Although Emperor Kōgon ruled as cloistered Emperor, the rivalry between Ashikaga Takauji and Ashikaga Tadayoshi began, and in 1351, Takauji returned to the allegiance of the Southern Court, forcing Emperor Sukō to abdicate.

In 1351, Ashikaga Takauji briefly returned to the allegiance of the Southern Dynasty, causing the Southern Court to briefly consolidate control of the Imperial Line.

* 1358 – Ashikaga Takauji, Japanese shogun ( b. 1305 )

Around 1334 – 1336 Ashikaga Takauji helped the Go-Daigo line regain the throne.

Ashikaga Takauji turned against the Emperor when the discontent about the distribution of land grew great enough.

The tomb of Ashikaga Takauji

In 1338 Ashikaga Takauji, like Yoritomo a descendant of the Minamoto princes, was awarded the title of sei-i taishōgun and established Ashikaga Shogunate, which lasted until 1573.

* Battle of Minatogawa: Ashikaga Takauji defeats Japanese Imperial forces under Kusunoki Masashige and Nitta Yoshisada

* June 7 – Ashikaga Takauji, Japanese shogun ( b. 1305 )

** Ashikaga Takauji, Japanese shogun ( d. 1358 )

He was in his turn defeated in Koshigoe by Ashikaga Takauji, who had come in force from Kyoto to help his brother.

Takauji, founder of the Ashikaga shogunate which, at least nominally, ruled Japan during the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, at first established his residence at the same site in Kamakura where Yoritomo's Ōkura Bakufu had been ( see above ), but in 1336 he left Kamakura in charge of his son Yoshiakira and went west in pursuit of Nitta Yoshisada.

In 1331 Emperor Go-Daigo took arms against Kamakura, but was defeated by Kamakura's Ashikaga Takauji and exiled to Oki Island, in today's Shimane Prefecture.

A warlord then went to the exiled Emperor's rescue and in response the Hōjō sent forces again commanded by Ashikaga Takauji to attack Kyoto.

To counter this revolt, the Kamakura bakufu ordered Ashikaga Takauji to squash the uprising.

After the successful overthrow of the Kamakura bakufu in 1336, Ashikaga Takauji set up his own bakufu in Kyoto.

After Ashikaga Takauji established himself as the Seii Taishogun, a dispute arose with the Emperor Go-Daigo on the subject of how to govern the country.

Unlike its predecessor, the Kamakura Shogunate, or its successor, the Tokugawa Shogunate, when Ashikaga Takauji established his bakufu he had little personal territories with which to support his rule.

The failure of the Kenmu Restoration have rendered the court weakened and subservient, a situation the Ashikaga Takauji reinforced by establishing within close proximity of the emperor at Kyoto.

The Ashikaga had their headquarters in the Muromachi district of Kyoto, and the time period during which they ruled is also known as the Muromachi Period.

* Ashikaga Yoshiaki is installed as Shogun, beginning the Azuchi-Momoyama period in Japan.

* Ashikaga Yoshimitsu retires as shogun of Japan and is succeeded by his son, Ashikaga Yoshimochi.

This period is also known as the Muromachi period and gets its name from Muromachi Street of Kyoto where the third shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu established his residence.

The Ashikaga Shogunate is the weakest of the three Japanese bakufu governments.

In 1995 Michio Yonekura argued that this portrait is not of Yoritomo but of Ashikaga Tadayoshi, the brother of Ashikaga Takauji.

* 1392: The southern court surrenders to shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu and the empire is unified again

* 1397: Kinkaku-ji is built by Ashikaga Yoshimitsu.

* 1489: Ginkaku-ji is built by Ashikaga Yoshimasa

Although a start date of 1573 is often given, in more broad terms, this period begins with Nobunaga's entry into Kyoto in 1568, when he led his army to the imperial capital in order to install Ashikaga Yoshiaki as the 15th, and ultimately final, shogun of the Ashikaga shogunate, and lasts until the coming to power of Tokugawa Ieyasu after his victory over supporters of the Toyotomi clan at the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600.

* 1350 — Tadayoshi, excluded from administration, turns priest ; Tadayoshi's adopted son, Ashikaga Tadafuyu is wrongly repudiated as a rebel.

The story of Ashikaga Takauji, Emperor Go-Daigo, Nitta Yoshisada, and Kusunoki Masashige from the Genko rebellion to the establishment of the Northern and Southern Courts is detailed in the 40 volume Muromachi period epic Taiheiki.

