Sengoku Daimyo System of Japan

Timeline

1. c. 1336–1467Kinai and Ōmi · KinkiThe Muromachi shogunate ruled provinces through shugo daimyo, but as shogunal authority declined and kokujin powers grew, some shugo were replaced by kokujin or powerful retainers, forming proto-lords who carved out their own domains.
2. c. 1467–1490Kinai · KinkiThe Ōnin War severely damaged the Muromachi shogunate and Kinai order; daimyo across the country seized the opportunity to expand their domains and build castles, and the Sengoku daimyo system was fully established by the late fifteenth century.
3. 1491–1500Japanese archipelago · JapanBy the late fifteenth century, daimyo consolidated domain rule through land surveys, provincial laws, and rewards to retainer bands; ashigaru and peasant-soldier mobilization systems matured, and the balance of power among daimyo such as Date, Takeda, and Uesugi took shape.
4. c. 1568–1615Kinai and Tōkaidō · ChūbuOda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi unified the archipelago by force, carrying out sword hunts and Taikō land surveys, bringing Sengoku daimyo into a centralized order and transitioning the system toward the Edo han system.