In the 8th month of Shōchō 1 (1428), beginning with the bashaku uprising in Ōmi, a large-scale tsuchi ikki spread to Kyoto and the Kinai region, the first large-scale tsuchi ikki in Japanese history. Peasants and bashaku (packhorse carriers) demanded tokusei (debt cancellation) and attacked dosō (pawnbrokers) and sakaya. The shogunate sought to suppress it through Akamatsu Mitsusuke, but in Nara Kōfuku-ji came to approve tokusei. A monumental incident in which organized armed action by the common people first appeared in history.

Nanboku-chōPolitical Event

19 November 1392 (Meitoku 3, intercalary 10th month, day 5)

Reunification of the Northern and Southern Courts (Meitoku Peace Accord) — The End of the Upheaval Embodied by the Japanese Sword

On 19 November 1392 (Meitoku 3, intercalary 10th month, day 5), Ashikaga Yoshimitsu brokered the transfer of the Three Sacred Treasures from Emperor Go-Kameyama to Emperor Go-Komatsu, ending the 56-year division of the Northern and Southern Courts. In the history of Japanese swords, this marked the end of the era of the ōdachi and mass production during the Nanboku-chō period, and the beginning of an age under Yoshimitsu's cultural patronage in which swords shifted from weapons to works of art and diplomatic gifts.

MuromachiPolitical Event

1338 (Ryakuo 1 / Engen 3)

Ashikaga Takauji Appointed Seii Taishogun: The Muromachi Shogunate

In 1338 (Ryakuo 1 / Engen 3) Ashikaga Takauji was appointed seii taishogun. The Muromachi shogunate, which had set out its policy in the 1336 Kenmu Shikimoku, was thereby formally established as a warrior government.