User:Cckerberos/Hosokawa Rule

Hosokawa rule (細川政権) is a term for the Hosokawa clan's domination of the Muromachi shogunate from 1493 to 1549.

Seizing Power via Coup

When Hosokawa Katsumoto, head of the primary (Keichō) line of the Hosokawa clan, died during the Ōnin War, he was nominally succeeded by his son Masamoto. As Masamoto was only seven years old, however, clan policy was actually decided upon by a council of state (hyōjōshū) made up of the Uchishū. The council was headed by Hosokawa Masakuni (of the clan's Tenkyū branch). The Uchishū were a group of direct vassals of the Keichō-Hosokawa who fulfilled an administrative role for the clan modeled on the Ashikaga shogunate's bugyōshū.

While the precarious situation brought about by the Ōnin War meant that a number of powerful daimyo such as the Shiba and Hatakeyama had departed Kyoto to see to the management of their territories, the Keichō-Hosokawa's holdings (Settsu, Tanba, and Tōsa) were all located relatively close to the capitol. And many other nearby provinces, such as Izumi, Bitchu, Sanuki, and Awa, were governed by other branches of the Hosokawa. It was thus possible for the leaders of the Hosokawa to remain in the capital and continue to participate in the shogunate's management. Rather than go themselves, members of the Uchishū were dispatched to serve as their representatives. Remaining in Kyoto meant that the situation continued to exert a strong influence on the clan, however.

When Shogun Ashikaga Yoshihisa died on campaign in 1489, Masamoto backed Ashikaga Yoshizumi (the eight year-old son of Ashikaga Masatomo, the "Horigoe Kubo") as his successor. He suffered a political defeat at the hands of the deceased shogun's uncle Ashikaga Yoshimi and former kanrei Hatakeyama Masanaga, however, and the position went to Yoshimi's son Yoshitane instead.

With Yoshimi's death in 1491, Masanaga became the dominant force within the shogunate. He attacked Hatakeyama Yoshitoyo (the son of Hatakeyama Yoshinari, his longtime rival for leadership of the Hatakeyama) in Kawachi with a shogunal army in February 1493. While Masanaga and Yoshitane were on campaign however, Masamoto (who had been entrusted with keeping watch over Kyoto) seized control of the government in collusion with Hino Tomiko and Ise Sadamune (the Meiō Coup). He now invited Yoshizumi to assume the position of shogun.

When news of the coup reached the shogunal army encamped in Kawachi, it suffered large desertions. Tomiko and Sadamune were also able to convince a number of Yoshitane's direct vassals to abandon him and return to Kyoto. With the shogunal forces now in disarray, Masamoto dispatched his own army to Kawachi. Yoshitane was captured and imprisoned in Kyoto's Ryōan-ji temple and Masanaga committed suicide.

Masamoto had successfully gained control over a puppet shogun and established Hosokawa rule.

Masamoto's Rule

Not wanting the dishonor of killing a shogun, Masamoto had planned to exile Yoshitane to Shōdoshima. Yoshitane learned of these plans and managed to escape Kyoto in August, however. He fled to the Hatakeyama province of Etchū, where he established a government-in-exile (the Etchū Kubo) with the aid of Jinbo Naganobu, the province's shugo-dai.

The position of kanrei had traditionally been competed for by the Hatakeyama, Shiba, and Hosokawa clans. With the decline in Hatakeyama and Shiba power, however, Masamoto was able to monopolize the position. He worked to expand his power in the shogunate, attacking his opponents and converting others into his vassals.

While Masamoto had assumed power through his use of Yoshizumi as a puppet, he soon ran into problems. He awarded several important posts to Uehara Motohide (the man who had taken Yoshitane captive), but this angered the other members of his council of state and ultimately led to Motohide's murder in 1494.

That same year, a dispute arose between Hosokawa Yoshiharu, the shugo of Awa, and Ise Sadamichi, head of the mandokoro and shugo of Yamashiro. Desiring the position of Yamashiro shugo for himself, Yoshiharu attempted to oust Sadamichi with the support of the province's kokujin (the Yamashiro no Kuni Ikki). When Masamoto sided with Sadamichi, Yoshiharu left Kyoto and returned to Awa. There he assumed an antagonistic position towards Masamoto, enlisting local kokujin such as Miyoshi Yukinaga to oppose the members of the Uchishū dispatched from Kyoto. While Yoshiharu would die of illness only a month after his return to Awa, this split between the Keichō and Awa branches of the Hosokawa would have long standing importance for the clan.

In 1499, Yoshitane gathered an army with the support of Hatakeyama Hisanobu (Masanaga's son) and Asakura Sadakage and marched on the capitol, only to be defeated by Masamoto. Yoshitane now fled to the protection of Ōuchi Yoshioki in Suō.

Masamoto was a devoted practicioner of shūgendō and would often depart the capital for ascetic training, leaving state affairs to his vassals. He had implemented a house code for the Uchishū in 1501 and was supported by skilled vassals like Yasutomi Motoie and Yakushiji Motonaga, so his absences did not cause any disorder. It was, however, considered eccentric behavior and was disliked by some of his vassals.

