INTERACTIVE BATTLE
Shogun Ashikaga Yoshiteru Is Killed in the Eiroku Incident
19 May 1565 · Site of Ashikaga Yoshiteru's Residence (Shiba clan's Buei Camp)
Forces of the Miyoshi Triumvirate and their allies attacked the shogunal residence in Kyoto, and the thirteenth Muromachi shogun Ashikaga Yoshiteru was killed after resisting.
Background
Buei-jinmachi was the site of the residence of Shiba Yoshimasa, the Muromachi shogunate deputy, which was destroyed during the Ōnin War. On this site, the residence (Nijō Palace) of Ashikaga Yoshiteru, the 13th Muromachi shogun, was built in 1547.
Outcome
On May 19, 1565, forces under Miyoshi Yoshitsugu attacked Yoshiteru's residence, and Yoshiteru died by disembowelment. The residence was also destroyed by fire. While the involvement of the Miyoshi trio and Matsunaga Hisahide among others is widely recounted, it cannot be confirmed in official records.
Course of the battle
1 May 19, 1565
Shogun Ashikaga Yoshiteru Is Killed in the Eiroku Incident
Forces led by Miyoshi Yoshitsugu attacked the Kyoto residence of Ashikaga Yoshiteru (the Nijō Palace), and the 13th Shōgun of the Muromachi Bakufu, Ashikaga Yoshiteru, committed suicide. The residence was also destroyed by fire.
Points of debate
Kyoto City sources record only that 'Miyoshi Yoshitsugu and others' led the attack, with specific names of individual commanders such as the Miyoshi Triumvirate or Matsunaga Hisatsugu not confirmed in available sources. The anecdote that Yoshiteru personally wielded a sword and naginata in resistance also lacks documentation from official institutions, museums, or university archives.
Sources123·Certainty: Medium
Historical significance
This incident, in which the 13th Muromachi shogun was attacked at his residence and lost his life, is known as an event symbolizing the decline of shogunal authority. The site would later, in 1569, become where Oda Nobunaga constructed the old Nijō Castle for Ashikaga Yoshiaki.
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Key figures
三好氏
1
Head of the Miyoshi clan
Attacked the residence of Ashikaga Yoshiteru at the Nijō Palace, forced him to commit seppuku, and the residence was destroyed by fire from the battle.
Sources1·Certainty: High
足利氏
1
13th Shogun of the Muromachi Bakufu
At his residence in Buei-chōmachi (the Nijō Palace), he was attacked by Miyoshi Yoshitsugu and others, and died by committing seppuku.
Sources12·Certainty: High
Other events of 1565
Sources consulted
- 京都市「KA080 斯波氏武衛陣・足利義輝邸遺址」
- 京都府教育委員会「旧二条城跡」
- 京都市「KA012 旧二条城跡」
The numbers in the text refer to the list above. Certainty indicates how far a statement is supported by the cited sources; it does not refer to the precision of the coordinates or the dating.
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