Yamashiro Ikki

The Yamashiro ''ikki'' or Yamashiro ''kuni ikki'' was a confederacy that emerged in Japan's Yamashiro Province (present-day southern Kyoto Prefecture) during the late 15th century. After the chaotic Ōnin War had weakened the Ashikaga shogunate's authority, feuding samurai armies fought for the control of provinces across Japan. In Yamashiro Province, local samurai and peasants formed an ''ikki'' league and rose up in 1485, successfully demanding the withdrawal of two rival warlord armies. The ''ikki'' members subsequently organized a new provincial government, defying both warlords as well as the Ashikaga shogun in nearby Kyoto. The Yamashiro ''ikki'' continued to operate until 1493, when a new invasion of samurai armies forced its members to reaccept the shogunate's authority. Regardless, Yamashiro Province remained largely under local control, and repeated local uprisings as well as protests continued until 1511.

Background

Political, economic, and societal situation under the Ashikaga shogunate

From 1336, Japan was led by the Ashikaga shogunate, a military government which had largely reduced the emperors to a ceremonial role. The shogunate was based on the support of the samurai, a military caste. From the ranks of the samurai, the shoguns appointed military governors (''shugo'') who oversaw the provinces, but mainly stayed in the capital of Kyoto, located in Yamashiro Province. The ''shugo'' were assigned vassal samurai based in the provinces; these were often called ''kokujin''. Over time, the ''shugo'' increasingly assumed civil authority in the provinces, while the ''kokujin'' ran their fiefs largely as they saw fit. This was facilitated by the samurai being allowed to collect taxes, a task locally carried out by ''otona'', the small number of wealthy individuals in each village. The Ashikaga vassal system encouraged both the ''shugo'' as well as the ''kokujin'' to divert taxes to themselves and assert ever more financial as well as political autonomy. This created tensions between the ''shugo'' and the local vassal samurai, as they competed for resources. The vassal samurai were also much more dependent on the support of local farmers. This meant that whenever the demands of ''shugo'' might upset the locals and thus endanger the position of the regional samurai, the latter were inclined to ignore the governors' orders. The system also forced the shoguns to heavily rely on fiscal support from, and taxes in, Kyoto itself.

By the late medieval period, Japan was also experiencing important societal and economic changes. Agricultural productivity increased in the 13th and 14th centuries, allowing small-scale farmers to achieve greater self-sufficiency as well as prosperity. This allowed them to gain more power in the management of their villages, previously the domain of the ''otona''. The village leadership consequently became more representative, strengthening the farmers' association with their community and the villages' independence. At the same time, class relationships became increasingly muddled. The most prosperous farmers began to resemble samurai, as they were able to afford weapons, owned a considerable amount of land, and often had a following consisting of dependent farmers and workers who paid them rent. These wealthy farmers were called ''jizamurai'' and grew locally influential, while resenting the tax collection by their official samurai overlords.

Growing unrest in the 15th century

In the first half of the 15th century, disputes within the provinces began to escalate into violence. Local samurai families began to fight each other for the position of ''shugodai'' (deputy to the ''shugo''), disobeyed their respective ''shugo'', and involved themselves in succession conflicts within the powerful families which served as ''shugo''. Meanwhile, the tax burden on the rural population grew, as both the central government as well as regional authorities tried to raise more money; many farmers consequently became indebted to moneylenders during times of bad harvests.

In response to these developments, villages began to exert more independence and organize themselves in so-called ''ikki''. There existed different types of ''ikki'', but at their core ''ikki'' were parties formed to achieve a common goal, often mutual protection. In this regard, they stood in marked contrast to vassalage relationships, and could include members from different social classes who cooperated on equal footing. An ''ikki'' was formed after a group had discussed, written, signed, and ritually celebrated an agreement, thus binding the group members to the agreement's rules. In the early 15th century, ''ikki'' began to organize a growing number of protests, often aimed at the cancellation of peasant debts. These protests often turned into violent riots during which ''ikki'' members attacked moneylenders, destroyed debt ledgers, burnt public buildings, and looted. Yamashiro Province became especially affected by ''ikki'', with protesting and rioting peasants repeatedly occupying parts of Kyoto. As a result of their association with violence, ''ikki'' came to mean both "league" as well as "uprising".

