The Uprising in Yamashiro Province (山城国一揆)
Yamashiro no kuniikki (the uprising in Yamashiro Province) occurred in three southern counties (Kuse-gun, Tsuzuki-gun and Soraku-gun) of Yamashiro Province (currently the southern part of Kyoto Prefecture) in 1485. Local samurais and farmers cooperated to eliminate the political influence of the shugo daimyo (military governor) of the Hatakeyama clan, and functioned as self-governing community for the succeeding eight years.
Characteristics of the uprising in Yamashiro Province
"Kuniikki" (an uprising in a province) is an uprising staged by local samurais in general. Strictly speaking, the uprising in Yamashiro Province was not a "kuniikki" but a "sokoku ikki", because the uprising was started by farmers belonging to so (a community organized by a self-governing association of farmers).
The origin of the uprising in Yamashiro Province
Even after the Onin War, the shugo daimyo had continuous skirmishes with each other throughout regions. Minami-Yamashiro was not an exception. As for the Hatakeyama clan, Yoshinari HATAKEYAMA and Masanaga HATAKEYAMA had been at war with each other for a dispute over a matter of succession. Until the time when the Hatakeyama clan was appointed in 1478, only a nominally appointed Shugo had served Yamashiro Province. After the appointment of the Hatakeyama clan, however, a movement to become a fully independent territory started to intensify. As a result, local samurais and farmers of the province became impoverished due to the long-standing fights. Such a circumstance prepared the backdrop for the uprising in Yamashiro Province.
In 1485, local samurais and farmers in Minami-Yamashiro gathered in Byodoin Temple in Uji to conduct a conference. During the conference, they stipulated an autonomous law called "Kunijuokite", and decided to eliminate the influence of both HATAKEYAMAs in order for Minami-Yamashiro to become a self-governing community. The new regime of Minami-Yamashiro, where the local samurais conducted the affairs of the province, assumed a political form called "Sokoku" (a federation of so villages).
The end of the uprising in Yamashiro Province
The Muromachi bakufu (Japanese feudal government headed by a shogun) did not wish Yamashiro Province, which had been put under the direct jurisdiction of the government, to be taken over by and to be put under the direct control of an influential feudal lord. For that reason, the Shogunal Deputy Masamoto HOSOKAWA and others remained a silent observer of the movement in Yamashiro Province.
The self-governance administrated by local samurais created conflicts between local samurais and farmers, as well as conflicts among themselves. As such, the sokoku was starting to show signs of collapse. The disorder within the bakufu brought by the Coup of Meio prompted the bakufu leaders to wipe out the local samurais of Yamashiro Province. In 1493, the sokoku held a meeting to abandon its autonomy and the organization was dismantled; the community was then put under the rule of Sadamichi ISE, a newly appointed shugo. Some local samurais who opposed to this outcome resisted and locked themselves in protest inside the Inayazuma-jo Castle. They were defeated, however, and the uprising in Yamashiro Province came to a complete end.
Research and historical materials
Since Hiroyuki MIURA presented this uprising in his research titled "National Assembly in the Age of Civil War" in 1912, the uprising in Yamashiro Province became widely-known.