Ashikaga Tadayoshi

Ashikaga Tadayoshi (1306 or 1307–1352) was the younger full brother of Ashikaga Takauji and, alongside his elder brother, an important figure who shared the conduct of government in the early days of the Muromachi shogunate. While supporting Takauji, whose military prowess was outstanding, he led the development of the shogunate's administrative and legal systems and sustained the Muromachi shogunate through the turmoil of the Northern and Southern Courts period. On the other hand, his conflict with Takauji's steward Kō no Moronao (the “Kannō Disturbance”) developed into a large-scale internal struggle within the shogunate, and his eventful life embodies the complex political situation of the Northern and Southern Courts period.

In Genkō 3 (1333), Tadayoshi, together with his elder brother Takauji, broke away from the Hōjō clan and joined the overthrow of the Kamakura shogunate. During the Kenmu Restoration that followed the fall of the Kamakura shogunate, he sided with Emperor Go-Daigo, but when Takauji rebelled against the new government, he acted together with his brother. After the Muromachi shogunate was established following the Battle of Minatogawa (1336), a dual government was run: Takauji handled the granting of rewards and the appointment of shugo, while Tadayoshi handled almost all other governance and judicial trials. Under this system Tadayoshi devoted himself to the development of shogunate law, the protection of temples and shrines, and the promotion of culture, contributing to the stability of shogunal rule.

Within the shogunate, however, the rivalry between the faction of Takauji's steward Kō no Moronao (the martial faction) and Tadayoshi's faction (the civil-governance faction) grew intense. In 1349, Tadayoshi had Moronao removed from the post of steward, but Moronao staged a gosho-maki, surrounding the shogun's residence with troops, and Tadayoshi was ousted from power and took Buddhist vows. He then surrendered to the Southern Court and gathered troops, and in 1351 he defeated Moronao and his brother Moroyasu at the Battle of Uchidehama, destroying the Kō clan (the Kannō Disturbance). Afterwards he came into conflict with Takauji, and after his defeat at the Battle of Satta Pass he surrendered. In 1352, Tadayoshi died suddenly in Kamakura. There are suspicions that he was poisoned, and the truth of his death remains shrouded in mystery to this day.

Ashikaga Tadayoshi was outstanding more as an administrator and lawmaker than as a warrior, and he is said to have been deeply involved in the drafting of the Kenmu Shikimoku (the policy guidelines of the Muromachi shogunate). His achievements in establishing the foundations of shogunal rule during the turmoil of the Northern and Southern Courts period are great, and he is regarded as a figure who laid the foundations of the law and culture of the Muromachi period. In terms of his connection to swords, Tadayoshi himself was a warrior who took part in major battles, and it is said that at the Battle of Tatarahama in Kenmu 3 (1336) he wore a shino-zukuri tachi.