Question

What was the Onin War?

Answer 1

Hint: In the history of Japan, the Onin War was a vital moment, because of which the central authority subsided and the nation sank into feudal clan warfare. Its significance was even more for the city of Kyoto, which was destroyed by the war.

Complete answer:
In Japan, in the mid-1960s, political dispute aroused over who would be the next shogun. At that time, the Shogun was Ashikaga Yoshimasa. When he had no children, he announces his younger brother as his heir. But things changed when his son was born. Now, he wanted his son to be the next Shogun, but his brother wanted to retain his claim.

Two eminent nobles and advisors to the shogun, Hosokawa Katsumoto, and Yamana Sozen, took contrasting sides over the issue. Hosokawa stood by the brother while Yamana backed the son.

In the spring of 1467, the home of one of Hosokawa’s followers was set on fire. In response, his side struck the home of one of Yamana’s generals. Over one hundred thousand soldiers were gathered in and around the city of Kyoto, the centre of national politics. The violence quickly surged, with barbaric fights occurring in narrow streets, gardens, and courtyards. For the first year, the war was contained in Kyoto, but with time it spread to the outlying regions.

In trying and failing to restrain the outrage, the shogun had shown that he could not control the country. Hence, Daimyos, the local lords, assembled their armies of samurai and supporting forces and entered the war. A decade of violence followed.

In 1477, the war ground to an end. One of the originators of the war, Hosokawa Katsumoto, was dead, but his clan succeeded. Now, the shoguns were their puppets, with a Hosokawa deputy ordering them.
The war that almost destructed Kyoto did the same for the shogunate.

Note: In the War, three Clans were especially prominent- The Hosokawa and the Yamana, who had provoked the war, played a leading part. Despite their leaders being related, they had one of the most ferocious disputes. Under “General Akamatsu Masanori,” the Akamatsu Clan also came out as an important one.