Asakura Yoshikage
   HOME

TheInfoList



Click Here for Items Related To - Asakura Yoshikage
OR:
Asakura Yoshikage on:   [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Amazon]

was a Japanese ''
daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and nominall ...
'' of the
Sengoku period The was a period in History of Japan, Japanese history of near-constant civil war and social upheaval from 1467 to 1615. The Sengoku period was initiated by the Ōnin War in 1467 which collapsed the Feudalism, feudal system of Japan under the ...
(1467–1603) who ruled a part of
Echizen Province was a province of Japan in the area that is today the northern portion of Fukui Prefecture in the Hokuriku region of Japan. Echizen bordered on Kaga, Wakasa, Hida, and Ōmi Provinces. It was part of Hokurikudō Circuit. Its abbreviated for ...
in present-day
Fukui Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Fukui Prefecture has a population of 778,943 (1 June 2017) and has a geographic area of 4,190 km2 (1,617 sq mi). Fukui Prefecture borders Ishikawa Prefecture to the north, ...
. He was a regent of
Ashikaga Shogunate The , also known as the , was the feudal military government of Japan during the Muromachi period from 1336 to 1573.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Muromachi-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 669. The Ashikaga shogunate was establi ...
. Yoshikage's conflicts with
Oda Nobunaga was a Japanese ''daimyō'' and one of the leading figures of the Sengoku period. He is regarded as the first "Great Unifier" of Japan. Nobunaga was head of the very powerful Oda clan, and launched a war against other ''daimyō'' to unify ...
(1534–1582) resulted in his death and the destruction of the
Asakura clan The is a Japanese kin group. Papinot, Jacques Edmond Joseph. (1906). ''Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie du Japon''; Papinot, (2003).html" ;"title="DF 7 of 80">"Asakura", ''Nobiliare du Japon'', p. 3
DF_7_of_80">"Asa_...
_and_its_ DF_7_of_80">"Asa_...
_and_its_Japanese_castle">castle_ A_castle_is_a_type_of_fortified_structure_built_during_the_Middle_Ages_predominantly_by_the_nobility_or_royalty_and_by__military_orders._Scholars_debate_the_scope_of_the_word_''castle'',_but_usually_consider_it_to_be_the_private__fortified_r_...
,_Ichijōdani_Asakura_Family_Historic_Ruins.html" ;"title="Japanese_castle.html" "title="DF 7 of 80/nowiki>">DF 7 of 80">"Asa ...
and its Japanese castle">castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...
, Ichijōdani Asakura Family Historic Ruins">Ichijōdani Castle.


Early life

Yoshikage was born at the
Asakura clan The is a Japanese kin group. Papinot, Jacques Edmond Joseph. (1906). ''Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie du Japon''; Papinot, (2003).html" ;"title="DF 7 of 80">"Asakura", ''Nobiliare du Japon'', p. 3 [PDF 7 of 80/nowiki>">DF 7 of 80">"Asa ...
castle in
Echizen Province was a province of Japan in the area that is today the northern portion of Fukui Prefecture in the Hokuriku region of Japan. Echizen bordered on Kaga, Wakasa, Hida, and Ōmi Provinces. It was part of Hokurikudō Circuit. Its abbreviated for ...
, Ichijōdani Castle, in the present-day Kidanouchi district of Fukui, Fukui, Fukui,
Fukui Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Fukui Prefecture has a population of 778,943 (1 June 2017) and has a geographic area of 4,190 km2 (1,617 sq mi). Fukui Prefecture borders Ishikawa Prefecture to the north, ...
. His father was Asakura Takakage (1493–1548) and his mother is presumed to be the daughter of Takeda Motomitsu. The Asakura had displaced the
Shiba clan was a Japanese clan. Papinot, Jacques Edmond Joseph. (1906). ''Dictionnaire d’histoire et de géographie du Japon''; Papinot, (2003).html" ;"title="DF 58 of 80">("Shiba," ''Nobiliare du Japon'', p. 54 DF_58_of_80">("Shi_...
_as_the_shugo.html" ;"title="DF 58 of 80/nowiki>">DF 58 of 80">("Shi ...
as the shugo">DF 58 of 80/nowiki>">DF 58 of 80">("Shi ...
as the shugo military commanders of part of Echizen in 1471. Yoshikage succeeded his father as head of the Asakura clan and castle lord of Ichijōdani Castle in 1548. He proved to be adept at political and diplomatic management, markedly demonstrated by the Asakura negotiations with the Ikkō-ikki in Echizen. As a result of the negotiations and effective governance by Yoshikage, Echizen enjoyed a period of relative domestic stability compared to the rest of
Sengoku period The was a period in History of Japan, Japanese history of near-constant civil war and social upheaval from 1467 to 1615. The Sengoku period was initiated by the Ōnin War in 1467 which collapsed the Feudalism, feudal system of Japan under the ...
Japan. Consequently, Echizen became a site for refugees fleeing the violence in the
Kansai region The or the , lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshū. The region includes the prefectures of Nara, Wakayama, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyōgo and Shiga, often also Mie, sometimes Fukui, Tokushima and Tottori. The metropoli ...
. Ichijōdani became a center of culture modeled on the capital at Kyōto.


