Ashikaga Yoshimasa was the eighth shōgun of the Ashikaga shogunate who reigned from 1449 to 1473 during the Muromachi period of Japan.
Ashikaga Yoshimasa (painting attributed to Tosa Mitsunobu, latter half of 15th century)
Letter from Ashikaga Yoshimasa to Shimazu Tadamasa. Part of the Shimazu-ke Monjo collection (島津家文書). National Treasure.
Silver Pavilion (Ginkaku) and garden of Jishō-ji, the residence of the Ashikaga shōgun in the Higashiyama hills of Kyoto
Grave of Ashikaga Yoshimasa, Kyoto
Shogun, officially sei-i taishōgun , was the title of the military rulers of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country. Although during part of the Kamakura period and Sengoku period, shoguns were figureheads themselves, with real power in the hands of the shikken (執権) of the Hōjō clan and kanrei (管領) of the Hosokawa clan. In addition, Taira no Kiyomori and Toyotomi Hideyoshi were leaders of the warrior class who did not hold the position of shogun, the highest office of the warrior class, yet gained the positions of daijō-daijin and kampaku , the highest offices of the aristocratic class. As such, they ran their governments as its de facto rulers.
Sakanoue no Tamuramaro (758–811) was one of the first shoguns of the early Heian period.
Taira no Masakado's rebellion is historically significant as the first rebellion of the warrior class and the first attempt of the warrior class to establish a government.
Minamoto no Yoritomo, the first shogun (1192–1199) of the Kamakura shogunate
Hōjō Tokimasa shifted the source of power in the shogunate from the shogun to the shogun's assistant, shikken, and established the rule of the Hōjō clan.
