Sengoku period - Wikipedia Sengoku period `` Sengoku '' and `` Sengoku era '' redirect here. For other uses, see Sengoku ( disambiguation ). hide This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. ( Learn how and when to remove these template messages ) This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( December 2010 ) This article may be expanded with text translated from the corresponding article in Japanese. ( February 2016 ) Click for important translation instructions. View a machine - translated version of the Japanese article. Google 's machine translation is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy - pasting machine - translated text into the English Wikipedia. Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low - quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign - language article. You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary ( using German ) : Content in this edit is translated from the existing German Wikipedia article at ( ( : de : Exact name of German article ) ) ; see its history for attribution. You should also add the template ( ( Translated ja 戦国 時代 ( 日本 ) ) ) to the talk page. For more guidance, see Wikipedia : Translation. History of Japan Battle of Kawanakajima ( 1561 ). Periods Paleolithic before 14,000 BC Jōmon 14,000 -- 300 BC Yayoi 300 BC -- 300 AD Kofun 300 -- 538 Asuka 538 -- 710 Nara 710 -- 794 Heian 794 -- 1185 Kamakura 1185 -- 1333 Kenmu Restoration 1333 -- 1336 Muromachi ( Ashikaga ) Nanboku - chō Sengoku 1336 -- 1573 Azuchi -- Momoyama Nanban trade 1573 -- 1603 Edo ( Tokugawa ) Sakoku Convention of Kanagawa Bakumatsu 1603 -- 1868 Meiji Boshin War Restoration First Sino - Japanese War Boxer Rebellion Russo - Japanese War 1868 -- 1912 Taishō World War I 1912 -- 1926 Shōwa Financial crisis Militarism World War II Occupation Economic miracle Post-occupation Bubble Economy 1926 -- 1989 Heisei Lost Decade 1989 -- present Topics Currency Earthquakes Economy Education Empire Historiography Military Naval Post-war Glossary Timeline The Sengoku period ( 戦国 時代, Sengoku Jidai, `` Age of Warring States '' ; c. 1467 -- c. 1568 ) is a period in Japanese history marked by social upheaval, political intrigue and near - constant military conflict. Japanese historians named it after the otherwise unrelated Warring States period in China. It was initiated by the Ōnin War, which collapsed the Japanese feudal system under the Ashikaga shogunate, and came to an end when the system was re-established under the Tokugawa shogunate by Tokugawa Ieyasu. Contents 1 Summary 2 Timeline 3 Gekokujō 4 Unification 5 Notable people 5.1 Three unifiers of Japan 6 See also 7 Notes 8 References 9 External links Summary During this period, although the Emperor of Japan was officially the ruler of his nation and every lord swore loyalty to him, he was largely a marginalised, ceremonial, and religious figure who delegated power to the shōgun, a noble who was roughly equivalent to a generalissimo. In the years preceding this era the Shogunate gradually lost influence and control over the daimyōs ( local lords ). Although the Ashikaga shogunate had retained the structure of the Kamakura shogunate and instituted a warrior government based on the same social economic rights and obligations established by the Hōjō with the Jōei Code in 1232, it failed to win the loyalty of many daimyōs, especially those whose domains were far from the capital, Kyoto. Many of these Lords began to fight uncontrollably with each other for control over land and influence over the shogunate. As trade with Ming China grew, the economy developed, and the use of money became widespread as markets and commercial cities appeared. This, combined with developments in agriculture and small - scale trading, led to the desire for greater local autonomy throughout all levels of the social hierarchy. As early as the beginning of the 15th century, the suffering caused by earthquakes and famines often served to trigger armed uprisings by farmers weary of debt and taxes. The Ōnin War ( 1467 -- 1477 ), a conflict rooted in economic distress and brought on by a dispute over shogunal succession, is generally regarded as the onset of the Sengoku period. The `` eastern '' army of the Hosokawa family and its allies clashed with the `` western '' army