Ōnin facts for kids

Ōnin (応仁) was a Japanese era name (年号,, nengō,, lit. "year name") after Bunshō and before Bunmei. This period started in March 1467 and ended in April 1469. During this time, the emperor was Go-Tsuchimikado-tennō (後土御門天皇).

Events of the Ōnin era

Stone marker for the Ōnin War

In the Ōnin era, the emperor gave Yoshimasa's villa with a special name -- Higashiyama-dono., Construction work was interrupted by the Ōnin War.

Ōnin War

The Ōnin War started in 1467. This conflict is called Ōnin no ran because of the nengō in which it began. The fighting began as a dispute over who should follow Ashikaga Yoshimasa as shogun after his retirement – whether it would be his brother (Yoshimi) or his son (Yoshihisa).

• 1467 (Ōnin 1, 1st month): Yamana Souzen and Hatakeyama Yoshinari took up positions around Muromachi-dono in Heian-kyo. This was the headquarters of the Ashikaga Shogunate.

Rival groups of daimyo fought for military supremacy. In the end, there was no winner. The war stopped because the factions simply exhausted themselves.

Related pages

• Muromachi period

• National Diet Library, "The Japanese Calendar" – historical overview plus illustrative images from library's collection