The Azuchi-Momoyama Period (Azuchi-Momoyama Jidai, aka Shokuho Period, 1568/73 - 1600 CE) was a brief but significant period of medieval Japan's history which saw the country unified after centuries of a weak central government and petty conflicts between hundreds of rival warlords. Oda Nobunaga (r. 1568-1582 CE) would establish himself as the military ruler of Japan, and his castle at Azuchi, east of Kyoto, gives the period the first half of its name. Nobunaga's successor Toyotomi Hideyoshi (r. 1582-1598 CE) would continue his work to unify all of Japan, and his base of Momoyama, south of Kyoto, provides the second half of the period's name. Hideyoshi came unstuck with his two failed invasions of Korea, and the period ended with the succession conflict that would see Tokugawa Ieyasu establish the Tokugawa Shogunate (1603-1868 CE).
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Definition
Timeline
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1568 - 1582Oda Nobunaga seizes Heiankyo (Kyoto) and is the dominant military leader in central Japan.
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1568 - 1600The Azuchi-Momoyama Period in Japan.
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1571Oda Nobunaga attacks the Buddhist Enryakuji monastic complex near Kyoto.
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1573Oda Nobunaga exiles the last Ashikaga shogun, Yoshiaki.
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1575Oda Nobunaga wins the Battle of Nagashino.
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1576Oda Nobunaga instigates a 'sword hunt' to confiscate all weapons from the Japanese peasantry.
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1579Oda Nobunaga establishes a new headquarters at Azuchi castle.
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1580Oda Nobunaga attacks the Buddhist temple-fortress of Ishiyama Honganji in Osaka using ship-mounted cannons.
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1581The first version of Himeji Castle was built by Toyotomi Hideyoshi.
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1582 - 1598Toyotomi Hideyoshi is the military leader of Japan.
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1582 - 1598Oda Nobunaga and his successor Toyotomi Hideyoshi conduct an extensive land ownership survey across Japan.
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21 Jun 1582Death of Oda Nobunaga.
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1586Toyotomi Hideyoshi builds the huge Osaka castle.
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1587Toyotomi Hideyoshi passes his first edict to banish Christian missionaries from Japan.
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1588Toyotomi Hideyoshi prohibits commoners from carrying weapons, including swords.
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1588Toyotomi Hideyoshi rules that only full-rank samurai may carry two swords.
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1591Toyotomi Hideyoshi builds the massive Odoi ("Great rampart") fortification wall around Heiankyo (Kyoto).
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1591Toyotomi Hideyoshi redefines the class system of Japan.
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1591Samurai are no longer permitted to farm their own land making them dependent on their lords for income.
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1592Toyotomi Hideyoshi sends an army to invade Korea. It is not successful.
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1594Toyotomi Hideyoshi builds the Fushimi Castle outside Heiankyo (Kyoto).
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1597Toyotomi Hideyoshi passes his second edict to remove Christian missionaries from Japan and executes 26 Christians in Nagasaki.
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1597Toyotomi Hideyoshi sends a second army to invade Korea. It is not successful.
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18 Sep 1598Death of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the military leader of Japan.
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1600Tokugawa Ieyasu wins the Battle of Sekigahara against those generals who supported Toyotomi Hideyoshi's son. End of the Azuchi-Momoyama Period.
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1603 - 1868Edo period. The Tokugawa Shogunate rules Japan.
