Decline of the Muromachi Shogunate in the 1490s

Timeline

1. 1490–1492Kyoto · KinaiThe Ōnin and Bunmei wars (1467–1477) severely damaged Kyoto and weakened the shogunate's military and financial foundations; by the 1490s the shogunate was powerless to effectively appoint or dismiss provincial shugo, and the Gosho retained only ceremonial authority.
2. 1493–1496Muromachi-dono · KinaiHosokawa Masamoto manipulated the appointment and deposition of shoguns through the Meiō Coup; the shogun became a tool in the power struggle between the shōrei and Kinai daimyō, and the shogunate's decision-making power effectively passed to the Hosokawa clan and allied shugo daimyō.
3. 1495–1499Japanese archipelago · JapanStrong houses in each region—the Hōjō in Kantō, the Imagawa and Takeda in Tōkai, the Rokkaku in Ōmi—no longer answered to the shogunate; shugo daimyō and kokujin lords expanded their domains by force. The Muromachi shogunate could not levy effective taxes or mobilize national military strength, and systemic decline was a foregone conclusion.