{178} SECTION VII
The period of Ashikaga dominance lasted from the time of Yoshimitsu (1358–1408) through the 1441 assassination of the sixth shōgun Ashikaga Yoshinori (1394–1441). The accession of the incompetent eighth shōgun Ashikaga Yoshimasa (1436–1490) led to the civil war most commonly known as the Conflict of Ōnin (1467–77). Surviving documents also explain how the Ōnin conflict led to warriors entrenching and building mighty watchtowers, as the battles of this war were fought mostly by foot soldiers in a manner not too dissimilar from the defensive tactics, and entrenched armies, of the Western Front in World War I.
1. Prince Sadafusa’s Account of the Assassination of Ashikaga Yoshinori (1441)1
Beginning in 1350, extensive rites were delegated to shugo, as was the hanzei—the collection of up to half of a province’s revenue for military provisions. Yet, despite this allocation of power to the shugo, the Ashikaga shōguns managed to establish themselves as the dominant warlords of Japan. Some of the shōguns, such as Yoshimitsu, simply overpowered the shugo, while others, like Yoshimochi, adopted a more conciliatory approach. A powerful ruler, Yoshinori’s capriciousness—and his tendency to attack shugo—eventually led to turmoil. Akamatsu Mitsusuke, one of the most trusted shugo, boldly assassinated Ashikaga Yoshinori on 6.24.1441 (Kakitsu 1), at a performance of the Noh (sarugaku) play Unoha (Cormorant Feathers), staged in the Akamatsu mansion.2
{179} The following account, excerpted from the diary of the Imperial Prince Sadafusa (1372–1456), vividly recounts the tumult of this time. Legend has it that the assassination occurred at the climactic moment of the play, just as a fisherwoman appeared onstage as the sea goddess Toyotahime. But according to Sadafusa’s account, the plot seems to have been set in motion at the beginning of the play. Ashikaga prestige never fully recovered after Yoshinori’s “dog’s death.”
Twenty-fourth day. Rain. They said that the Akamatsu invited Lord Yoshinori for a sarugaku performance. That evening, in their mansion, a fight broke out. Sanjō returned, wounded, before I’d heard the details of this disturbance.3 We do not know what precisely happened to the Lord. Fires raged at the Akamatsu mansion. Warriors galloped east and west. I will not recklessly repeat slander. Later that evening, the mansion of Akamatsu Yoshimasa, the Iyo Governor, went up in flames. Akamatsu retainers also set fire to their houses. They killed the Lord, took his head, and fled. I am utterly astonished and concerned.
Twenty-fifth day. Clear. I heard roughly what happened yesterday. There was a banquet, first with three cups of sake imbibed (ikon), then nine (sankon). Then, as a sarugaku performance began, there was a rumbling sound. “What was that noise?” Yoshinori asked, and Sanjō replied, “It sounds like thunder.” At that moment, the shoji screen behind him opened, a great number of warriors appeared, and they attacked and killed Yoshinori. Sanjō picked up a sword (tachi) that had been given to Yoshinori as a gift (onhikidemono) and slashed away. But he fell and was cut down and injured. Yamana taifu [Hirotaka], the Kyōgoku Kaga novice (nyūdō) [Takakazu], and Toki Tōyama, a guard,4 were cut down and killed. Although the Governor of Shimotsuke Hosokawa [Mochiharu] and Ōuchi [Mochiyo] fought with short swords, they could not take an enemy. They were injured and retreated. The Shogunal Chancellor (kanrei) Hosokawa [Mochiyuki], the Hosokawa Governor of Sanuki Province [Mochitsune], Isshiki Gorō [Norichika], and the Akamatsu Izu Governor [Sadamura] ran away.5 In addition to them, everyone else scattered away in all directions. Nobody committed seppuku in front of our Lord. The Akamatsu fled, but nobody pursued them.
