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Historians most often consider the Ōnin War (1467-1477), a ten-year conflict wrought by political turmoil, to be the trigger for what would come to be known as the Sengoku period. This civil war would clearly exemplify the Ashikaga Shogunate’s waned authority over its shogunal administration, the provincial daimyo and Japan as a whole; thereby a wave of unbridled conflict would spread across Japan and consume the states in an age of war. It is suggested by both scholars and authors that “these succession disputes still might not have led to war were it not for the shōgun’s lack of leadership.”

The Ōnin War, which devastated two-thirds of Kyoto, was merely a drop that rippled disarray across Japan. In addition to the military confrontations between separate states, there was also domestic fallout. In contempt of the shogunate, the daimyo who were subjected to remain in Kyoto instead returned to their provinces. Consequentially, some of these daimyo found that their designated retainers or shugodai, representatives of their states appointed in a daimyo’s absence, rose in power either to seize control of the domain or proclaim independence as a separate domain.

Furthermore, weariness of war, socioeconomic unrest and poor aristocratical treatment invoked the wrath of the peasant class. Farmers, craftsmen, merchants and even villages would organize uprisings (known as “ikki”) against the ruling class. An extraordinary example of this can be observed in the Kaga Rebellion, in which the local ikki had staged a large-scale revolt with the support of the True Pure Land sect (thereby establishing the term ikkō ikki) and assumed control of the entire province of Kaga.


 * 1) Streich, Philip. "Ōnin War (1467–1477)." Japan at War: An Encyclopedia, edited by Louis G. Perez, ABC-CLIO, 2013, pp. 296-297. Gale eBooks, link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX2789100191/GVRL?u=psucic&sid=bookmark-GVRL&xid=56a79408. Accessed 21 Mar. 2023.
 * 2) Streich, Philip. "Civil Wars, Sengoku Era (1467–1570)." Japan at War: An Encyclopedia, edited by Louis G. Perez, ABC-CLIO, 2013, pp. 53-55. Gale eBooks, link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX2789100045/GVRL?u=psucic&sid=bookmark-GVRL&xid=3f87bd69. Accessed 21 Mar. 2023.
 * 3) Thornton, Sybil. "Ikkō Ikki." Japan at War: An Encyclopedia, edited by Louis G. Perez, ABC-CLIO, 2013, pp. 138-140. Gale eBooks, link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX2789100096/GVRL?u=psucic&sid=bookmark-GVRL&xid=b19f37eb. Accessed 21 Mar. 2023.