In 1441, Shogun Ashikaga Yoshinori was assassinated by a powerful samurai who had feared that the ruler intended to reduce his family's power. This event greatly weakened the shogunate, as Yoshinori was succeeded by two child shoguns who lacked strong regents. The second of these, Ashikaga Yoshimasa, failed to contain the growing power of the ''shugo'' and was more interested in the arts than governing the country. Yoshimasa also first designated his brother Ashikaga Yoshimi as heir before later switching support to his son Ashikaga Yoshihisa. Different factions consequently formed to back the candidates; these groups quickly extended beyond the court and grew to include powerful ''shugo'' and samurai clans.

Yamashiro uprising

The Onin War and its consequences

In 1467, the succession dispute finally escalated into full-scale conflict between the rival factions, at this point led by Hosokawa Katsumoto and Yamana Sōzen respectively. This confrontation, later known as the Ōnin War, greatly damaged the shogunate's power. Even though Ashikaga Yoshimasa remained in power, he was no longer able to control the powerful samurai clans. The Ōnin War saw fighting throughout Japan, but the conflict was most intense in Yamashiro Province; Kyoto was mostly destroyed. The ''jizamurai'' and peasants of Yamashiro Province took part in the war, fighting for the rival factions and against each other. The war caused a reduction in ''ikki'' activity in and around the capital, as the rural population's strength and attention was absorbed by the civil war. Even though Ashikaga Yoshihisa was able to become shogun, the war ultimately ended inconclusively and without a peace agreement in 1477. The shogunate tried to work toward the restoration of its authority, rebuilding the capital and returning to the routine governance. At the same time, many recognized that the war had marked a major rupture. The ''shugo'' and many samurai clans maintained the autonomy which they had achieved during the Ōnin War, while continuing their violent feuds. The breakdown of order and government power also encouraged peasants and ''jizamurai'' to increase their resistance against deprivations by the samurai armies and taxation.

Despite the end of hostilities in Kyoto, fighting continued in Yamashiro Province. Most of the province had fallen under the control of one of the Ōnin War's factions, the so-called "western camp". However, peasants loyal to another faction, the "eastern camp", continued to resist southwest of Kyoto. In 1480, the "western camp" overran this holdout; the samurai consequently destroyed the fields of the local farmers. In addition, the province became affected by a civil war within the Hatakeyama clan. Hatakeyama Masanaga, the shogun's deputy (''kanrei'') and ''shugo'' of Yamashiro, battled his cousin Hatakeyama Yoshinari. The two mostly fought in the Kawachi and Yamato Provinces, but desired control of Yamashiro Province due to its worth in taxes, connections to the capital, and manpower. After some sporadic clashes in Yamashiro, the Hatakeyama cousins assembled their armies for a decisive battle in the province in 1485. Their troops fought for 63 days, even as the weather turned cold and rainy.

Yamashiro ''ikki'' rule

In December 1485, samurai and peasants from across Yamashiro Province gathered at the Iwashimizu Hachimangū shrine and agreed to form an ''ikki''. They demanded the withdrawal of the feuding Hatakeyama armies, the restoration of the governance by local landholders, and the removal of recently established toll barriers. The revolt was mainly motivated by the chaos and suffering which had been caused by the Hatakeyama warlords. A few days later, the samurai armies withdrew from the province. Historian Mary Elizabeth Berry speculated that the Hatakeyama forces were exhausted, the ''ikki'' had threatened to take up arms against them, or some of the ''ikki'' members were former Hatakeyama supporters without whom a continued campaign would have been impossible.