This was not just due to unpreparedness. Perhaps various daimyō were complicit. I don’t know. Anyway, it was well known that Yoshinori was planning to kill the Akamatsu, but they put an end to that by killing him. This serves him {180} right. Nothing can be done. This Shōgun died like a dog, and I have never heard of a case like that ever happening before. The head of the Zuisō subtemple6 searched for the corpse in the burned-out ruins and sent it to Tōji-in.7 A messenger from the Akamatsu reported that Yoshinori’s head is now at Nakajima in Settsu Province. The Shogunal Chancellor (kanrei) beheaded this messenger. Numerous unfounded rumors abound.
My wife8 went to the Muromachi mansion to visit the Shōgun’s wife (uesama).9 Then, last night, she started wearing [a nun’s] black robes.10 The head of Rokuonin administered her vows. The Lady in Waiting (jōrō)11 also became a nun. Since she is pregnant, the one who faces the north12 did not take vows. All of Yoshinori’s prostitutes—and all of his maids of suitable status who bore his children—also became nuns. His wife (uesama [Sanjō Tadako]) was about to leave, but the Shogunal Chancellor (kanrei) strictly prohibited her from doing so. The principle that the proud and mighty invariably fall (jōja hissui no kotowari)13 became clear before my eyes. Save for tears of sorrow, nothing else remains.
2. The Poems of Ikkyū (1394–1481)14
The Zen monk Ikkyū wrote a variety of sardonic poems. One, “Acts of Grace,” refers to the tokusei edicts of the Ashikaga. Originally, tokusei, or Virtuous Government Edicts, served as debt relief. They were first promulgated by the court in 1242. Kamakura issued one such edict to its warriors in 1297 as well. The Ashikaga issued similar edicts, but they allowed either the debtor or the creditor to pay 10 percent. If the former did so, the debts were forgiven, but if the latter did, the debts would remain. As creditors had more money, they could {181} almost invariably pay what amounted to a 10 percent tax on debt. Ikkyū’s second poem discusses how the common sense of earlier ages was stupidity in the present.
|
Acts of Grace15 |
徳政 |
|
Robbers never strike poor houses. |
賊元来不打家貧 |
|
One man’s wealth is not wealth for the whole country. |
孤独財非万国珎 |
|
I believe that calamity has its origin in good fortune. |
信道禍元福所復 |
|
You lose your soul over 100,000 pieces of copper. |
青銅十万失霊神 |
|
The Correct Skill for Great Peace |
太平正工夫 |
|
Natural, reckless, correct skill; |
天然胡乱正工夫 |
|
Yesterday’s clarity is today’s stupidity. |
昨日聡明今日愚 |
|
The universe has dark and light, entrust oneself to change. |
宇宙陰晴任変化 |
|
One time, shade the eyes and gaze afar at the road of Heaven. |
一回斫額望天衢 |
|
The Correct Skill for a Disorderly Age |
乱世正工夫 |
|
The strong one must equip himself with the right view; |
丈夫須具正見 |
|
Deluded notions in keeping with the object manifest themselves. |
諸妄想随境現 |
|
About a horse, one asks, “Do you have a good one or not?” |
馬問良馬麼無 |
|
They reply, “This sword is sharp.” |
人答此刀利剣 |
3. The Ōnin War (1467–77)
The Ōnin War (circa 1467–77) pitted the forces of the western lord Ōuchi Masahiro and his ally, Yamana Sōzen, against those of Ashikaga Yoshimasa, Yoshimasa’s Shogunal Chancellor (kanrei) Hosokawa Katsumoto, and other lords throughout the realm. An increased use of defensive tactics quickly brought the war to a tactical stalemate.
{182} The superior logistical powers of the shugo, which expanded over the course of the late fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries, allowed them to maintain standing armies. These standing armies could be trained to fight using pikes and other weapons in massed formations like the phalanx. This change in training methods seems to have occurred before the outset of the war, as documents describing the early conflict—some of which are translated below—describe extensive pike wounds. With this change in strategy came a change in the way battles were recorded: instead of recording their movements as they did in the earlier petitions, warriors instead began to merely record lists of the wounded. These rosters rarely survive (although many documents of praise received from commanders are extant). The lack of more descriptive records makes it harder for historians to study and understand the wars of the fifteenth century and later.
