The Togashi Clan and the Start of the Kaga Ikko Ikki

Summary:

The Togashi Clan were a powerful family who controlled the Kaga area during parts of the 14th and 15th Centuries. In 1474, a conflict between brothers Masachika and Kōchiyo led Masachika to rely on the forces of Rennyo’s followers to revolt against his brother. However, in 1488, the followers revolted against Masachika, resulting in his death, and sparking the start of the century-long Kingdom of Peasants. 

Note: Underlined names indicate key players in the Ikko Ikki

Who was the Togashi Clan?

The Togashi clan was a family of warriors belonging to the Shiba clan, who were beneath the Ashikaga Shogun. They ruled the Kaga area during the Nanboku-chō period of civil war (1336–1392). However, from 1336-1573, the Togashi family began increasing their power and eventually grew into shugo daimyo (a powerful provincial feudal lord). In 1414, Togashi Mitsunari, who was a close aide of the Ashikaga Shogun, took over from Shiba Mitsutane, and became shugo (military governor) of southern Kaga. Northern Kaga was given to his relative Togashi Mitsuharu. In 1419, Mitsunari was defeated in war, and Mistuharu took over the entire province. 

Mitsuharu went on to have three sons. His first son died young, so in 1433 his second son Noriie took over as the shugo of Kaga. However, in 1441, Noriie angered the Shogun and fled, only to be replaced by his younger brother Yasutaka. Several days after Noriie fled, the Shogun was assassinated. Noriie attempted to return to his former position, but his brother Yasutaka opposed.

The sides supporting Noriie and Yasutaka fought over who would hold the position of shugo of Kaga until 1447 when the two groups compromised. They appointed Nariharu, the son of Noriie, as the shugo of northern Kaga (Kahoku and Ishikawa districts), and appointed Yasutaka as the shugo of southern Kaga (Nomi and Enuma districts). In 1462, Nariharu died and his son Masachika succeeded him. Then in 1464, Yasutaka retired, and appointed Masachika as his successor, allowing Masachika to take full control of Kaga. 

The Ōnin War (1467–1477)

In 1464, Ashikaga Yoshimasa was the shogun of Japan. At the time he did not have a son, and appointed his brother Yoshimi to become his heir. However, in 1465 he unexpectedly had a son, Yoshihisa, and contention arose as to who would become the heir. On one side was the shogun and his brother, and the other Yoshihisa’s mother and a council of governors. 

While the Ōnin War began over succession of the shogun, it eventually spiraled into a complicated political war involving numerous clans and areas. The warring sides were made up of the Eastern Army, led by the shogun’s deputy; and the Western Army, led by an ally of Yoshihisa’s mother. Various clans and powerful warlords throughout Japan began to take sides and support each army. 

During the Ōnin War Togashi Masachika was the shugo of Kaga, and belonged to the Eastern Army. His brother, Kōchiyo belonged to the Western Army. During the fighting, the Eastern Army suffered a temporary loss, and Masachika was exiled from the Kaga region.

The Bunmei Uprising (1474)

Masachika was a member of Jōdo Shinshū Buddhism that belonged to Honganji Temple, whereas his younger brother, Kōchiyo, was a member of the Takada sect of Buddhism. Due to the influence of Rennyo’s presence in the nearby island of Yoshizaki, the Kaga area had a large number of Rennyo’s followers. During his exile, Masachika allied with Rennyo’s followers, and used their aide to re-enter Kaga and win against his brother, reclaiming Kaga. 

This was the first uprising in which the religious conflict between the Jōdo Shinshū followers and Takada followers was linked to political conflicts. This conflict, called the Bunmei Uprising, is said to mark the beginning of the Kaga Ikko Ikki uprisings. 

Chōkyō Uprising (1488)

Following the Ōnin War, the newly appointed and now of-age Shogun, Ashikaga Yoshihisa, sought to re-establish his authority, and led an army to Ōmi (Shiga Prefecture) to defeat its shugo. In an attempt to gain recognition from the shogun, Masachika joined the military campaign, and demanded military supplies and warriors from the local Jōdo Shinshū followers. These demands would negatively impact the locals, as their ranking was not high enough to receive benefit, and so they revolted against him. In May of the same year, fighting broke out between the Jōdo Shinshū followers and Masachika, which came to be known as the Chōkyō Uprising. 

In June of the same year, the Jōdo Shinshū followers trapped Masachika and his son in Takao Castle, forcing him to commit seppuku ritual suicide. Following this, Masachika’s retired uncle, Yasutaka, took over once again, but this time as a puppet leader of the area. Three of Rennyo’s sons took positions of power directly beneath him, in what were called the Kaga Three Temples. This marked the beginning of the Kingdom of Peasants, where an area was run not by lords, but by a network of temples and their followers.