A. Imperial provinces all but meaningless as geo-political units

   B. New divisions carved out by military leaders and contending factions

        1. Sengoku daimyo "great lords of the Warring States' period"

         2. kokujin "petty barons"

         3. jizamurai "rural gentry"

          4. ikki "peasant leagues"

II. Oda Nobunaga's Rise to Power

    A. Ambitious daimyo of Owari and Mino

          1. used Confucian allusions to suggest that he would bring peace to the realm

          2. referred to his realm as tenka fubu, i.e., "the realm under military control"

           3. by 1582, Nobunaga controlled over most of Japan

                a. over one half of the imperial provinces under his command

                 b. central third of Honshu dominated

            4. 1576 Nobunaga constructed Azuchi Castle on Lake Biwa

                  a. meant as the center of his realm

                  b. centrally located in Honshu, convenient to Kyoto

                  c. destroyed shortly after Nobunaga's assassination

     B. Exploitation of the Ashikaga

          1. 1568 March on Kyoto to install Ashikaga Yoshiaki as shogun

           2. Nobunaga refused titles offered him

                a. fuku-shogun "vice-shogun" rejected

                 b. kanrei "deputy shogun" rejected

            3. Nobunaga established his power over the shogunate

                 a. Articles of 1570 imposed on Yoshiaki

                      i. Nobunaga assumed authority over all shogunal correspondence

                      ii. previous shogunal directives declared void

                      iii. Nobunaga's authority in no way subordinate to the shogun's

                 b. Remonstrance of 1572

                      i. Yoshiaki "indicted" for "improper" and "outrageous" conduct

                      ii. allusions to previously assassinated Ashikaga shoguns 
                                      warn of Yoshiaki's fate---violent removal

            4. 1573 Nobunaga exiled Yoshiaki from Kyoto

                 a. Ashikaga practically defunct

                  b. 1588 Yoshiaki officially renounced his title as shogun

       C. Relations with the Imperial Regime

           1. Early on, Nobunaga accepted imperial titles, ranks, etc.

            2. 1582, Emperor Ogimachi offerred him "any rank at all"

            3. Nobunaga declined, indicating ambitions transcending the imperial regime

            4. June 21, 1582, assassinated in Kyoto by Akechi Mitsuhide

        D. Relations with Religious Groups

             1. 1571 Destruction of Mt. Hiei's Enryakuji

                  a. The Chronicle of Lord Nobunaga justifies the attack on military grounds

                   b. Nobunaga's ruthlessness juxtaposed with his bounty
                                "How auspicious! How auspicious!"

              2. 1570-80 battles against the Honganji (True Pure Land)

              3. Jesuits praised Nobunaga's attacks, but also cast him as "Lucifer-like"

              4. Overall, Nobunaga subordinated religious groups to his military power

III. Nobunaga's Legacy

     A. Military reunification of the realm

     B. Gradual subordination/elimination of the Ashikaga

     C. Decisive subordination of traditional religious groups

     D. Continued domination of the imperial line

IV. Nobunaga's Successors

      A. Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537-98)

      B. Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543-1616)