In addition to the use of new tactics, new weapons—including early guns and catapults (see the Inryōken Nichiroku Concerning Guns, p. 186; and Hekizan Nichiroku, p. 188)—were also used for the first time in this conflict. Parts of the capital of Kyoto came to resemble the Western Front of World War I as armies dug trenches, built watchtowers, and generally fought differently from before. Ōnin was long remembered as an epochal conflict. Records from a court family show that they, too, fought in the war and describe how their deeds during the “Great Conflict” of Ōnin were recognized and remembered as late as 1546 (see Remembering the Ōnin War, p. 190).
A Document of Praise (kanjō), issued by Hosokawa Tsuneari16
Tsuneari, a commander of the Eastern Army, issued this document on the twenty-seventh day of the fifth month of the first year of Ōnin (1467), to the Tannowa. Warriors such as the Tannowa now fought solely for their shugo and exhibited no autonomy as was typical before.
On this past twenty-sixth day, you fought well in the battle at the crossroads of Ichijō and Ōmiya. You and your retainers and low-ranking followers were all injured. This is very impressive.
Respectfully,
On the twenty-seventh day of the fifth month. Tsuneari (monogram)
To: The Honorable Tannowa Jirō saemon no jō
{183} Yamana Sōzen Document of Praise17
Here Yamana Sōzen, commander of the opposing Western Army, issues a document of praise, revealing that no one—not even ladies of the court—was safe from the internecine war.
On the seventeenth, during the battle of Funabashi, you beheaded the Naitō Palace Maid (uneme).18 This is most splendid. This document is thus.
The twentieth day of the seventh month [Ōnin 1/1467]19
[Yamana] Sōzen (monogram)
To: The Honorable Kakiya Suruga no kami
Order concerning provisions (1467)20
This order, issued by Ashikaga officials to Yamana Sōzen, reveals how commanders struggled to secure adequate provisions for their armies, with ultimately half the revenue and produce from lands near the capital (with a few exceptions) being confiscated for military provisions.
Concerning the various temple and shrine homelands of Yamashiro province’s Nishioka and Nakasuji: excluding the lands of Kamo, Hachiman, Kasuga, and Kitano, half [shall be confiscated for military provisions]. This document was generated in response to Hosokawa sakyō no taifu Katsumoto’s order. Quickly dispatch a representative and take control of these lands. If by chance anyone should dispute this, record their names and their lands. Those so recorded shall be punished. It has been ordered. Thus, this is conveyed as follows.
Twenty-seventh day of the eighth month of the first year of Ōnin (1467)
[Saitō] Chikamoto
[Fuse] Sadamoto
The Honorable Censor (Danjō no chū) Yamana
{184} 4. The Process of Praise and Rewards: A Case Study
Few complete sets of documents recounting the Ōnin War remain, but the Kikkawa family—who were allied with the Eastern Army even though they hailed from western Japan—preserved all of their paperwork. The following Kikkawa documents contain rosters of the wounded, which rarely survive, as well as documents of praise issued by the kanrei Hosokawa Katsumoto and the shōgun Ashikaga Yoshimasa.
Kikkawa Mototsune Roster of Wounds (teoi chūmon)21
Listed here are those who were wounded during the battle at the crossroads of Ichijō and Takakura on the thirteenth day of the ninth month of the first year of Ōnin (1467):
[same name] Asaeda Kōzuke no suke two arrow wounds
[same name] Asaeda Shingorō one arrow wound
One follower (chūgen) one arrow wound
Kikkawa Jirōsaburō Mototsune (monogram)
Received.22
Kikkawa Mototsune Roster of Wounds (teoi chūmon)23
This second document was issued on the same day as the previous. Note the high number of pike wounds. Pikes became a dominant shock weapon sometime between the end of the wars of the fourteenth century and the onset of the Ōnin War.
