Chronology 1467- - Onin War: collapse of ccntral authority; beginning of Sengoku 1477 period 1471 - death of the dobo Noami 1474 - Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa abandons his office (7 January; Bunmei 5/12/19) 1476? - Soami completes the compilation of the handbook on Higashi- yama aesthetics, Kundaikan sochoki, begun by Noami 1479 - Yamashina Honganji founded by Rennyo, the pontiff of the True Pure Land sect 1482 - Ashikaga Yoshimasa begins building the Higashiyama Villa (site of the Silver Pavilion) 1484 - by this year, a local autonomous council called the Egoshu is functioning in Sakai 1485 - local leaders of the province of Yamashiro form a league (ikki) and take over the administration of the southern part of the prov- ince (until 1493) 1488 - adherents of the True Pure Land sect, organized as the Ikko ikki, take over the province of Kaga (until 1580) 1490 - death of Ashikaga Yoshimasa 1496 - Rennyo founds the Ishiyama Dojo in Osaka: forerunner of the Ishiyama Honganji 1500 - the Gion Festival, lapsed since the Onin War, is revived in Kyoto 1502 - death of the tea master Murata Shuko 1505 - the great popularity of Bon odori in Kyoto causes the shogunate to prohibit the dance 1506 - death ofthe painter Sesshu Toyd (b. 1420) 1507 - Tosa Mitsunobu paints a screen depicting Kyoto for the Asakura daimyo ofEchizen: a prototype Rakuchu-Rakugai-zu byobu X CHRONOLOGY 1513 - Kano Motonobu and Soami decorate the Abbot's Quarters of the Daisen 'in 1515 - Toyohara Sumiaki writes Taigensho, a study of court music 1517 - the rcnga master Saiokuken Socho records songs heard during a journey in his travel diary, Utsu no yamaki 1518 - compilation of the song anthology Kanginshu 1521 - Miyoshi Motonaga establishes the headquarters of his family, the Mandokoro, in Sakai 1522 - Sen no Rikyu born 1524 - SatomuraJoha born 1525 - death of Soami, the last of the ' 'Three Ami" 1527 - Miyoshi Motonaga, championing the cause of Ashikaga Yoshi- tsuna, establishes the so-called Sakai Bakufu 1530- - Saiokuken Socho's diary, Socho shuki, records songs heard on his 1531 travels 1532 - Ikko ikki attacks the Nichiren sect temple Kenponji in Sakai and forces Miyoshi Motonaga to suicide: end of the "Sakai Bakufu" (My) - adherents of the Nichiren sect in Kyoto form the "Lotus Con- federation" (Hokke ikki), arm themselves, and take over the affairs of the city (August) - Yamashina Honganji is destroyed by the forces of the Lotus Con- federation (September); Ishiyama Honganji of Osaka becomes the headquarters of the True Pure Land sect 1534 - Oda Nobunaga born 1536 - end of the Lotus Confederation: the main temples of the Nichiren sect are destroyed, and large parts of Kyoto burnt, by ar- mies mobilized by the monks of the Tendai sect on Mount Hiei - from this date onward, the Ishiyama Honganji becomes a major center of No, sponsoring performances by the Four Troupes 1537 - Toyotomi Hideyoshi born probably this year (17 March; Tenbun 6/2/6 [?]); some sources indicate 1536 1539 - Miyoshi Nagayoshi (Chokei) for the first time occupies Kyoto - Kano Motonobu begins a large interior decoration project at the Ishiyama Honganji 1542 - discovery of the rich Ikuno silver mine in Tajima province 1543 - TokugawaIeyasu born (31 January; Tenbun 11/12/26) - Kano Eitoku born - Kano Motonobu decorates the Abbot's Quarters of the Reiun 'in - Miyoshi Nagayoshi assumes control over Sakai - the first Portuguese traders arrive in Japan; introduction of West- ern firearms 1544 - the shogunateprohibits furyu in Kyoto CHRONOLOGY xi 1546 - establishment of the Kanazawa Mido, the True Pure Land sect's governing agency over the province of Kaga and neighboring areas 1547 - the last Japanese mission of the official "tally ship" trade leaves for Ming China 1549 - the Jesuit Francis Xavier arrives in Japan: beginning of the Chris- tian mission 1555 - death of the tea master Takeno Joo (b. 1502) 1558 - Kinoshita Tokichiro, the future Hideyoshi, enters Nobunaga's employ 1559 - death ofKano Motonobu (b. 1476); birth ofKano Sanraku (d. 1635) 1560 - Battle of Okehazama: Oda Nobunaga defeats Imagawa Yoshi- moto and begins his rise to national prominence 1561 - Kano Mitsunobu born 1562 - Nobunaga and Ieyasu form an alliance 1563 - Satomura Joha compiles Hakuhatsu sho, a book of secret renga traditions - Kano Shoei paints an enormous Nirvana painting for the Dai- tokuji 1564 - death of Miyoshi Nagayoshi (b. 1522); his treacherous vassal Matsunaga Hisahide takes over his place in the politics of the Home Provinces 1565 - Matsunaga Hisahide and the Miyoshi Triumvirs destroy Shogun Ashikaga Yoshiteru 1566 - fighting between Hisahide and the Triumvirs threatens Sakai; the Jesuit Luis Frois reports on conditions in the city - Kano Shoei and his son Eitoku decorate the Abbot's Quarters