The two main competitors for control of the Muromachi Bakufu during the Ōnin War were the Hosokawa clan, led by Hosokawa Katsumoto, and the Yamana clan, led by Yamana Sōzen. The Hosokawa were descended from the Seiwa Genji line of the Imperial family, and along with the Hatakeyama and Shiba clans, held dominant positions in the Muromachi Bakufu. The Yamana clan, by contrast, were relative political outsiders at the time of the Ōnin War, having lost favour after rebelling against the bakufu in 1391, and only recently regained it for their actions against the Akamatsu rebels in 1441. Both clans survived into the Sengoku era and beyond, although they were never again so powerful. The current head of the Hosokawa family, Hosokawa Morihiro, was Prime Minister of Japan from 1993-1994. In the decades building up to the Ōnin War it became clear that the Hosokawa and Yamana clans were the main rivals for dominance of Japan, each siding strategically with opposing factions during the Hatakeyama, Shiba, Sasaki, and Togashi succession disputes. In an attempt to forestall further violence, Yamana Sōzen married his daughter to Hosokawa Katsumoto, making the two father- and son-in-law. Sōzen was known as ‘the red monk’ (allegedly due to his ruddy complexion), and had spent some time in a monastery before coming out of retirement to resume de facto leadership of his clan (his son Noritoyo retained nominal leadership). Katsumoto, 26 years Sōzen’s junior, was a wily political operator who managed to convince the shogun to brand Sōzen a rebel once fighting broke out in Kyoto, despite the Hosokawa forces probably having struck first. While both Katsumoto and Sōzen tried for several years to forestall conflict between their clans, by 1467 it became clear that their differences were irreconcilable, and they began to gather their forces in Kyoto. Hosokawa Katsumoto, supported by the Akamatsu, Takeda, and Kitabatake clans and with the backing of the shogun, could initially field 85,000 troops in the capital (these numbers are sometimes exaggerated in the historical record, but give at least a rough sense of scale). Yamana Sōzen’s forces, supported by the Isshiki, Kono, and Toki clans, numbered only 60,000, but his most powerful ally Ōuchi Masahiro had yet to arrive in Kyoto (he would later come by ship with 20,000 additional troops). The Hatakeyama, Shiba, and Togashi clans were still busy with their own internal disputes, but the outcomes of these could have an effect on the situation in the capital. Both sides began to fortify themselves in Kyoto, initially engaging in minor skirmishes but eventually settling into stable positions on the east and west sides of the city, separated by Ichijo Street down the middle. They would remain in these positions for the next decade, becoming known as the Eastern Army (Hosokawa) and Western Army (Yamana), and fighting a brutal war of attrition that eventually reduced Kyoto to ruins. While the most well-known battles took place in Kyoto, there was also fighting elsewhere in the country, as the various disputes internal to the other clans continued, and peasant revolts and minor warlords took advantage of the chaos in the capital to pursue their own interests. In 1473 both Hosokawa Katsumoto and Yamana Sōzen died within a few months of each other, and Ashikaga Yoshimasa abdicated in favour of his young son Yoshihisa, but this did not put an end to the war. Ōuchi Masahiro continued to fight for the Yamana cause (now ironically supporting the retired shogun’s brother Yoshimi), and it was only his departure from Kyoto four years later that brought the war to its eventual conclusion. In the end, all of the fighting was really for nothing: the Hosokawa remained in control of the Muromachi Bakufu, and the Yamana were still a powerful force in the western provinces, but both clans were severely weakened and the bakufu would continue to slip into gradual decline over the coming decades. In The Pure Land, while both the Hosokawa and Yamana are fighting for dominance of the Muromachi Bakufu, each faction has a different way of achieving this goal. The Yamana, relative outsiders to the bakufu, can win by controlling sufficient population to demonstrate their military superiority and earn the confidence of the other major clans (Controlled Population greater than 17). The Hosokawa, on the other hand, are already established in the bakufu, and can win by earning the loyalty of the other clans and forming an unbeatable political coalition (Loyal Population greater than 14). Loyalty is also important to the Yamana as a tool for recruiting military forces, and control of the rural population matters to the Hosokawa insofar as it is necessary to gather taxes and maintain order. Both clans can conscript poorly trained Ashigaru (peasant levies) from provinces that are loyal to them, and receive additional Bushi (aristocratic warriors) from Loyal Castles during the Harvest Round. The new Loyalty sub-system is used to track the allegiance of the other clans who were active during the Ōnin War. Each Province on the map belongs to one of thirteen clans, including the Yamana and the Hosokawa, and some clans rule more than one province (the largest clans, the Yamana, Hosokawa, and Hatakeyama, rule three provinces each, and the Ōuchi rule two). A token corresponding to each clan is placed on the Loyalty track to indicate whether it is currently Unaligned, Weakly Loyal to either the Hosokowa or Yamana, or Firmly Loyal to either of them. Loyalty contributes to the Hosokawa victory condition (as noted above), enables the conscription of peasant levies (Ashigaru units), and allows both factions to recruit powerful Bushi units during the Harvest Round. Both factions have access to an ‘Alliance’ action that allows them to shift the Loyalty of an Unaligned or already Loyal clan, and can reduce enemy Loyalty by either destroying Castles or confiscating resources from the local population. In addition, the Hosokawa can ‘Intercede’ in provinces they control, appealing to the shogun to resolve local disputes and earning the Loyalty of the clan involved, and both factions can potentially influence Loyalty by controlling Kyoto when a Harvest card is drawn. The clans tracked by the Loyalty system were the most powerful and influential during this era, but there were many other more minor clans who are too small to depict at this scale. Collectively these minor clans form part of the Jizamurai faction, along with the richer peasants and the increasingly influential middle-class merchants. The peasant economy and the Jizamurai faction will be the focus of the next article.

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