Here is a list of my men killed and wounded during the battle at the crossroads of Ichijō and Takakura on the thirteenth day of the ninth month of the first year of Ōnin (1467):
Yuasa Yajirō killed
same name Asaeda Magotarō
{185} same name Asaeda Matajirō
same name Asaeda Magogorō
Yamagata Mago saemon no jō pike (yari) wound in one place
Wada Saburō saemon no jō pike wound in one place. Arrow wound
Ono Yaroku same as above
Miyoshi saemon Tarō
Saeki Shoroku pike wound
Tahara Toshō no suke pike wound
Hiyoshi Shin saemon no jō same as above
Kikkawa Jirōsaburō Mototsune (monogram)
Received (monogram)24
Hosokawa Katsumoto Document of Praise (kanjō)25
Upon receiving the Kikkawa document translated above, Hosokawa Katsumoto wrote the following document of praise. It was on a kirigami, or small sheet of paper. Though such documents of praise have often survived, the rosters of wounds translated above usually do not. Here, only the battle death of Yuasa Yajirō merits specific mention.
During the battle of the past thirteenth, you exchanged blows with your sword. I received a report that your retainer (hikan) Yuasa Yajirō was killed, and, in addition, many others were wounded. I am extremely pleased and moved. It is my sincerest desire that you shall continue your military service. Respectfully.
Twenty-third day of the ninth month of the first year of Ōnin (1467)
To: The Honorable Kikkawa Jirōsaburō
Katsumoto (monogram)
The Honorable Kikkawa Jirōsaburō
{186} Ashikaga Yoshimasa Document of Praise (kanjō)26
The Kikkawa were so worthy of merit that they received this second document of praise from Ashikaga Yoshimasa for the same battle. This document was issued weeks after Hosokawa Katsumoto’s document of praise.
Since this past first year of the Ōnin era [1467], I have heard that your relatives and retainers have fought strenuously many times, with [some being] injured or killed. In particular, in the battle fought during the waning days of the eighth month of the second year of Ōnin [1468], at the burned-out remains of Shōkokuji, you yourself were wounded in battle. Your repeated service (chūsetsu) is without compare. I am particularly moved by your accomplishments. If you continue your military service, you shall be rewarded.
The third day of the ninth month [Ōnin 2/1468] [gohan]27
To: The Honorable Kikkawa Jirōsaburō
5. Selection from the Inryōken Nichiroku Concerning Guns28
A fifteenth-century diary records how an official from the Ryūkyū Kingdom surprised many bystanders in Kyoto by firing a gun (teppō) on 7.28.1466 (Bunshō 1). Such firearms were primitive three-barreled affairs that did not, however, significantly impact the waging of war. This diary entry was written by Kikei Shinzui, a monk at the sub-temple Inryōken, part of Rokuōnin, which was a temple in the Shōkokuji Zen monastic complex. Kikei was a close adviser to, and representative of, the Shōgun Ashikaga Yoshimasa.
Twenty eighth day. . . Ryūkyū officials arrived. After bowing three times, they left. Suddenly they provided us with souvenirs.29 In an area outside of our main gate {187} (sōmon) they fired a gun (teppō ichiryō hanasu). All the people who heard the sound were astonished. The king of their land is an old man,30 but he sends many gifts and letters. We, too, send letters and are on good terms. The king is most thoughtful (ninjō no tsune). Someone with such fidelity is rare [nearby] but even rarer is someone like this, who comes from a distant land, thousands or tens of thousands of leagues (li) away.
6. The Chronicle of Ōnin (Excerpt)31
The Chronicle of Ōnin, the main source for our understanding of the conflict, was originally thought to have been an eyewitness account but more recent research reveals that it was written a generation after the conflict. In the oldest version of this text, the war starts with a prophecy, the Yamataishi, which emphasized the “lower overthrowing the upper” (gekokujō) and also predicted that a monkey and dog would compete for hegemony. This was thought to represent Yamana Sōzen and Hosokawa Katsumoto.
The following passage describes the powerful forces of Ōuchi Masahiro, who attempted to cut off the Hosokawa forces at Nanzenji but were thwarted by adversaries.
First the Ōuchi attacked from Nanzenji. Enemy forces were of great number, and already the Fujiwara of Owari32 tried to advance from Miidera, but the mountains were steep, and there was only one path to advance. “Destroy them with rocks,” the enemies said and threw mighty boulders, so even the strong Ōuchi forces, which somehow should have stopped here, instead collapsed deep in the valleys.