of the Jukdin 1567 - SatomuraJoha journeys to Mount Fuji: Joha Fujimi michi no ki 1567- - Kano Eitoku, with three assistants, does wall paintings for the 1568 Kanpaku Konoe Sakihisa 1568 - Nobunaga occupies Kyoto and installs Ashikaga Yoshiaki as sho- gun; Matsunaga Hisahide submits to Nobunaga, sending him a precious tea utensil to seal their alliance 1569 - the Miyoshi Triumvirs, based on Sakai, attack Shogun Yoshiaki but are rebuffed from Kyoto (January); Nobunaga threatens Sakai with destruction until the city submits sometime this summer 1570 - beginning of Nobunaga's "Ten Years' War" against the Honganji and the ' 'religious monarchy'' of the True Pure Land sect - about this time, Hasegawa Shinshun (Tohaku) paints Rounding Up Horses, a pair of sixfold screens now in the Tokyo National Museum 1571 - furyu odori in high vogue during the Bon season in Kyoto; the xii CHRONOLOGY crown prince and Shogun Yoshiaki watch the dance competition among townsmen groups - Nobunaga destroys the Enryakuji, the headquarters of the Tendai sect on Mount Hiei 1572 - Nobunaga issues a seventeen-article remonstrance to Shogun Yoshiaki 1573 - Takeda Shingen defeats Ieyasu's and Nobunaga's allied forces at Mikatagahara (6 January; Genki 3/12/3) and strikes westward; en- ticed by Shingen's progress, Shogun Yoshiaki breaks openly with Nobunaga (March); Nobunaga burns the periphery and much of the inner city of Kyoto to intimidate the shogun (May) - Nobunaga expels Yoshiaki from Kyoto and the central arena of politics, in effect disestablishing the Muromachi bakufu (August) - a copy is made of Sanshu Shitara-gun tauta {also known as Ten- sho no tauta), an anthology of songs related to agricultural field work 1574 - Ikko ikki takes over the province of Echizen (May); Nobunaga destroys the Ikko ikki of Ise (October) - the Kyushu daimyo Otomo Sorin sponsors a large-scale per- formance o/furyu dances - Nobunaga presents screens of Scenes In and Around Kyoto and Tale of Genji by Kano Eitoku to Uesugi Kenshin, the daimyo of Echigo 1575 - Nobunaga defeats Takeda Katsuyori at Nagashino (June) and conquers Echizen from the True Pure Land sect (September); he issues the "Regulations for the Province of Echizen" to Shibata Katsuie - Sen no Rikyu acts as master of the tea ceremony (sado) for Nobu- naga 1576 - Nobunaga begins building Azuchi Castle; Kano Eitoku is commissioned to decorate it and takes his atelier to the site of the project - Shibata Katsuie, Nobunaga's governor of Echizen, conducts a "sword hunt" in his province and orders peasants to confine themselves to tilling the soil; a rudimentary religious inquisition is conducted in Echizen 1577 - Nobunaga declares his castle town of Azuchi a duty-free market - Matsunaga Hisahide turns against Nobunaga, is defeated, and commits suicide 1578 - Nobunaga grants Hideyoshi the right to hold formal tea cere- monies - Ogasawara Chikashige-ryu taue hyoshi no yurai records prayers to be recited at a ritual for the god of the field associated with rice transplanting CHRONOLOGY xiii 1579 - the donjon of Azuchi Castle becomes Nobunaga's official resi- dence - Nobunaga orders the Azuchi Disputation between priests of the Pure Land and the Nichiren sects, declares the Nichirenists the losers, and orders three of their principals executed 1580 - the Kyushu daimyo Omura Sumitada cedes Nagasaki and vicinity to the Society of Jesus - Ishiyama Honganji surrenders to Nobunaga (September), and the Ikko ikki of Kaga is conquered by Shibata Katsuie (December): end of the "Ten Years' War" and the "religious monarchy" of the True Pure Land sect - Nobunaga's regime destroys provincial forts in the Kansai area and conducts land surveys in the provinces of Yamato and Harima 1581 - Nobunaga presents a screen painting of Azuchi (now lost) by Kano Eitoku to the Jesuit Visitator Alexandro Valignano - Nobunaga campaigns against the Kongobuji, the headquarters of the Shingon sect on Mount Koya 1582 - Nobunaga conquers the Takeda, extending his realm into the Kanto region, his last triumph (April); the imperial court decides to offer him appointment as shogun (May) - Akechi Mitsuhide, joined by Satomura Joha, holds a renga ses- sion at the Atago Shrine (18June; Tensho 10/5/28) - Honnoji Affair: Mitsuhide murders Nobunaga (21 June; Tensho 10/6/2) - Battle of Yamazaki: Hideyoshi destroys Mitsuhide and begins his rise to hegemony over Japan (2 July; Tensho 10/6/13) - Azuchi Castle burnt down (3-4 July) - Hideyoshi orders a land survey of Yamashiro province (27 July; Tensho 10/7/8) 1583 - Battle of Shizugatake: Hideyoshi destroys Shibata Katsuie - Hideyoshi builds Osaka Castle 1584 - Kano Eitoku and his atelier decorate Osaka Castle - the Yamazato tearoom in Osaka Castle first used by Hideyoshi, with Sen no Rikyu in attendance - Hideyoshi