Conflicts with Oda Nobunaga

After the capture of Kyoto in 1568,
Ashikaga Yoshiaki "Ashikaga Yoshiaki" in ''The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th edn., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 625. was the 15th and final '' shōgun'' of the Ashikaga shogunate in Japan who reigned from 1568 to 1573.Ackroyd, ...
appointed Yoshikage regent and requested Asakura aid in driving Nobunaga out of the capital.  As a result, in 1570, Oda Nobunaga launched an invasion of Echizen. Due to Yoshikage’s lack of military skill, Oda's forces besieged Kanegasaki Castle (in modern-day
Tsuruga is a city located in Fukui Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 66,123 in 28,604 households and the population density of 260 persons per km2. The total area of the city was . Geography Tsuruga is located in cen ...
city), opening the entire Asakura Domain to invasion. Yoshikage benefited from military conflict between Oda Nobunaga and his brother-in-law,
Azai Nagamasa was a Japanese '' daimyō'' of the Sengoku period known as the brother-in-law and enemy of Oda Nobunaga. Nagamasa was head of the Azai clan seated at Odani Castle in northern Ōmi Province and married Nobunaga's sister Oichi in 1564, fathe ...
(1545–1573). Azai launched a pincer attack with Asakura against Nobunaga at Kanegasaki, but Nobunaga withdrew his troops, the coalition of Asakura and Azai forces failed to capture Nobunaga.  Later in 1570, in the
Battle of Anegawa The Sengoku period (30 July 1570) occurred near Lake Biwa in Ōmi Province, Japan, between the allied forces of Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu, against the combined forces of the Azai and Asakura clans._It_is_notable_as_the_first_batt ...
, Yoshikage and Nagamasa were defeated by numerically superior combined forces of the Oda and
Tokugawa clan The is a Japanese dynasty that was formerly a powerful '' daimyō'' family. They nominally descended from Emperor Seiwa (850–880) and were a branch of the Minamoto clan (Seiwa Genji) through the Matsudaira clan. The early history of this cl ...
s led by Nobunaga and
Ieyasu was the founder and first '' shōgun'' of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan, which ruled Japan from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was one of the three "Great Unifiers" of Japan, along with his former lord Oda Nobunaga and f ...
(1543–1616). Yoshikage fled to Hiezan (
Enryaku-ji is a Tendai monastery located on Mount Hiei in Ōtsu, overlooking Kyoto. It was first founded in 788 during the early Heian period (794–1185) by Saichō (767–822), also known as Dengyō Daishi, who introduced the Tendai sect of Mahayan ...
, Hiei Monastery) after the Battle of Anegawa and negotiated a reconciliation with Nobunaga and was able to avoid conflict for three years.


Death

In 1573, at Siege of Ichijodani Castle, Yoshikage was eventually betrayed by his cousin, Asakura Kageaki (1529–1574). He was forced to commit suicide by
seppuku , sometimes referred to as hara-kiri (, , a native Japanese kun reading), is a form of Japanese ritual suicide by disembowelment. It was originally reserved for samurai in their code of honour but was also practised by other Japanese people ...
at Rokubō Kenshō-ji, a temple which was located in present-day Ōno, Fukui Prefecture. He was 39 years old. The Asakura clan was destroyed with the death of Yoshikage.


Ichijōdani Asakura family historic ruins

The former Asakura residence in Fukui Prefecture was excavated in 1967 and revealed the ruins of the castle, residences, and gardens of Ichijōdani. The site has been designated a
Special Places of Scenic Beauty is a collective term used by the Japanese government's Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties to denote Cultural Properties of JapanIn this article, capitals indicate an official designation as opposed to a simple definition, e.g "Cultural ...
,
Special Historic Sites is a collective term used by the Japanese government's Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties to denote Cultural Properties of JapanIn this article, capitals indicate an official designation as opposed to a simple definition, e.g "Cultura ...
, and an Important Cultural Properties of Japan as the Ichijōdani Asakura Family Historic Ruins. The site covers .


References


External links


https://archive.today/20030925005405/http://www.sengoku-expo.net/person/E/176.html
{{DEFAULTSORT:Asakura, Yoshikage Samurai Daimyo 1533 births 1573 deaths Suicides by seppuku 16th-century suicides People from Fukui Prefecture People from Fukui (city)