{188} 7. Observations from Hekizan Nichiroku33
In the following passages, drawn from his diary for the year 1468 (Ōnin 2), the Zen monk Unsen Taikyoku describes the importance of defensive tactics in the aftermath of the stalemate at Hosshōji. Taikyoku describes fortifications, watchtowers, catapults, and guns. He also shows off his erudition in making references to catapults in history and goes to great lengths to claim that they were not new weapons—even though they, as well as the extensive fortifications in the capital, had not been seen in Japan for centuries.
Twenty-ninth day of the first month
Eastern Army . . . trenches are deep and their earthworks imposing; such strong defenses have never been seen, nor imagined before.
A craftsman from Izumi Province came to their encampment and built a contraption (hasseki boku), which tosses stones and unleashes limitless destruction where it hits. It is called a hō. It is said that Li Mi (722–89) of the Tang used such a such a contraption (kihasseki) to attack enemy castles . . . Tsao Tsao (220–66) of the Wei fired such stones to destroy chariots. . . and in the military manual of Fan Li of Yue, rocks weighing 16 pounds (12 kin) were shot 250 yards (300 ho). The Izumi Province craftsman knows weapons (heiki) very well, but this is not new.34
Fourteenth day of the fourth month. Sōzen of the Western Army built a watchtower, called Seirō, in front of his fortifications. They say that it was 77 feet (7 jō) tall. 35
Twenty-fifth day of the fourth month. Ōuchi Masahiro of the Western Army built a tower to the southwest of Rokuonin,36 called the Great Seirō (Daiseirō). 37
Twenty-first day of the sixth month. The Western Army dispatched a large force to attack the Eastern Army’s fortifications. They unleashed two thousand fire arrows (hiya) but did not burn the castle. The defenders within the castle were good shots, and several hundred of the attackers were wounded.38
Sixth day eleventh month. . .
{189} To the southeast of Rokuonin there is a military tower. It is 109 feet (10 jō) tall, they say. It is just about as tall as the Shōkokuji pagoda. A myriad of small watch towers, high earthworks, and deep moats fully covered (shūsō jūjū) the region; the same holds true for enemy camps. Millions (okuman) of soldiers traversed this area. The encampments of Hosokawa Katsumoto, Hatakeyama Masanaga, Yamana Koretoyo, Akamatsu Masanori, and Takeda Kenshin were lined up and acting as support. Hosokawa Sanuki no kami Shigeyuki’s encampment was a linchpin of the defenses, and here at the Kushirōsō tower, it was well stocked with offensive weapons, including flying projectile fire spears (hihō hisō),39 which were also reportedly discharged from a besieged tower.40 The open area in front of the fortifications consists of some ten acres.41 In addition, the facing enemy camps of Yamana Sōzen, Hatakeyama Yoshihiro,42 Tamadō43 Yoshikado, Isshiki Yoshinao, Toki Shigeyori, and Tatara44 Masahiro are set up the same.
8. Kikkawa Mototsune Roster of Wounds45
This, another Kikkawa document, describes fighting occurring in the vicinity of towers at Rokuonin, where Ōuchi Masahiro was later described by Unsen Taikyoku as building a tall tower. The injuries, said to have been caused by rocks, may have been caused by the early guns, which used rocks for bullets.
Here is a roster of those killed and wounded when coming to blows (tachi uchi) on the third day of the tenth month of Ōnin 1 (1467), during the battle of the crossroads of Kitaōji and Takakura:
same name Asaeda Magotarō one pike wound
same name Asaeda Matajirō same as above
{190} One follower (chūgen) Yo-ichi saemon killed
Those wounded one the same day at the tower by the entrance to Rokuonin
Same name Asaeda Kōzuke no suke rock wound (tsubute)
Same name Asaeda Magogorō same
Kikkawa Jirōsaburō Mototsune (monogram)
Received.46
9. Remembering the Ōnin War
The three documents offered here are related to the Awazu, a family of courtiers who rescued the imperial wardrobe from battles fought in Yamashina in 1471. The first document is the official recognition of the family’s actions, sent by a court lady writing on behalf of Emperor Go-Hanazono (1419–71; r. 1428–64). The second document is the original imperial document of praise, sent by Awazu Kiyonori’s lord Hirohashi Morimitsu. The final document here, dated 1546, shows that the Awazu continued to be rewarded for this action four generations after the events of 1471.