of the Yamana. Fighting in and around Kyoto lasted for nearly 11 years, leaving the city almost completely destroyed. The conflict in Kyoto then spread to outlying provinces. The period culminated with a series of three warlords, Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu, who gradually unified Japan. After Tokugawa Ieyasu 's final victory at the siege of Osaka in 1615, Japan settled down into several centuries of peace under the Tokugawa shogunate. Timeline The Ōnin War in 1467 is usually considered the starting point of the Sengoku period. There are several events which could be considered the end of it : Nobunaga 's entry to Kyoto ( 1568 ) or abolition of the Muromachi shogunate ( 1573 ), the Siege of Odawara ( 1590 ), the Battle of Sekigahara ( 1600 ), the establishment of the Tokugawa Shogunate ( 1603 ), or the Siege of Osaka ( 1615 ). Time Event 1467 Beginning of Ōnin War 1477 End of Ōnin War 1488 The Kaga Rebellion 1493 Hosokawa Masamoto succeeds in the Coup of Meio Hōjō Sōun seizes Izu Province 1507 Beginning of Ryo Hosokawa War ( the succession dispute in the Hosokawa family ) 1520 Hosokawa Takakuni defeats Hosokawa Sumimoto 1531 Hosokawa Harumoto defeats Hosokawa Takakuni 1535 Battle of Idano The forces of the Matsudaira defeat the rebel Masatoyo 1543 The Portuguese land on Tanegashima, becoming the first Europeans to arrive in Japan, and introduce the arquebus into Japanese warfare 1549 Miyoshi Nagayoshi betrays Hosokawa Harumoto 1551 Tainei - ji incident : Sue Harukata betrays Ōuchi Yoshitaka, taking control of western Honshu 1554 The tripartite pact among Takeda, Hōjō and Imagawa is signed 1555 Battle of Itsukushima : Mōri Motonari defeats Sue Harukata and goes on to supplant the Ōuchi as the foremost daimyo of western Honshu 1560 Battle of Okehazama : The outnumbered Oda Nobunaga defeats and kills Imagawa Yoshimoto in a surprise attack 1568 Oda Nobunaga marches toward Kyoto 1570 Beginning of Ishiyama Hongan - ji War 1573 The end of Ashikaga shogunate 1575 Battle of Nagashino : Oda Nobunaga decisively defeats the Takeda cavalry with innovative arquebus tactics 1580 End of Ishiyama Hongan - ji War 1582 Akechi Mitsuhide assassinates Oda Nobunaga ( Honnō - ji Incident ) ; Hashiba Hideyoshi defeats Akechi at the Battle of Yamazaki 1585 Hashiba Hideyoshi is granted title of Kampaku, establishing his predominant authority ; he is granted the surname Toyotomi a year after. 1590 Siege of Odawara : Toyotomi Hideyoshi defeats the Hōjō clan, unifying Japan under his rule 1592 First invasion of Korea 1597 Second invasion of Korea 1598 Toyotomi Hideyoshi dies 1600 Battle of Sekigahara : The Eastern Army under Tokugawa Ieyasu defeats the Western Army of Toyotomi loyalists 1603 The establishment of the Tokugawa shogunate 1615 Siege of Osaka : The last of the Toyotomi opposition to the Tokugawa shogunate is stamped out Gekokujō Japan in 1570 The upheaval resulted in the further weakening of central authority, and throughout Japan regional lords, called daimyōs, rose to fill the vacuum. In the course of this power shift, well - established clans such as the Takeda and the Imagawa, who had ruled under the authority of both the Kamakura and Muromachi bakufu, were able to expand their spheres of influence. There were many, however, whose positions eroded and were eventually usurped by more capable underlings. This phenomenon of social meritocracy, in which capable subordinates rejected the status quo and forcefully overthrew an emancipated aristocracy, became known as gekokujō ( 下克上 ), which means `` low conquers high ''. One of the earliest instances of this was Hōjō Sōun, who rose from relatively humble origins and eventually seized power in Izu Province in 1493. Building on the accomplishments of Sōun, the Late Hōjō clan remained a major power in the Kantō region until its subjugation by Toyotomi Hideyoshi late in the Sengoku period. Other notable examples include the supplanting of the Hosokawa clan by the Miyoshi, the Toki by the Saitō, and the Shiba clan by the Oda clan, which was in turn replaced by its underling, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, a son of a peasant with no family name. Well - organized religious groups also gained political power at this time by uniting farmers in resistance and rebellion against