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The Muromachi Period

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1) The main conflict that occurred during the Muromachi period was the Onin war. The main causes that were responsible for this conflict can be traced back to during the time when there was a balance of power between the shogun and daimyo. There were three very prominent daimyo families who rotated as deputies to the shogun. This led to the successful reunifying of the Northern and Southern court in 1392 by Yoshimitsu. However, he failed to uphold his promise of an equal distribution of power between the remaining imperial lines. The Northern court managed to have all control over the throne. Then, the line of shoguns weakened which proved to be fatal as they lost power to the daimyo after the rule of Yoshimitsu. As a result, the shogun's …show more content…

For example, culture and economic was affected by Yoshimitsu's wishes on improving relations with China. By improving these relations, Yoshimitsu restarted a trading and tribute system. This system consisted of items such as Japanese wood, sulfur, copper, swords, and ore (New World Encyclopedia). These items were traded for Chinese silk, porcelain, books, and coins. Additionally, a new culture emerged, known as Muromachi culture (New World Encyclopedia). During this period, there was an increased flourish of architecture, literature and the arts. Buddhism also played a role in spreading these artistic influences during this period of conflict. In addition to culture and economic, religion was also affected. Shinto and Buddhism had coexisted with each other for many years (New World Encyclopedia). However, Shinto was not as much of a dominant religion as Buddhism was. During the Muromachi period, there had been a renewed interest in Shinto. Shinto was lacking in its own scriptures (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2002). Throughout the years, Shinto had adopted Buddhist rituals. Shinto reemerged as the primary belief system and eventually developed its own scripture (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2002). Zen Buddhism was also responsible for influencing artistic culture throughout the regions in Japan. For example, there was an increasingly popular use of Zen-inspired painting techniques (The Metropolitan Museum of Art,

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