Masamoto never married and had adopted Sumiyuki, the youngest son of kanpaku Kujō Masamoto, in 1491. In 1502, he formally named Sumiyuki his heir and appointed him shugo of Tanba. This soon caused discontent among the Uchishū and the other branches of the clan as they did not want someone unrelated to the Hosokawa by blood to lead the clan. Relations between Masamoto and Sumiyuki were poor, and in 1503 Masamoto disinherited him. He now adopted Hosokawa Sumimoto (son of Yoshiharu) and named him heir. Sumimoto was accompanied to Kyoto by Miyoshi Yukinaga, who now entered Masamoto's service. Masamoto also adopted Hosokawa Takakuni of the clan's Yashū branch, although the year this happened is uncertain.　

Rather than guaranteeing a secure succession, having three adopted sons made internal conflict more likely. In 1504, Yakushiji Motokazu and Akazawa Tomotsune, two important vassals, revolted and attempted to depose Masamoto in favor of Sumimoto. Sumimoto remained heir, however, and continued to be supported by the large number of the Uchishū who feared that the Awa-Hosokawa would otherwise break with the main branch.

Masamoto dispatched armies to Kawachi, Yamato, and Tango in 1506 in a bid to further increase his power. These campaigns continued on into the following year, leaving Masamoto with few troops at his immediate disposal in the capital. On August 1, 1507, he was assassinated by Yakushiji Nagatada and Kōzai Motonaga at the instigation of the disinherited Sumiyuki (the Eishō Disturbance).

Sumiyuki's Rule

The assassins had also planned to kill Sumimoto on the following day, but he managed to flee to Ōmi with the aid of Yukinaga. Sumiyuki's rule was thus based on an uncertain foundation. After gathering support from the kokujin of Ōmi and Hosokawa vassals, the exiled Sumimoto attacked Kyoto on September 7. Sumiyuki was defeated and committed suicide at his estate, as did Nagatada and Motonaga. In the end, Sumiyuki's rule lasted only a mere forty days.

Fight Between Sumimoto and Takakuni

Having driven Sumiyuki to suicide, Sumimoto became head of the Keicho-Hosokawa. When news of this internal struggle reached the exiled Ashikaga Yoshitane and Ouchi Yoshioki in Suo, Yoshioki mobilized the daimyo of Kyushu and Chugoku and began to move towards the capital. Sumimoto ordered Takakuni to discuss peace with Yoshioki, but Takakuni betrayed Sumimoto and switched sides, ending the negotiations.

Pressed by Yoshioki's forces from the west and Takakuni's from the east, Sumimoto fled Kyoto for Omi in April 1507, accompanied by Ashikaga Yoshizumi. Yoshitane was restored as shogun, this time to serve as the puppet of Takakuni, who became kanrei and head of the Keicho-Hosokawa, and Yoshioki, who became kanrei-dai.

Sumimoto and Yukinaga attacked Kyoto in 1509 in an attempt to regain power but were defeated. at the Battle of Nyoigatake. Takakuni and Yoshioki counter attacked into Omi in 1510, but Sumimoto was able to defeat this with support from the Omi kokujin; neither side was able to make any progress.

Sumimoto allied with Hosokawa Masakata and Akamatsu Yoshimura and attacked Kyoto with a large army in 1511, repeatedly defeating Takakuni and Yoshioki's forces.

Omi Shugo Rokkaku Takayori switched to supporting Takakuni, however, and Ashikaga Yoshizumi died of illness shortly afterwards. Sumimoto thus suffered a great defeat at the decisive Battle of Funaokayama on August 24. Hosokawa Masakata was killed and Sumimoto fled to Settsu.

The joint rule between Takakuni and Ouchi Yoshioki continued briefly, but Yoshioki returned to Suo on August 2, 1518, leaving Takakuni on his own. Sumimoto, who had been waiting for his chance, invaded Settsu in October 1519 (the Battle of Tanaka Castle). Takakuni was unable to fend off this attack; when this was followed by a peasant revolt in Yamashiro in January 1520, he fled to Omi. Yoshitane, who did not get along with Takakuni, did not accompany him into exile and instead accepted Sumimoto's protection.

Takakuni raised a massive force and invaded Kyoto in May (the Battle of Tojiin); Sumimoto was defeated and again fled to Settsu and Miyoshi Yukinaga was captured and executed. Sumimoto died from an illness in Awa's Shozui Castle (勝瑞城) the following month.

Takakuni's Rule

Takakuni had eliminated his rival with the death of Sumimoto, but it had been the presence of the powerful Ouchi Yoshioki backing him that had given his government strength; with Ouchi now back home, Takakuni had no choice but to try to assert and maintain a strong regime on his own. He began by purging capable retainers such as Kawarabayashi Masayori and later drove out Ashikaga Yoshitane for opposing him and made Yoshizumi's son Yoshiharu the new shogun in 1521.

Takakuni retired in April 1525, turning power over to his son Tanekuni, but returned after Tanekuni's death in December.

