Ashikaga Takauji (August 18, 1305 – June 7, 1358) was the inaugural shogun and founder of the Ashikaga shogunate, marking the commencement of Japan's Muromachi period. He was also known as Minamoto no Takauji of the Minamoto clan, tracing his lineage directly from the samurai of the Seiwa Genji line, who were descendants of Emperor Seiwa. They had settled in the Ashikaga region of Shimotsuke Province, which corresponds to modern-day Tochigi Prefecture.
According to the Zen master and scholar Muso Soseki, who enjoyed Takauji's favor and collaborated closely with him, Takauji possessed three notable qualities. First, he demonstrated exceptional composure in battle, harboring no fear of death. Second, he exhibited mercy and tolerance. Third, he displayed great generosity towards those in subordinate positions.
During his early years, he bore the childhood name Matagoro. Takauji initially served as a general for the Kamakura shogunate and was dispatched to Kyoto in 1333 to quell the Genko War that had erupted in 1331. Over time, as Takauji grew disillusioned with the Kamakura shogunate, he aligned himself with the banished Emperor Go-Daigo and Kusunoki Masashige, successfully capturing Kyoto. Subsequently, Nitta Yoshisada joined their cause and besieged Kamakura. When the city fell to Nitta, the shogunal regent Hojo Takatoki and his clan members committed ritual suicide. This marked the end of the Kamakura shogunate and the Hojo clan's dominance, leading to Emperor Go-Daigo's reinstatement and the initiation of the Kenmu Restoration.
However, dissatisfaction among the samurai clans soon arose due to the reestablished imperial court's efforts to revert to the social and political structures of the Heian period. Despite Takauji's warnings, these concerns were disregarded. Taking advantage of the situation, Hojo Tokiyuki, Takatoki's son, instigated the Nakasendai rebellion in an attempt to restore the shogunate in Kamakura in 1335. Takauji suppressed the rebellion and claimed Kamakura for himself. Championing the cause of his fellow samurai, he assumed the title of Sei-i Taishogun and distributed land to his followers without the court's approval. Although he declared his allegiance to the imperial court, Emperor Go-Daigo dispatched Nitta Yoshisada to retake Kamakura.
Takauji vanquished Yoshisada in the battles of Sanoyama and Mishima, paving the way for his advance on Kyoto. He briefly seized Kyoto in February 1336, only to be driven out by forces led by Prince Takanaga, Prince Norinaga, Kitabatake Akiie, and Yūki Munehiro. Following a retreat to the west, Takauji allied himself with the Kyūshū-native clans. After prevailing over the Kikuchi clan in the Battle of Tatarahama in 1336, he gained substantial control over Kyushu. Simultaneously, his brother made progress by land, and both reached the vicinity of present-day Kobe in July.
In the pivotal Battle of Minatogawa in 1336, Takauji once again defeated Yoshisada and slew Masashige, ultimately securing control of Kyoto. Takauji installed Emperor Komyo from the Northern Court (the illegitimate court, as opposed to the exiled Southern Court) as emperor, instigating the turbulent period of Northern and Southern Courts (Nanbokucho), characterized by the conflict between two rival emperors, which persisted for nearly six decades.
In addition to various honors bestowed upon him by Emperor Go-Daigo, Takauji received the title of Chinjufu-shogun, or Commander-in-chief of the Defense of the North, and the courtly title of the Fourth Rank, Junior Grade. His Buddhist name was Tojiinden Niyama Myogi dai koji Chojuji-dono.
See also
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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.
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Hosokawa Sumimoto
Sumimoto came from the Hosokawa clan: he was the biological son of Hosokawa Yoshiharu and at the same time the adopted son of Hosokawa Masamoto, the heir of Hosokawa Katsumoto, one of the principal instigators of the Ōnin War. Masamoto was homosexual, never married, and had no children of his own. At first he adopted Sumiyuki, a scion of the aristocratic Kujō family, but this choice provoked dissatisfaction and sharp criticism from the senior vassals of the Hosokawa house. As a result, Masamoto changed his decision and proclaimed Sumimoto as his heir, a representative of a collateral branch of the Hosokawa clan that had long been based in Awa Province on the island of Shikoku. Almost immediately after this, the boy became entangled in a complex and bitter web of political intrigue.
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Honda Masanobu
Masanobu initially belonged to the retinue of Tokugawa Ieyasu, but later entered the service of Sakai Shōgen, a daimyo and priest from Ueno. This shift automatically made him an enemy of Ieyasu, who was engaged in conflict with the Ikkō-ikki movement in Mikawa Province. After the Ikkō-ikki were defeated in 1564, Masanobu was forced to flee, but in time he returned and once again entered Ieyasu’s service. He did not gain fame as a military commander due to a wound sustained in his youth; nevertheless, over the following fifty years he consistently remained loyal to Ieyasu.
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Honda Masazumi
Masazumi was the eldest son of Honda Masanobu. From a young age, he served Tokugawa Ieyasu alongside his father, taking part in the affairs of the Tokugawa house and gradually gaining experience in both military and administrative matters. At the decisive Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, Masazumi was part of the core Tokugawa forces, a clear sign of the high level of trust Ieyasu placed in him. After the campaign ended, he was given a highly sensitive assignment—serving in the guard of the defeated Ishida Mitsunari, one of Tokugawa’s principal enemies—an obligation that required exceptional reliability and caution.
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Hojo Shigetoki
Hōjō Shigetoki, the third son of Hōjō Yoshitoki, was still very young—only five years old—when his grandfather Tokimasa became the first member of the Hōjō clan to assume the position of shogunal regent.
