오다 노부나가(織田信長) 정권과 朝廷

Oda Nobunaga’s regime and the court

The present study aims at clarifying the dynamic relations between Oda Nobunaga’s regime and the imperial court during the transitional period from 1564 until 1578. The first phase of these relations can be characterized by check and balance. Before and after Nobunaga’s entry into the capital city of Kyoto the three major political powers of the time, the emperor, the shogun and Nobunaga, tried to enhance their power depending on each other. Based on the recognition of both the emperor and shogun Nobunaga justified his military action against other daimyo and religious sects and put the Kinai area under his control. The emperor, on the other hand, enjoyed economic wealth and tried to maximize his political role by taking full advantage of the balance of power between Nobunaga and shogun. The second phase is noted for the weakening of shogunal power. Nobunaga’s relations with shogun turned sour when he obtained an imperial order to nullify shogun’s political power. Nobunaga engaged actively in gaining support from the court. He required the religious sects to remain neutral. The emperor lost his most effective means to restrain Nobunaga’s power, and the political power of the emperor began to decline. The third phase can be characterized by Nobunaga’s aggressive efforts to put the court under his control. His control over the Kinai area became secure and gained support among court aristocrats. In this way the emperor lost much of his power base and his political power declined considerably. The last phase can be characterized by Nobunaga’s taking of court rank. To quell the opposition from other powerful daimyo and the Honganji temple he resorted largely to his military power rather than to the imperial authority. He sought to legitimate his military supremacy by suggesting the idea of tenkajin, thereby relativising the imperial authority. As a result, emperor’s power base contracted, and his political influence declined considerably. With the rise of Nobunaga’s regime the political power of the emperor waned. This implies that the political influence of the emperor heightened when the power was shared by competing power contenders of the time. In legitimating his power as tenkajin Nobunaga did not need the imperial support. Accordingly, it can be said that the early modern political power could be established by excluding the emperor from the political world. This dose not necessarily mean that the imperial institution of the early modern period was not a political entity.