Ashikaga Yoshimitsu and Trade with Ming China

The third shogun, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, built the Muromachi Shogunate's golden age. He left the Ashikaga shogun family more achievements than any other shogun, including the unification of the Northern and Southern Courts, trade with Ming China, and Kitayama culture.

Basic Knowledge

Ashikaga Yoshimitsu became the third shogun at the age of 11 in 1368. In 1378, he built and moved to the Hana no Gosho in Kyoto's Muromachi district, the source of the name Muromachi Shogunate. In 1392, he achieved the unification of the Northern and Southern Courts, ending the civil war.
In 1394, he handed the office of shogun to his son Yoshimochi and became Grand Minister of State, the first warrior to hold the office. He later became a monk but continued to hold actual power.
In 1397, he built the Golden Pavilion (Kinkaku of Rokuon-ji) in Kyoto's Kitayama district. It became the symbol of Kitayama culture.
In foreign affairs, he established diplomatic relations with Ming China. He sent an envoy to Ming in 1401 and began formal trade with Ming China (tally trade) in 1404. Yoshimitsu was recognized by Ming as the King of Japan and accepted the title. In this trade, a tally, a split document issued by Ming, was used to distinguish official missions from the wako, or pirates.
Imports included copper coins (Yongle coins), raw silk, silk textiles, and books. Exports included copper, sulfur, swords, and lacquerware. Japan gained enormous profits.

Further Study (Background and Effects)

Yoshimitsu's acceptance of the title "King of Japan" from Ming was criticized even at the time because it meant entering China's tributary system and becoming a subject of the Chinese emperor. However, Yoshimitsu prioritized the profits of trade. Yongle coins promoted Japan's monetary economy, and coins produced outside Japan circulated widely for the first time in Japanese history.
At that time, the coast of Ming China suffered from the wako. Wako were pirate groups centered mainly on armed merchants from Tsushima, Matsuura, and Goto; in the later period, Koreans and Chinese also joined them. To suppress wako, Ming established diplomatic relations with Yoshimitsu and used the tally system to distinguish official trade ships.
Japan also established diplomatic relations with Joseon Korea, founded in 1392, and the So clan of Tsushima mediated the trade.

Points to Note (Easily Confused)

① Do not confuse tally trade with red-seal ship trade. Tally trade was Muromachi-period trade with Ming, while red-seal ship trade was early Edo-period trade with Southeast Asia.
② Distinguish the Golden Pavilion (Yoshimitsu) from the Silver Pavilion (Yoshimasa, the eighth shogun). Yoshimitsu represents Kitayama culture, while Yoshimasa represents Higashiyama culture.
③ Wako had an early period centered on Japanese people in the 14th century and a later period centered on Chinese people in the 16th century.
④ The title King of Japan meant that Yoshimitsu entered China's tributary system, and textbooks often treat this critically.

Practice

1. Name the shogun who unified the Northern and Southern Courts and give the year.
2. What was the name of the split document used in trade with Ming to show that a mission was official?
3. What was the official name of the building Ashikaga Yoshimitsu built in Kyoto's Kitayama district?