KYOTO -- Hojo Masako, Hino Tomiko and Lady Yodo -- these three women are well-known historical figures, particularly because of their bad reputations. In fact, some people call them "the three worst Japanese women." Hojo Masako exercised her political leadership in Kamakura, while Lady Yodo wielded great clout in Osaka. Here, I focus on Hino Tomiko (1440-96), who was active in Kyoto. She was the official wife of Ashikaga Yoshimasa, who has been called the worst shogun in Japanese history.
Tomiko is primarily criticized for having triggered the Onin War, which split Japan in two, as a result of plotting to have her son succeed her husband as the next shogun of the Muromachi shogunate, headquartered in Kyoto.
At a time when Yoshimasa and Tomiko had no surviving child, the shogun appointed his younger brother Ashikaga Yoshimi, who was a priest at that time, as his successor. Although Yoshimi at first declined the appointment, Yoshimasa persuaded him to accept it, vowing that if the shogunal couple had a boy, he would be made a priest and not the successor.
But the following year, Tomiko gave birth to a baby boy, and as his mother she naturally hoped this son would be the next shogun. She stated that she would agree for Yoshimi to act as an interim shogun until her son was old enough to serve in the role. She obtained support for her plan from Hosokawa Katsumoto, the most powerful politician of the shogunate.
However, Yamana Sozen, one of the mightiest daimyo lords, planned to have Yoshimasa retire as soon as possible and Yoshimi assume the shogun's post, aiming to control the shogunate. These things led to the outbreak of the war.
Did Tomiko really trigger the war?
Yuichi Goza, an assistant professor at the International Research Center for Japanese Studies and a specialist in Japanese medieval history, states that the war was started by a mix of factors. In other words, the situation was really complicated. His 2016 book "Onin no Ran" (The Onin War) superbly explains the complexity. Unusually for a history book, it became a bestseller.
Roughly speaking, the Onin War saw the rising Yamana family challenge the influential Hosokawa family. From a long-term viewpoint, the ultimate winner was the Hosokawa family.
Why then was Tomiko blamed? Because she regularly meddled in politics without regard for her politically incompetent husband. Overly assertive women tend to be detested. The other two "bad women" -- Hojo Masako and Lady Yodo -- are similar to Tomiko in this respect.
Tomiko's other acknowledged vice is her unusual desire for accumulating wealth and making money. In much of East Asia, under the influence of Confucianism, being wealthy is considered to be a prerequisite condition for happiness. Wealthy people, however, are criticized if they lack virtue. Tomiko was rumored to have taken advantage of her power by collecting money and loaning it to daimyo lords at high interest. She was also said to have made large profits by buying up rice.
"Money across this country seems to be flocking to the lady [Tomiko]" -- this description of her deeds is recorded in a diary kept by the head priest of Daijoin temple in Nara. Traditionally, the head priests of the now-defunct temple came from families eligible to provide imperial regents. That particular priest was one of the highest-ranking intellectuals of Tomiko's time.
In fact, Tomiko's husband Yoshimasa played a major role in tandem with her -- although behind the scenes. He patronized and produced various new cultural genres. He spent an enormous amount of money building residences and gardens to satisfy his aesthetic sense. His extravagance caused the shogunate to suffer a lack of funds.
Tomiko financially supported the shogunate on behalf of her husband. She was able to do so because she had a great amount of private wealth at her disposal.
Surprisingly, Tomiko was among the people who contributed to ending the Onin War, using her own money for that purpose. Yet she was again criticized for having enriched herself by exploiting the process. She turned out to play a disagreeable part in the matter.
She was also known for her intelligence and beauty, and of course had a lot of money and power. Her qualities and well-to-do background probably led men to be jealous of her. If she had lived today, nobody would make such a derogatory remark as calling her a bad woman.
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This column, which appears once a month, is about various aspects of the culture of Kyoto.
Mori was born and raised in Kyoto. He has 30 years of experience in reporting about Kyoto culture. He has extensively covered scholars of the New Kyoto school, the heads of tea ceremony and flower arrangement schools, as well as maiko in the Gion area of the city.
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