leading vassals, renowned for his bravery and determination. He accompanied Nagamasa during his first meeting with Oda Nobunaga and at that time asked for permission to kill Nobunaga, fearing him as an extremely dangerous man; however, Nagamasa did not grant this request.
