Page "Ōnin War" Paragraph 12

Scholars disagree on the appropriateness of the term " Warring States Period " ( which is the Chinese term borrowed by the Japanese in calling this period " sengoku jidai ").

Many argue that since Japan was essentially intact, the Emperor and shogunate remaining at least nominally in command of the whole country, it really wasn't a " warring states " period at all, but a " warring warlords " period.

However, others such as Mark Ravina, Mary Elizabeth Berry, and Conrad Totman argue that the kuni ( provinces ) were not unlike quasi-independent states, and that the term is thus more or less appropriate.