The Unlikely Legacy of the Worst Shogun: A Patron of the Arts

Kristine Ohkubo
Nov 6
3 min read

When considering the "oddest" shoguns of Japan, Ashikaga Yoshimasa is a prominent figure due to his paradoxical nature as a shogun who forsook military duties for artistic pursuits. Likewise, Tokugawa Yoshinobu, the last shogun, might be deemed unusual for his modern interests like cycling and his keen fascination with technology post-reign. Today, I wish to discuss Ashikaga Yoshimasa, who ruled from 1443 to 1473. His priorities were entirely misaligned with his position as a military leader.

By definition, a shogun was the military dictator and the de facto ruler of feudal Japan. He wielded the actual power while the emperor remained a ceremonial figurehead. In Japanese, shogun (将軍) translates to "general" or "army commander." It is a shortened form of the historical title Seii Tai Shogun (征夷大将軍), meaning "Great General who Subdues Barbarians." The title was inherited within a family, establishing a dynasty of samurai leaders.

Yoshimasa was notorious for his ineptitude in military and state matters, with the shogunate's decline under his leadership. Despite instigating the destructive Onin War due to a succession conflict, he is credited with promoting various art forms, such as the tea ceremony, rock gardens, and Noh drama. After abdicating, he became a significant patron of the arts, leading to the cultural flourishing of the Higashiyama Period.

Ashikaga Yoshimasa was the eighth shogun of the Ashikaga shogunate. He was declared shogun in 1449 at the age of 13, during a time when central control over the countryside was waning, with widespread starvation and hardship. His father, Shogun Ashikaga Yoshinori, was murdered in 1441 when Yoshimasa was 5. Yoshinori was notoriously cruel and met a deserved end.

Instead of delegating the nation's affairs to capable ministers, Yoshimasa governed according to the whims of inexperienced women — mainly his mother, his wife, and his former nurse. These women lacked understanding of right and wrong and were ignorant of public affairs and governance.

At just 29, unable to change the situation, Yoshimasa decided to retire from the shogunate and appoint his younger brother as his successor. However, before the succession could occur, his wife gave birth to a son (1465), whom she insisted be named the heir. Despite Yoshimasa’s efforts to resolve the issue peacefully, in 1467 the dispute sparked the Onin War (1467–77) between rival military factions serving the shogunate. This conflict devastated the area around the capital at Kyoto, destroyed many great architectural treasures, and dismantled the illusion of central control over the country's regions, igniting a century of civil warfare. Although the war continued until 1477 and ended in a stalemate, Yoshimasa ultimately abdicated in 1473 in favor of his son. After the son's death in 1489, Yoshimasa placated his brother by naming his brother’s son as the new shogun.

Though ineffective as a shogun, Yoshimasa was a remarkable patron of the arts. After retiring, he constructed the renowned Silver Pavilion in the Higashiyama area of Kyoto. There, he refined the Japanese tea ceremony into a fine art and supported many distinguished artists, potters, and Noh performers. Today, the Higashiyama period, as this cultural era is known, is regarded as one of the most significant in Japanese art history. Much of what is now seen as Japanese Zen aesthetics originated during this period.