Encouraged by this success, the ''ikki'' members met again at Byōdō-in in February 1486, occupying this traditionally aristocratic temple for ten days. They agreed to assume power in the province, and selected 36 individuals to form a government. In May, the ''ikki'' magistrates seized full control in the province by declaring that half of the local taxes to external proprietors would be withheld, with the exception of three shrines. This development was closely monitored by the government in Kyoto: on one side, the uprising had driven away the destructive Hatakeyama armies, but the confiscation of taxes was a prerogative traditionally held by the shogunate. Intending to restore his full control over the province, the shogun appointed Ise Sadaroku as new ''sugo'' of Yamashiro. However, the ''ikki'' assembly rejected the appointment and continued to factually defy the authority of Kyoto. Historian Ishida Yoshihito argued that the takeover by the ''ikki'' was facilitated with ''de facto'' support by the powerful politician Hosokawa Masamoto; according to his view, the Yamashiro ''ikki'' governed the area on Hosokawa's behalf and with his protection, shielding it from reprisals by other samurai or the shogun.

Despite the success of their uprising and the continued existence of the ''ikki'', Yamashiro Province's ''jizamurai'' started to clash with each other. They consequently requested support by the external warlords, and also fought on the latter's behalf in other provinces. The province's ''ikki'', sometimes joined by urban residents of Kyoto, also repeatedly invaded the capital from 1486, demanding debt reductions, sometimes occupying or burning districts of the city. After a rule of eight years, the Yamashiro ''ikki'' finally collapsed in 1493 when the shogunate organized a campaign to regain the province. The invasion was mainly carried out by samurai who wanted to take the province for themselves. Most of the local ''jizamurai'' consequently yielded and accepted Ise Sadaroku as the ''shugo''. The ''ikki'' members who resisted were ruthlessly crushed, and the last rebel outpost was turned into "a dead place".

Aftermath and analysis

Even though the Yamashiro uprising had formally been suppressed, the province remained outside the control of the major warlords. It was not subject to military taxes raised in other parts of Japan, and remained "a breeding ground for uprisings against brokers and toll barriers". The estate structure established by the Yamashiro ''ikki'' also survived. Lesser ''ikki'' protests continued in Yamashiro Province on an almost yearly basis until 1511.

The Yamashiro ''ikki'' was part of a wider tendency of local uprisings which involved ''jizamurai'' and opposed both ''shugo'' as well as their vassals. As they were a direct challenge of the traditional hierarchies and societal organization, the ''ikki'' were often crushed with uncharacteristic violence by the samurai warlords.

Organization

Formally, the Yamashiro ''ikki'' was a ''kuni'' or ''sokoku ikki'', a coalition of warrior ''kokujin ikki'' and village ''do ikki''. It included men aged 15 to 60 who mainly originated from southern Yamashiro Province. The Yamashiro ''ikki'' was a horizontal alliance, but not a united government, as the warriors and villagers did not form one ruling body. The 36 men who formed the provincial government were ''kokujin'' lords and acted as the representatives of the local samurai. Three members of this group served as magistrates in rotation each month. The decisions of this government were carried out by the village councils which were responsible for the day-to-day governing. This meant that the villages ultimately sustained the ''kokujin'' lords' rule. As a result, historian Miura Hiroyuki called the Yamashiro ''ikki'' the "people's parliament of the Warring States period".

The Yamashiro ''ikki'' returned estates to the direct management of their owners and prohibited new tax barriers. Several aristocrats and abbots based in Kyoto initially responded positively to this development, sending inspectors to survey their estates in the ''ikki''-held area. The monthly magistrates also took responsibility for judicial affairs, presiding over land disputes and at least one murder trial.

Researcher Carol R. Tsang stated that historians attribute the failure of the ''ikki'' to resist attacks in 1493 to the organization's unwieldiness. In contrast, Ishida Yoshihito believed that the defeat of the ''ikki'' was the result of their alleged protector, Hosokawa Masamoto, being distracted at the time due to his involvement in a coup d'état.

Notes

References

Works cited

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*{{cite book , last=Tsang , first=Carol Richmond , title=War and Faith: Ikkō Ikki in Late Muromachi Japan , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kqTaDwAAQBAJ , year=2007 , publisher = Harvard University Press , location = Cambridge, Massachusetts, isbn=978-0674025097

Former countries in Japanese history
1485 establishments in Asia
States and territories disestablished in 1493
Former confederations
Feudal Japan
Medieval rebels