Shōen in the context of "Nanboku-chō period"

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⭐ Core Definition: Shōen

A shōen (荘園 or 庄園, shōen) was a field or manor in Japan. The Japanese term comes from the Tang dynasty Chinese term "莊園" (Mandarin: zhuāngyuán, Cantonese: zong1 jyun4).

Shōen, from about the 8th to the late 15th century, describes any of the private, tax free, often autonomous estates or manors whose rise undermined the political and economic power of the emperor and contributed to the growth of powerful local clans. The estates developed from land tracts assigned to officially sanctioned Shintō shrines or Buddhist temples or granted by the emperor as gifts to the Imperial family, friends, or officials. As these estates grew, they became independent of the civil administrative system and contributed to the rise of a local military class. With the establishment of the Kamakura shogunate in 1192, centrally appointed stewards weakened the power of these local landlords. The shōen system passed out of existence around the middle of the 15th century, when villages became self-governing units, owing loyalty to a feudal lord (daimyō) who subdivided the area into fiefs and collected a fixed tax.

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👉 Shōen in the context of Nanboku-chō period

The Nanboku-chō period (南北朝時代, Nanboku-chō jidai), also known as the Northern and Southern Courts period, was a period in Japanese history between 1336 and 1392, during the formative years of the Muromachi (Ashikaga) shogunate. During this time, two opposing Imperial courts and their respective claimants as Emperor were engaged in conflict over their claims to the Chrysanthemum Throne, with the Southern Court ultimately renouncing their claim in favor of the Northern Court in 1392. This period became a source of contention for many Japanese historians and scholars over the following centuries. Initially, the North's victory in the dispute led official histories to paint them as the legitimate claimants. In reality, the Northern pretenders were simply puppet rulers under the direct control of the Kamakura and Ashikaga shogunates, while the Southern claimants maintained control of the Japanese Imperial Treasures, the sacred artifacts that confirmed an Emperor's legitimacy. To officially resolve this historical dilemma, in 1911 Emperor Meiji issued an edict that the Emperors of the Southern Court were the legitimate claimants during this period.

The destruction of the Kamakura shogunate of 1333 and the failure of the Kenmu Restoration in 1336 opened up a legitimacy crisis for the new shogunate. Institutional changes in the estate system (shōen) that formed the bedrock of the income of nobles and warriors altered the status of the various social groups. The establishment of the Ashikaga shogunate broadened the economic base of the warriors, while undercutting the noble proprietors. However, this trend had started already with the Kamakura bakufu.

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Shōen in the context of Heian period

The Heian period (平安時代, Heian jidai) is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kammu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). Heian (平安) means 'peace' in Japanese. It is a period in Japanese history when the Chinese influences were in decline and the national culture matured. The Heian period is also considered the peak of the Japanese imperial court, noted for its art, especially poetry and literature. Two syllabaries unique to Japan, katakana and hiragana, emerged during this time. This gave rise to Japan's famous vernacular literature, with many of its texts written by court ladies who were not as educated in Chinese as their male counterparts.

Although the Imperial House of Japan had power on the surface, the real power was in the hands of the Fujiwara clan, a powerful aristocratic family who had intermarried with the imperial family; most Emperors of the Heian era had mothers from the Fujiwara family. The economy mostly existed through barter and trade due to the lack of a national currency, while the shōen system encouraged the growth of aristocratic estates that began gradually asserting their independence from Imperial control. Despite a lack of serious warfare or domestic strife during the Heian era, crime and banditry were widespread as the Emperors failed to police the country effectively.

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Shōen in the context of Mori clan (Genji)

The Mori clan (森氏, Mori-shi) was a family of Japanese people descended from the Seiwa Genji. Their line descended from Minamoto no Yoshiie (also known as Hachimantaro) through his seventh son, Minamoto no Yoshitaka, proprietor of Mōri-no-shō in Sagami Province. His son, Minamoto no Yoritaka, took Mori as his surname when he retired, and Yoritaka's son Yorisada continued to use the surname.

During the Sengoku period, the Mori served under Oda Nobunaga. Mori Yoshinari fought with Nobunaga for Kiyosu Castle, and with his son Mori Yoshitaka joined the campaigns against the Saitō, Azai, and Asakura. Father and son died in the battle against the Azai-Asakura armies, and Mori Nagayoshi, second son of Yoshinari, became head of the house.

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LINKED FROM (PARENTS)
← Heian period ← Nanboku-chō period ← Mori clan (Genji) ← Nanboku-chō
LINKS TO (CHILDREN)
Nara period → Yamatokōriyama, Nara → Nara Prefecture → National Museum of Japanese History → Manorialism → Japan → Japanese language → Tang dynasty → Chinese language → Estate (land) → Kamakura shogunate → Daimyō → Fief →