the rule of the daimyōs. The monks of the Buddhist True Pure Land sect formed numerous Ikkō - ikki, the most successful of which, in Kaga Province, remained independent for nearly 100 years. Unification Main article : Azuchi -- Momoyama period After nearly a century of political instability and warfare, Japan was on the verge of unification by Oda Nobunaga, who had emerged from obscurity in the province of Owari ( present - day Aichi Prefecture ) to dominate central Japan, when in 1582 Oda was assassinated by one of his generals, Akechi Mitsuhide. This in turn provided Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who had risen through the ranks from ashigaru ( footsoldier ) to become one of Oda 's most trusted generals, with the opportunity to establish himself as Oda 's successor. Toyotomi eventually consolidated his control over the remaining daimyōs and, although he was ineligible for the title of Sei - i Taishōgun because of his common birth, ruled as Kampaku ( Imperial Regent ). During his short reign as Kampaku, Toyotomi attempted two invasions of Korea. The first spanning from 1592 to 1596 was initially successful but suffered setbacks to end in stalemate ; the second begun in 1597 was less successful ( as the Koreans and their Ming Chinese allies were prepared for the Japanese the second time around ) and ended with Toyotomi 's call for retreat from Korea on his deathbed in 1598. When Toyotomi died in 1598 without leaving a capable successor, the country was once again thrust into political turmoil, and this time Tokugawa Ieyasu took advantage of the opportunity. Toyotomi had on his deathbed appointed a group of the most powerful lords in Japan -- Tokugawa, Maeda Toshiie, Ukita Hideie, Uesugi Kagekatsu, and Mōri Terumoto -- to govern as the Council of Five Regents until his infant son, Hideyori, came of age. An uneasy peace lasted until the death of Maeda in 1599. Thereafter a number of high - ranking figures, notably Ishida Mitsunari, accused Tokugawa of disloyalty to the Toyotomi regime. This precipitated a crisis that led to the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, during which Tokugawa and his allies, who controlled the east of the country, defeated the anti-Tokugawa forces, which had control of the west. Generally regarded as the last major conflict of the Sengoku period, Tokugawa 's victory at Sekigahara effectively marked the end of the Toyotomi regime, the last remnants of which were finally destroyed in the Siege of Osaka in 1615. Notable people Main article : List of daimyōs from the Sengoku period Japan in the late 16th century Gun workman, Sakai, Osaka Ōzutsu ( Big Gun ) Three unifiers of Japan Oda Nobunaga Toyotomi Hideyoshi Tokugawa Ieyasu The contrasting personalities of the three leaders who contributed the most to Japan 's final unification -- Oda, Toyotomi, and Tokugawa -- are encapsulated in a series of three well known senryū : Nakanu nara, koroshite shimae, hototogisu ( If the cuckoo does not sing, kill it. ) Nakanu nara, nakasete miyō, hototogisu ( If the cuckoo does not sing, coax it. ) Nakanu nara, naku made matō, hototogisu ( If the cuckoo does not sing, wait for it. ) Oda, known for his ruthlessness, is the subject of the first ; Toyotomi, known for his resourcefulness, is the subject of the second ; and Tokugawa, known for his perseverance, is the subject of the third verse. See also History of Japan List of daimyōs from the Sengoku period List of Japanese battles Horses in East Asian warfare Warring States period - a similar period in Chinese history Crisis of the Third Century - a similar period in Roman history Notes Jump up ^ Sansom, George B. 2005. A History of Japan : 1334 -- 1615. Tokyo : Charles E. Tuttle Publishing. ^ Jump up to : `` Sengoku period ''. Encyclopedia of Japan. Tokyo : Shogakukan. 2012. OCLC 56431036. Archived from the original on 2007 - 08 - 25. Retrieved 2012 - 08 - 15. ^ Jump up to : `` 誕 ''. Kokushi Daijiten ( in Japanese ). Tokyo : Shogakukan. 2012. OCLC 683276033. Archived from the original on 2007 - 08 - 25. Retrieved 2012 - 08 - 15. Jump up ^ `` Ōnin War ''. Encyclopedia of Japan. Tokyo : Shogakukan. 2012. OCLC 56431036. Archived from the original on 2007 - 08 - 25. Retrieved 2012 - 08 - 15. Jump up ^ Mypaedia 1996. Jump up ^ Hōfu - shi Rekishi Yōgo - shū. References ( 戦国 時代 - 549884 # E9. 