Database: Azuchi-Momoyama Period

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The Azuchi-Momoyama period covers the roughly thirty years of Japanese history between the Ashikaga and Tokugawa shogunates. The period began in 1573 with the expulsion of the last Ashikaga shogun from Kyoto by Oda Nobunaga and ended with the Emperor's appointment of Tokugawa leyasu as shogun in Edo. Azuchi is the name of the castle built by Nobunaga between 1576-1579. Its magnificent seven story main donjon was built to demonstrate the power of Lord Nobunaga. Temporally, it refers to the period of Nobunaga's domination over the country between 1573-1582.

Momoyama corresponds with Toyotomi Hideyoshi's supremacy, 1582-1598. Momoyama is the name of the hill where Fushimi Castle was built in 1594-1595 and where Hideyoshi lived at the end of his life. The period 1598 -1603, which saw the rise of Tokugawa leyasu, is generally included in the Azuchi-Momoyama period.

Azuchi-Momoyama was also a period of transition at the end of the Medieval period and between two shogunates, marked by the end of the Sengoku period (the provinces at war) and the beginning of the Edo period, which was a time of peace that lasted two and a half centuries.

In 1568 Nobunaga began unifying Japan. The process was completed by 1590 with the submission of the remaining lords and the destruction of the Hojo lords in the east by Hideyoshi. Significant changes followed, such as the separation of peasants and warriors and the duty of warriors to remain in the city near their lord's castle. Furthermore, a cadastral land survey was conducted. This allowed for a refined estimate for production. Finally, this was a time when Japan engaged in overseas expansion. This was accomplished by suppressing piracy and promoting commercial enterprises offshore, as well as invading Korea, twice.