A Court Lady’s Communiqué47
This Communiqué was sent to the Retired Emperor Go-Hanazono (jōkō nyōbō hōsho)
(Label on the back of document)
[The second year of Bunmei (1471)]
[The Command of the Retired Emperor. Seventh month, twenty-second day]
[Go-Hanazono-in]
We have heard that your retainer went to Yamashina and rescued the storage chest (karabitsu) with the ceremonial robes. It would be most excellent if you would have him bring them to the palace. Speak of this to your retainer.
{191} Sincerely yours,
Kirifū (piece cut from the document), sumibiki (ink mark)
[Takakura Nagatsugu, Acting Middle Councilor]
To: The Honorable Tō no saishō
Letter of Hirohashi Morimitsu48
Although Awazu Kiyonori was a courtier, his naming style and behavior shows that he fought in Yamashina to secure the clothes from the Western Army forces. He is referred to with a martial office and by his Taira lineage name. These naming practices make him indistinguishable from a warrior.
Recently, the imperial ceremonial robes were retrieved in the face of the enemy depredations in Yamashina district. Saemon no jō Taira Kiyonori’s guarding and presenting them to us is most wonderful. As a reward for his service, he is to take up the post of Governor of Chikuzen. The letter that shall make this known is thus.
[Transmitter: The Honorable Grand Minister Hirohashi Tsunemitsu]
Twenty-fifth day, seventh month [1471 (Bunmei 2)] (Monogram)
Letter of Hirohashi Kanehide49
Hirohashi Kanehide, Kiyonori’s great grandson, received court rank for his ancestor’s exploits.
The Emperor viewed a court lady’s communiqué praising the outstanding service of Awazu shuri no suke Michikiyo’s grandfather [sic] Kiyonori who rescued garments and ceremonial robes during the “great conflict” (gekiran) of Ōnin. The Emperor, moved beyond measure, issued an edict promoting Michikiyo to the ranks of the nobility. “It is a great honor, and most rare, for rewards to accrue to one’s {192} descendants like this. Devote yourself to further service. So this shall be heard.” Respectfully.
[Hirohashi Kanehide: The Palace Grand Minister. At the time, Transmitter of Messages for the Ashikaga (Buke tensō) and Former Grand Councilor]
Kanehide
Third day, ninth month
Ink mark of a cut seal (Kirifu sumibiki)
To: The Honorable Takakaura
1. Kanmon gyoki, in Zoku gunsho ruijū hoi 2, 6.24–25.1441 (Kakitsu 1), 630–31. Translated by Thomas Conlan with Mai Yamaguchi and Skyler Negrete.
2. This reference to the Noh play comes from the chronicle Kakitsuki.
3. Sanjō Sanemasa. The older brother of Yoshinori’s official wife and a confidant of Yoshinori.
4. The Tōyama were an offshoot of the Toki family, serving as Yoshinori’s personal guard.
5. These four were singled out because Sadamura and Norichika were close confidants of Yoshinori, while the Hosokawa had the most important offices within the regime after that of shōgun.
6. A subtemple of Chionji, a Pure Land temple. This person was well known to Sadafusa but is not named.
7. The Ashikaga mortuary temple. Statues of most of the Ashikaga shoguns exist there to this day.
8. Niwata Yukiko. She is referred to here as the “Southern person” (minami no onkata).
9. Yoshinori’s wife Sanjō Tadako.
10. She had renounced the world and became a Buddhist nun.
11. A younger sister of Sanjō Tadako.
12. Yoshinori’s concubine, Hino Shigeko, the mother of the shoguns Ashikaga Yoshikatsu and Yoshimasa. Shigeko was the younger sister of Yoshinori’s first primary wife, Hino Muneko.
13. This phrase appears at the beginning of The Tale of Heike.
14. Arntzen, Ikkyū and the Crazy Cloud Anthology, 139–40.
15. Acts of Grace: Term for the Muromachi shogunate’s proclamations of moratorium for debts. Throughout the period, when particularly hard-pressed groups of farmers and sometimes townfolk would rise in revolt to demand cancellation of debts.
