* Image is for illustrative purposes only.Hosokawa Masamoto
細川政元
The 'Half-Shogun' — Most Powerful Regent of the Muromachi Shogunate
Description
The "Half-Shogun" Who Controlled the Muromachi Shogunate
Born in Bunshō 1 (1466), Hosokawa Masamoto succeeded to the headship of the Hosokawa clan at the age of just eight (by traditional counting) after the death of his father, Hosokawa Katsumoto (commander of the Eastern Army in the Ōnin War), and was later also appointed kanrei. At the height of his power he wielded influence so great that he was called the 'Half-Shogun,' and he was the most powerful figure of the late Muromachi period, one who deposed and installed shoguns.
The Meiō Political Upheaval — Deposition of a Shogun
In Meiō 2 (1493), Masamoto deposed the shogun Ashikaga Yoshitane and carried out the so-called 'Meiō political upheaval,' installing Ashikaga Yoshizumi in his place. This event is famed in history as a symbol of the arrival of the age of gekokujō, and by setting the precedent of a powerful man deposing and installing shoguns at will, it was the decisive event that destroyed the authority of the Muromachi shogunate. After this, Masamoto established the supremacy of the Hosokawa Keichō line and reigned as the ruler of the Kinai region.
Devotion to Shugendō and Eccentric Behavior
The most distinctive aspect of Masamoto's character is his deep devotion to Shugendō (a magico-religious faith centered on mountain asceticism). Observing the prohibition on women, he kept women at a distance and remained unmarried for his entire life. He was absorbed in ascetic practice in an effort to fly through the air and acquire the arts of the tengu, and he was reportedly rumored to have 'stood in mid-air.' Having no children of his own, he adopted Sumiyuki, Sumimoto, and others. This mystical side produced numerous legends in later ages, and Masamoto is passed down as 'a mysterious sorcerer of the Muromachi period.'
The Eishō Disturbance and Assassination
In Eishō 4 (1507), Masamoto was assassinated by retainers including Kōzai Motonaga, who supported his adopted son Sumiyuki. After this incident, known as the 'Eishō disturbance,' the Hosokawa house fell into internal strife over succession among the adopted heirs, and eventually, allowing the rise of the Miyoshi and Matsunaga clans, it declined.
Masamoto as a Military Commander
Although devoted to Shugendō and keenly interested in magical arts and secret rites, Masamoto also had another side as a military commander who, as kanrei, led troops. In Meiō 8 (1499), he ordered retainers including Akazawa Tomotsune to burn down Enryaku-ji on Mount Hiei, and he also advanced troops into Kawachi and Yamato, greatly expanding the power of the Hosokawa Keichō line.