The Eiroku Incident

What Is the Eiroku Incident—The Day the "Swordmaster Shogun" Died With His Blades

On the morning of May 19, Eiroku 8 (1565), several thousand soldiers suddenly descended upon Nijo Palace in Kyoto. Forces led by Miyoshi Yoshitsugu, the Miyoshi Sanningumi (Miyoshi Nagayoki, Miyoshi Soui, and Iwanari Tomoichi), and Matsunaga Hisamichi surrounded the residence of Ashikaga Yoshiteru, the 13th shogun of the Muromachi Shogunate, and launched a full assault. This was the "Eiroku Incident."

This event holds special significance in Japanese sword history because of how Yoshiteru met his end. Yoshiteru had planted several celebrated blades upright into the tatami floor of his residence beforehand. As each blade's surface became slippery with blood, he switched to the next sword, and continued fighting against overwhelming numbers until the very end. A shogun who used swords almost as consumable weapons and died fighting—this scene became one of the most dramatic "deaths by the sword" in Japanese history, passed down through the ages.

Who Was Ashikaga Yoshiteru?

Ashikaga Yoshiteru (1536–1565) was the son of the 12th shogun, Ashikaga Yoshiharu. From childhood, he was forced into exile, taking refuge in places like Sakamoto in Omi and the Kutsuki Valley (present-day Takashima City, Shiga Prefecture) while maintaining his shogunal rank—a "wandering shogun" typical of the late Muromachi period.

However, Yoshiteru distinguished himself from other Muromachi shoguns through his resolute commitment to martial prowess. Yoshiteru studied swordsmanship under Kamizumi Nobutsuna, the founder of Shinkage-ryu. Kamizumi Nobutsuna was among the greatest swordmasters of the Sengoku period, and Yoshiteru trained under him in live-blade combat. His epithet "Swordmaster Shogun" derives from this distinction.

During Yoshiteru's era, the Muromachi Shogunate was completely dominated by Miyoshi Nagayoshi, leaving Yoshiteru as little more than a figurehead. Yet Yoshiteru did not abandon hopes of restoring shogunal authority. He repeatedly mediated disputes among regional lords and conducted diplomatic relations with powerful daimyo such as Takeda, Uesugi, Mori, and Otomo. While studying swordsmanship from the visiting Kamizumi Nobutsuna, he also actively engaged in "sword diplomacy," gifting celebrated blades to regional lords. Yoshiteru's residence held numerous celebrated blades passed down through the shogunal house and premium specimens donated by daimyo from across the realm—Nijo Palace was truly a "mansion of celebrated blades."

The Miyoshi Sanningumi and Matsunaga Hisamichi: The Path to Regicide

When Miyoshi Nagayoshi died in Eiroku 7 (1564), power of the Miyoshi clan shifted to the Miyoshi Sanningumi. Matsunaga Hisamichi, once a trusted general under Nagayoshi who dominated the Kinai region, began pursuing independent power after Nagayoshi's death.

Following Nagayoshi's death, Yoshiteru began moving to restore shogunal authority. He cultivated relations with Tokugawa Ieyasu (then still a minor power), dispatched shogunal envoys to daimyo across the realm, and became diplomatically active—moves that alarmed the Miyoshi Sanningumi.

The cause of the decisive conflict remains debated. Records suggest Yoshiteru attempted to exploit internal divisions within the Miyoshi clan to restore shogunal authority, and there are indications he called upon regional lords to mount a campaign against the Miyoshi. Regarding Matsunaga Hisamichi's involvement, later historical records mention it, but direct evidence from primary sources is sparse, leaving the matter contested among historians.

The Course of the Eiroku Incident: The Assault on the Palace

On the morning of May 19, Eiroku 8 (1565), Miyoshi Sanningumi forces suddenly surrounded Nijo Palace. Yoshiteru's guard garrison was small relative to the palace's size, making direct resistance against thousands of attackers impossible.

Yet Yoshiteru did not flee. According to records such as the "Yanagita no Kōki," Yoshiteru planted multiple tachi upright into the tatami floor and prepared for battle. As the attackers breached the palace interior, Yoshiteru took up a blade and fought himself.

As the blade's surface became slippery from the blood of enemies, Yoshiteru switched to another sword. As that sword too became slippery, he took up yet another—this pattern of combat continued, according to accounts. While later war chronicles may have embellished this account, multiple contemporary sources record that "Yoshiteru fought personally," so at minimum the core of the story is considered historical fact.

Eventually, outnumbered and exhausted, Yoshiteru was overwhelmed and slain. He was 30 years old. On the same day, his mother, Keijuin, took her own life.

The Eiroku Incident and Swords: The Symbolism of a Shogun Who Died by the Blade

The Eiroku Incident holds symbolic meaning in Japanese sword history.

First, the episode of Yoshiteru fighting with multiple swords demonstrates most dramatically that the Japanese blade functioned both as "a weapon of personal combat" and as "a symbol of power and authority." The swords Yoshiteru planted in his residence were more than mere weapons—they embodied shogunal authority itself. The narrative of him fighting to his death, using sword after sword, can be read as a metaphor for the Muromachi Shogunate's authority being progressively "exhausted" alongside each blade.

Second, the fact that Yoshiteru trained in Shinkage-ryu under Kamizumi Nobutsuna demonstrates that "swordsmanship" had become established as a martial art cultivated by the shogun and daimyo class. During the late Muromachi period, the positioning of the blade shifted from "an ornament" to "a tool requiring actual combat technique." Yoshiteru's identity as a swordmaster embodied this transformative moment in sword culture.

Third, Yoshiteru's "sword diplomacy" of presenting celebrated blades to regional lords illustrates the political function of swords during the Sengoku period. Celebrated blades served as a "political currency" through which gift-giving confirmed vassal relationships and alliances. Yoshiteru's sword diplomacy was a precursor to Oda Nobunaga's later "tea ceremony governance."

Historical Significance of the Eiroku Incident: The Practical End of the Muromachi Shogunate

Following Yoshiteru's death, the Muromachi Shogunate rapidly became a hollow institution. Yoshiteru's younger brother, Ashikaga Yoshiei, became the 14th shogun but was merely a puppet of the Miyoshi Sanningumi and died of illness without even reaching the capital. Later, in Eiroku 11 (1568), Oda Nobunaga arrived in the capital supporting Ashikaga Yoshiaki (Yoshiteru's other brother) and installed him as the 15th shogun.

However, the relationship between Yoshiaki and Nobunaga did not endure. In Tenshō 1 (1573), Nobunaga exiled Yoshiaki, marking the formal collapse of the Muromachi Shogunate. While historians date the shogunate's end to Tenshō 1, the year Eiroku 8 (1565)—when Yoshiteru was assassinated—represents the shogunate's practical "death."

The image of the "Swordmaster Shogun" Yoshiteru exhausting multiple celebrated blades in combat at Nijo Palace symbolizes the 260-year history of the Muromachi Shogunate ending "alongside the blade." In this sense, the Eiroku Incident stands as an epoch in Japanese sword history—an event in which the blade embodying the authority of samurai rule shone most brilliantly and tragically at the very moment of that authority's collapse.