16. http://komonjo.princeton.edu/tannowa/view.html?t=2-16. Translated by the students of Sources in Ancient and Medieval Japanese History with Thomas Conlan. Accessed August 27, 2021.
17. Kakiya monjo, doc. 1, 7.20 Yamana Mochitoyo kanjō, Hyōgo kenshi shiryōhen Chūsei 9, 631. Translated by Thomas Conlan.
18. Uneme were low-ranking women who served food to the emperor.
19. This year was written later on the document.
20. Dainihon shiryō series 8 vol. 1, 379. Translated by Thomas Conlan.
21. Kikkawa ke monjo, vol. 1 (Reprint ed., 1970), doc. 320, 9.13.1467 (Ōnin 1) Kikkawa Mototsune jihitsu kassen teoi chūmon, 272–73. Translated by Thomas Conlan.
22. Hosokawa Katsumoto.
23. Kikkawa ke monjo, vol. 1, doc. 321, 9.13.1467 (Ōnin 1), Kikkawa Mototsune jihitsu kassen tachiuchi chūmon, 273–74. Translated by Thomas Conlan.
24. Hosokawa Katsumoto
25. Kikkawa ke monjo, vol. 1, doc. 327, 9.23 [1467 (Ōnin 1)], Hosokawa Katsumoto kanjō (kirigami), 279. Translated by Thomas Conlan.
26. Kikkawa ke monjo, vol. 1, doc. 50, 9.3 [1468 (Ōnin 2)], Ashikaga Yoshimasa gonaisho an, 30. Translated by Thomas Conlan.
27. This document survives as a copy and so Yoshimasa’s signature is represented by the honorific term for “monogram.”
28. Inryōken Nichiroku (Kikkei Shinzui). (5 Vols. Dainihon bukkyō zensho, no. 133–373), vol. 2 (134), 7.28.1466 (Bunshō 1), 670. Translated by Thomas Conlan.
29. Literally, hōbutsu, or objects from their locality.
30. This statement is curious, as the commonly accepted King of the Ryukyu kingdom in 1466 was Shō Toku (1441–69), the last of the first Shō Dynasty, who was born in 1441. Most likely he is confused with his father, Shō Taikyū (1415–60), although the emissary could also be another Okinawan lord. Shō Toku led a campaign against Kikai Island in 1466 and was posthumously remembered, being the last of his line, as being cruel.
31. Wada Hidemichi, ed., Ōninki, “Higashiyama Iwakura kassen narabi ni Nanzenji enjō no koto,” 91–92. Translated by Thomas Conlan.
32. A reference to the deputy of Owari Province, with the Fujiwara surname—the Oda.
33. Dainihon kokiroku Hekizan nichiroku, vol. 2. Translated by Thomas Conlan.
34. Hekizan nichiroku, 1.29.1468 (Ōnin 2), 35–36.
35. Hekizan nichiroku, 4.14.1468 (Ōnin 2), 60.
36. Shōkokuji.
37. Hekizan nichiroku, 4.25.1468 (Ōnin 2), 62. This tower is later described as being nearly 110 feet (10 jō) tall. One jō is 3.3 meters so this would be 109 feet. See Ibid., 11.6.1468 (Ōnin 2), 113–14 (translated below). For how they allowed warriors to look down on opposing armies, see Hekizan nichiroku, 5.27.1468 (Ōnin 2), 70.
38. Hekizan nichiroku, 6.21.1468 (Ōnin 2), 76.
39. The meaning of this phrase is opaque. It could refer to a single weapon, or, perhaps, two; hihō could refer to stone catapults and to hisō, fire spears, which may be a reference to the early Okinawan guns mentioned in the Inryōken Nichiroku in 1466. Or this phrase may express a single weapon.
40. Hekizan nichiroku, 11.6.1468 (Ōnin 2), 113–14.
41. Literally 80 li (里) with each li equaling approximately 500 square meters.
42. Otherwise known as Hatakeyama Yoshinari.
43. Shiba.
44. Ōuchi.
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