Daimyo Daimyo were the feudal lords of Japan Daimyo was the title given to Japan’s ruling feudal warlords of the tenth, through to the mid-late 19th century. The title, Daimyo (大名) means Great (大) and Name(名), although the second part originated from the word Myoden (名田)meaning “privately held [...]
Battle of Toba- Fushimi（January 27- 31, 1868） Imperial Loyalists (5,000) Vs Tokugawa Shogunate Loyalists (15,000) The Battle of Toba-Fushimi was part of the Boshin War, fought between those still loyal to the by now defunct Tokugawa Bakufu, and the newly instated pro-Imperial forces, and is named after the area where the allied Choshu, [...]
Matsudaira Tadayori (1582 - October 26, 1609) The Daimyo Matsudaira Tadayori was was a highly ranked vassal of the Tokugawa clan, born in the year Oda Nobunaga was killed, 1582, and killed in an argument following a tea ceremony in Edo in 1609. During the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, he was entrusted [...]
Ashikaga Yoshiakira, Second Ashikaga Shogun (July 4, 1330 – December 28, 1367) Ashikaga Yoshiakira, the second Ashikaga Shogun The second Ashikaga Shogun, Ashikaga Yoshiakira was born the son of the founding first Shogun, Ashikaga Takauji, and Akahashi (Hojo) Toshi. The politically powerful Hojo clan had been hereditary regents since [...]
Ashikaga Yoshihisa, The 9th Ashikaga Shogun (December 11, 1465 - April 26, 1489) Ashikaga Yoshihisa was the 9th Shogun of the Ashikaga Shogunate. The birth of Ashikaga Yoshihisa in late 1465 would lead to the Onin War, and the Sengoku period. Ashikaga Yoshihisa, The 9th Ashikaga Shogun [...]
Shinokosho, Japan’s feudal social class system The Shinokosho, or four divisions of society, composed of the Shi, being the warrior caste, the No, or farming peasants, Ko being craftsmen and artisans, and Sho being the merchant class. 8-10% of the population were of samurai class, 80-85% are believed to have been farmers, [...]
Ashikaga Yoshinori, the 6th Ashikaga Shogun (July 12, 1394 – Assassinated July 12, 1441) Ashikaga Yoshinori was the son of the Third Shogun, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu. Yoshinori was invested with the title of the sixth Shogun on the day of his predecessor, Yoshimochi’s death through a lottery-like system where the [...]
Saito Dosan, The Viper of Mino (1494 - killed by his son, May 28, 1556) Saito Dosan, the Viper of Mino Saito Dosan, the “Viper of Mino”, was originally not a samurai, but a monk. Dosan is said to have been born in Yamashiro Province (southern Kyoto region), [...]
Kochi Castle (Kochi Prefecture) Kochi Castle is one of just 12 samurai castles with keeps in original condition. Yamanochi Kazutoyo (Yamauchi Katsutoyo), who was given Tosa Domain (modern-day Kochi Prefecture in Shikoku) following the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, commenced building a fine castle and residence there from 1601. Work took ten years [...]
Dangae-Dou Tousei Gusoku Samurai Armor A type of samurai armor, Tousei Gusoku means literally “Modern Armour”, and by modern, it meant from the Muromachi period (1337 ~1573) when armour was no longer made with small plates of laced lamella called kozane, but larger plates of steel. Most tousei gusoku were nimai-dou, being two [...]