Takakuni had his powerful vassal Kozai Motomori executed in 1526 due to false charges leveled by his second cousing Hosokawa Tadakata, the shugo of Tanba. This caused Hatano Tanemichi and Yanagimoto Kataharu, Motomori's elder brothers, to join with Hosokawa Harumoto (Sumimoto's eldest son) and Miyoshi Motonaga in a rebellion against Takakuni. Takakuni attacked the Hatano in response but failed due to resistance from kokujin such as Naito Kunisada. Takakuni was defeated by the Hatano-Miyoshi forces at the Battle of Katsurakawara in February 1527 and fled with Shogun Ashikaga Yoshiharu to Omi. Harumoto put forward Yoshiharu's brother Ashikaga Yoshitsuna as the new shogun and established a government in Sakai.

Yanagimoto Kataharu, who had been controlling Kyoto in Harumoto's stead, was assassinated by his retainer Nakamura Sukesaburo in May 1530. Takakuni took advantage of this opportunity and retook Kyoto. This restoration was short-lived however, as he was defeated by Miyoshi Motonaga at the Battle of Nakajima in March 1531 and again at the Battle of Tennoji (also known as the Daimotsu Kuzure) on 4 June. He was captured at this second battle and forced to commit suicide four days later, ending his rule.

The End of Hosokawa Rule

Miyoshi Motonaga put forward Harumoto as head of the Keicho-Hosokawa following Takakuni's death. But in 1532, Shonyo, head of the Honganji, sparked an ikko ikki revolt based on lies from Miyoshi Masanaga, Kizawa Nagamasa, and Ibaragi Nagataka. They killed Motonaga on the pretense that he had to take responsibility for his defeat to the ikko ikki, and split from the Sakai government. Harumoto used the power of the Hokke Ikki and Rokkaku Sadayori to fight the ikko ikki revolt (the Tenbun Disturbance), making peace in 1536. The Hokke Ikki, who had extensive influence in Kyoto, was supressed with the help of Sadayori and Enryakuji (the Tenbun Hokke War). With Kyoto stabilized, he made peace with the shogun Yoshiharu and ran the shogunate as the new kanrei with Yoshiharu as his puppet. (an alternative theory argues that Harumoto only became the head of the Keicho-Hosokawa and that the position of kanrei fell into disuse after the death of Takakuni. The shogunate of the time was governed via conferences between the shogun and his associates such as the Naidan-shu and the position of kanrei was limited to a ceremonial role. As such, the Keicho-Hosokawa could not hope to control the shogun through appointment as kanrei; they instead wielded power by acting as the shogun's guardian.)

30 years of civil war within the Hosokawa clan had not only divided its branches and territories in two but had also resulted in many of the Uchishu who supported the Keicho-Hosokawa being killed or driven out, however; the Hosokawa had lost their political and military base (the loss of many Uchishu in the Daimotsu Kuzure was especially significant in reducing the political abilities of the Keicho-Hosokawa). The local kokujin who had been supressed by the Hosokawa shugo and Uchishu took advantage of the internal discord to expand their influence; many Uchishu either collapsed as they were unable to control their territory from Kyoto or returned home to resist and became kokujin themselves. The Hosokawa regime was hard pressed to rebuild their framework in response to this situation. One method of strengthening their support structure was by receiving aid from external powers. Another was to integrate powerful kokujin who had not been part of the Uchishu into the government, such as the Miyoshi and Ibaragi clans. Hosokawa Takakuni's alliance with Ouchi Yoshioki was an example of the former strategy; Hosokawa Harumoto's selection of Miyoshi Motonaga and Chokei as shugo-dai was an example of the latter. Under Takakuni and Harumoto the Hosokawa clan lost the territories it had held by being shugo and the Uchishu disappeared. By this point unity among the branches of the Hosokawa and decision-making based on agreement among the Uchishu, two necessary prerequisites for Hosokawa rule, had been abandoned.

The Hosokawa civil war was rekindled in 1543 when Takakuni's adopted son Ujitsuna gathered an army. This time, Miyoshi Motonaga's son Chokei distinguished himself in Harumoto's service and Ujitsuna was defeated. Chokei switched to Ujitsuna's side in 1548, however, putting Harumoto at a disadvantage. Harumoto, defeated by Chokei at the 1549 Battle of Eguchi, fled to Omi with Yoshiharu and his son Yoshiteru. Ujitsuna became kanrei but was no more than Chokei's puppet; Hosokawa rule ended with Harumoto's defeat and Miyoshi rule began. Miyoshi rule maintained the traditional authority of the shogun and kanrei but the Miyoshi acted independent of their wishes and therefore was different in nature from Hosokawa rule.

Harumoto attempted to regain power but was forced to sue for peace in 1561 following the Battle of Kumeda. Harumoto died two years later and his son Akimoto became a puppet of the Miyoshi alongside Ujitsuna.

After the Oda took power, Akimoto was married off to Oda Nobunaga's younger sister and survived as the nominal controller of the former Hosokawa province of Tanba.