98. B2. E5. BA. 9C. E5. B8. 82. E6. AD. B4. E5. 8F. B2. E7. 94. A8. E8. AA. 9E. E9. 9B. 86 `` Sengoku Jidai '' ) Check value ( help ). Hōfu - shi Rekishi Yōgo - shū ( in Japanese ). Hōfu Web Rekishi - kan. Hane, Mikiso ( 1992 ). Modern Japan : A Historical Survey. Westview Press. Hall, John Whitney ( May 1961 ). `` Foundations of The Modern Japanese Daimyo ''. The Journal of Asian Studies. Association for Asian Studies. 20 ( 3 ) : 317 -- 329. doi : 10.2307 / 2050818. JSTOR 2050818. Jansen, Marius B. ( 2000 ). The Making of Modern Japan. Cambridge : Harvard University Press. ISBN 0674003349 / ISBN 9780674003347. OCLC 44090600. Lorimer, Michael James ( 2008 ). Sengokujidai : Autonomy, Division and Unity in Later Medieval Japan. London : Olympia Publishers. ISBN 1 - 905513 - 45 - 3. `` Sengoku Jidai ''. Mypaedia ( in Japanese ). Hitachi. 1996. External links Samurai Archives Japanese History page ( in Japanese ) Sengoku Expo : Japanese Design, Culture in the Age of Civil Wars held in Gifu Prefecture, 2000 - 2001 ( in Japanese ) List of the Sengoku Daimyos Preceded by Nanboku - chō period ( 1334 − 1392 ) ( of Muromachi Period ) History of Japan Sengoku period 1467 -- 1573 ( of Muromachi Period ) Succeeded by Azuchi -- Momoyama period 1573 -- 1603 Prominent people of the Sengoku period Three major daimyōs Oda Nobunaga Toyotomi Hideyoshi Tokugawa Ieyasu Shōgun Ashikaga Yoshiharu Ashikaga Yoshiteru Ashikaga Yoshihide Ashikaga Yoshiaki Tokugawa Hidetada Emperors Go - Kashiwabara Go - Nara Ōgimachi Go - Yōzei Other daimyōs List of daimyōs from the Sengoku period Swordsmen Hikita Bungorō Kamiizumi Nobutsuna Miyamoto Musashi Sasaki Kojirō Tadashima Akiyama Tsukahara Bokuden Tsutsumi Hōzan Yagyū Munenori Yagyū Munetoshi Ninja, rogues and mercenaries Fūma Kotarō Hattori Hanzō Ishikawa Goemon Katō Danzō Kirigakure Shikaemon Kōzuki Sasuke Nakamura Chōbei Ohama Kagetaka Saika Magoichi Suzuki Sadayu Suzuki Shigehide Suzuki Shigetomo Suzuki Magoroku Igasaki Dōshun Monks and other religious figures Ankokuji Ekei Hongan - ji Kennyo Hon'inbō Sansa Ishin Sūden Jion Nankōbō Tenkai Rennyo Sessai Chōrō Shimozuma Chūkō Shimozuma Rairen Shimozuma Rairyū Takuan Sōhō Onna - bugeisha Ii Naotora Ikeda Sen Kaihime Komatsuhime Maeda Matsu Ōhōri Tsuruhime Tachibana Ginchiyo Otatsu No Kata Myorin Otsune Other women Asahihime Chacha Chikurin - in Dota Gozen Gotokuhime Hosokawa Gracia Izumo no Okuni Kitsuno Kyōgoku Maria Kyōgoku Tatsuko Nene Nōhime Oeyo Oichi Ohatsu Okaji no Kata Lady Kasuga Lady Saigō Lady Tsukiyama Senhime Sentōin Tobai - in Tokuhime See also List of samurai from the Sengoku period Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sengoku_period&oldid=849924579 '' Categories : Sengoku period Feudal Japan Muromachi period 1460s in Japan 1470s in Japan 1480s in Japan 1490s in Japan 16th century in Japan 1460s establishments in Japan 1467 establishments in Asia 1573 disestablishments in Japan Hidden categories : CS1 Japanese - language sources ( ja ) Articles needing additional references from December 2010 All articles needing additional references Articles to be expanded from February 2016 All articles to be expanded Articles needing translation from Japanese Wikipedia Articles with multiple maintenance issues Articles containing Japanese - language text Wikipedia articles needing clarification from November 2013 All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from June 2018 Pages with URL errors Articles with Japanese - language external links Talk Contents About Wikipedia বাংলা Bân - lâm - gú Беларуская བོད ་ ཡིག Català Čeština Deutsch Español Esperanto Euskara فارسی Français Gaeilge گیلکی 한국어 Bahasa Indonesia Íslenska Italiano עברית ქართული Lietuvių Magyar Bahasa Melayu Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Polski Português Русский Scots Simple English Slovenčina Српски / srpski Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Suomi Svenska ไทย Türkçe Українська اردو Tiếng Việt 吴语 粵語 中文 36 more Edit links This page was last edited on 12 July 2018, at 10 : 12 ( UTC ). 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Question: why was the period between 1467 and 1568 called the age of the warring states
Answer: Japanese historians named it after the otherwise unrelated Warring States period in China