, also known by his religious name Sasaki Dōyo, was a Japanese poet, warrior, and bureaucrat of the

Muromachi period The , also known as the , is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate ( or ), which was officially established in 1338 by the first Muromachi ...

Life

Born in

Ōmi Province was a Provinces of Japan, province of Japan, which today comprises Shiga Prefecture. It was one of the provinces that made up the Tōsandō Circuit (subnational entity), circuit. Its nickname is . Under the ''Engishiki'' classification system, ...

, Sasaki Takauji served the regent

Hōjō Takatoki was the last '' Tokusō'' and ruling Shikken (regent) of Japan's Kamakura shogunate; the rulers that followed were his puppets. A member of the Hōjō clan, he was the son of Hōjō Sadatoki, and was preceded as ''shikken'' by Hōjō Mototo ...

briefly, before aiding the ''shōgun''

Ashikaga Takauji also known as Minamoto no Takauji was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Ashikaga shogunate."Ashikaga Takauji" in ''Encyclopædia Britannica, The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th edn., 1992, Vol. ...

in overthrowing the

Kenmu Restoration The was a three-year period of Imperial rule in Japanese history between the Kamakura period and the Muromachi period from 1333 to 1336. The Kenmu Restoration was an effort made by Emperor Go-Daigo to overthrow the ruling Kamakura Shogunate ...

(in which the

Emperor Go-Daigo Emperor Go-Daigo (後醍醐天皇 ''Go-Daigo-tennō'') (26 November 1288 – 19 September 1339) was the 96th emperor of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'')後醍醐天皇 (96) retrieved 2013-8-28. according to the traditional order o ...

sought to regain real power) and establishing the Ashikaga shogunate.

Military service

During his period of service to the shogunate, Sasaki Takauji served as ''

shugo , commonly translated as ' ilitarygovernor', 'protector', or 'constable', was a title given to certain officials in feudal Japan. They were each appointed by the shogun to oversee one or more of the provinces of Japan. The position gave way to th ...

'' (military governor) of six provinces, and held a number of other important positions.

Poetry

Takauji was also known for his '' waka'' and ''

renga ''Renga'' (, ''linked poem'') is a genre of Japanese collaborative poetry in which alternating stanzas, or ''ku (''句), of 5-7-5 and 7-7 morae (sound units, not to be confused with syllables) per line are linked in succession by multiple poets ...

'' poetry, and contributed 81 of his poems to the first imperial anthology of renga, the

Tsukubashū was the first imperial anthology of ''renga''. The collection was compiled by Nijō Yoshimoto. Provincial lord Sasaki Takauji played an active role in its production with 81 of his poems appearing in the final version. In addition to courtly reng ...

Portrayal in media

Takauji is portrayed in the epic ''

Taiheiki The (Chronicle of Great Peace) is a medieval Japanese historical epic (see '' gunki monogatari'') written in the late 14th century and covers the period from 1319 to 1367. It deals primarily with the Nanboku-chō, the period of war between the ...

'' as a paragon of elegance and luxury, and as the quintessential military aristocrat. He exemplifies the extreme of extravagant taste known as "basara" where "the love of the extraordinary and accumulation of objects was paramount", and hosted events such as the twenty-day-long flower viewing event at Oharano.Watanabe p 50

Family

* Foster Father: Sasaki Sadamune (1287-1305) * Father: Sasaki Muneuji * Mother: Sasaki Munetsuna’s daughter * Wife: Nikaido Tokitsuna’s daughter * Children: ** Sasaki Hidetsuna (d.1353) ** Sasaki Hidemune by Nikaido Tokitsuna’s daughter ** Sasaki Takahide (1328-1391) by Nikaido Tokitsuna’s daughter ** daughter married Akamatsu Norisuke ** daughter married Shiba ujiyori ** daughter married Rokkaku Ujiyori

References

*"Sasaki Takauji." (1985). ''Kodansha Encyclopedia of Japan,'' Tokyo: Kodansha Ltd.

External links

Renga by Sasaki Dōyo: Selected from the Tsukubashū (Tsukuba Anthology)
tr. by K. Selden, ''Japan Focus'' 14, 14, 6 (15 July 2016) {{DEFAULTSORT:Sasaki, Takauji Samurai 1306 births 1373 deaths