Muromachi

Muromachi, in Japanese history, refers to the Muromachi period (1336–1573), named after the Muromachi district in Kyoto where the Ashikaga shogunate established its seat. The government was headed by the Ashikaga shoguns, who exercised political authority while retaining formal imperial rule in Kyoto. The period began after the Kenmu Restoration and the rise of Ashikaga Takauji; it includes the turbulent era of the Northern and Southern Courts (Nanboku-chō, 1336–1392), during which rival imperial lines vied for legitimacy. The Onin War (1467–1477) marked the onset of the Sengoku period, a century of social upheaval, civil war, and regional power struggles that eroded central authority.

Despite political fragmentation, the Muromachi era saw remarkable cultural developments. The Ashikaga patrons supported the growth of Noh theatre and the flourishing of ink wash painting (sumi-e), as well as the refinement of the tea ceremony and garden design influenced by Zen aesthetics. Zen monasteries and temples in Kyoto and surrounding provinces became centers of culture and learning. The period also saw continued contact with Ming dynasty China and, from the mid-16th century, European traders, which introduced new technologies and religious ideas.

The Muromachi period ended as centralized power collapsed in the face of Oda Nobunaga’s campaigns, followed by Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s ascendancy. The political center gradually shifted, culminating in the unification of Japan and the transition to the Azuchi–Momoyama period and early Edo period.