* The Taiheiki ( Japanese: 太平記 ) is a Japanese historical epic written in the late 14th century that details the fall of the Hōjō clan and rise of the Ashikaga, and the period of war ( Nanboku-chō ) between the Northern Court of Ashikaga Takauji in Kyoto, and the Southern Court of Emperor Go-Daigo in Yoshino, which forever splintered the Japanese Imperial Family.

Kan ' ami and his son Zeami Motokiyo brought Noh to what is essentially its present-day form during the Muromachi period ( 1336 to 1573 ) under the patronage of the powerful Ashikaga clan, particularly the third shogun, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu.

Among Kamatari's descendants are Fumimaro Konoe the 34th / 38th / 39th Prime Minister of Japan and Konoe's grandson Morihiro Hosokawa the 79th Prime Minister of Japan ( who is also a descendant of the Hosokawa clan via the Ashikaga clan of the Minamoto clan ).

was the chief painter of the Ashikaga shogunate and is generally considered the founder of the Kanō school of painting which is the most influential in Japanese history with a 400 year dominance that is peerless in world history.

Musashi's father, Munisai, also fought against a master of the Yoshioka school and won 2 out of 3 bouts in front of the shogun at the time, Ashikaga Yoshiaki who granted him the title of " Unrivaled Under The Sun ".

Until the Ashikaga clan took it during the Muromachi period, the title of Genji no Chōja always fell to one of Morofusa's progeny.

He was stripped of the title in 1508 by the 10th shogun Ashikaga Yoshitane, who became shogun for a second period of time.

After refusing to appoint Ashikaga Takauji to the post of seii taishōgun, he made the double mistake of giving the title to his sons Prince Moriyoshi and Norinaga, two civilians, thus alienating Takauji and the warrior class, who felt he, as a military man and a descendant of the Minamoto, should have been shogun instead.

Shōkō-tennō was only 12 years old when he assumed the role of formal head of the Daïri ; but " Go-Komatsu-in " had direction of the court the Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimochi was charged with the general superintendence of affairs.

* 1413 ( Ōei 20 ): Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimochi fell ill, and so he sent an ambassador to the Ise Shrine to pray for the return of his health.

* 1423 ( Ōei 30, 2nd month ): Shogun Yoshimochi retired in favor of his son, Ashikaga Yoshikatsu, who was 17 years old.

This situation reached its peak under the rule of the third Shogun, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu.

Later, Toyotomi Hideyoshi requested that Yoshiaki accept him as an adopted son and the 16th Ashikaga Shogun, but Yoshiaki refused.

* Daiei 6, in the 12th month ( 1526 ): Shogun Ashikaga Yoshiharu invited archers from neighboring provinces to come to the capital for an archery contest.

* Bunki 1 ( 1501 ): The former Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimura was exiled ; and he retired to Suō Province.

Internal squabbling, however, prevented them from acting swiftly to legitimatize their claim to power, and it was not until 1568 that they managed to install Yoshiteru's cousin, Ashikaga Yoshihide, as the next Shogun.

Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu ( 1358 – 1408 ) promoted cultivation of green tea in the Uji area.

Because of his inner strength and the katana skills that he was known to have practiced regularly, Yoshiteru was called the " Kengo Shogun " ( 剣豪将軍 ) and was closer to being a samurai and a warlord than any shogun since Ashikaga Takauji.

Kinkaku-ji's history dates to 1397, when the villa was purchased from the Saionjis by Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, and transformed into the Kinkaku-ji complex.

In 1563, he came to Japan to engage in missionary work, and in the following year arrived in Kyoto, meeting Ashikaga Yoshiteru who was then Shogun.

* Sato, S. " The Ashikaga Shogun and the Muromachi Bakufu Administration ", in Japan in the Muromachi Age.

The mission was successful ; and Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu was reported to have been favorably impressed by this initial embassy.

The Ōnin conflict began as a controversy over who would become shogun after the retirement or death of Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa.

This was regarded by the Ashikaga Shogun as an act of rebellion, and thus the Ashikaga and their supporters were forced to try to stop it.

* 1443 Ashikaga Yoshimasa becomes Shogun.

When the Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa had a son in 1464, Yamana took this as an opportunity to oppose Hosokawa further, supporting the child as heir to the Shogunate.

The Shogun, Ashikaga Yoshimasa, was considering retiring.

As the family theater troupe grew in popularity, Zeami had the opportunity to perform in front of the Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu.

After Ashikaga Yoshinori became Shogun, he became hostile toward Zeami.