Study on the use of gardens by Ashikaga Takauji and Ashikaga Tadayoshi

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to elucidate the view of gardens held by Ashikaga Takauji and his younger brother Tadayoshi, members of the Ashikaga shogun clan who played active roles in Kyoto Prefecture in the early Muromachi period. Takauji used his residential garden for mingling with Zen priests, but not for hosting poetry meetings, which was one of the Japanese dynastic customs. His younger brother Tadayoshi, however, started to hold such events as poetry meetings at the garden of his residence, known as Sanjobo-montei, offering a place to the aristocratic class called Kuge, the military nobility known as Buke, and Zen priests so that they could mingle with one another. This suggests that it is Ashikaga Tadayoshi who began the custom of using residential and other gardens for the Japanese dynastic culture. The Ashikaga brothers used the gardens of other places than their residences, such as Tenryu-ji Temple and Saiho-ji Temple, for communicating with various people, including the Emperor and Zen priests. The Ashikaga brothers organized events for the dynastic culture and Zen Buddhism at such gardens, making cross-cultural communication between the Kuge aristocratic class, the Buke military nobility, and Zen priests catch on with these three circles.