ABSTRACT
The Ashikaga family was descended from Minamoto Yoshiie and had held constabulary posts in two provinces, controlling a considerable amount of land in the Kanto region. At the beginning of the Ashikaga period, the land throughout the country was held by a variety of proprietors. There were, of course, the direct holdings of the Bakufu. Then there were the shoen held by the imperial household, court nobles, major monasteries, and shrines. The daimyo of the period of the Warring States were in effect fully independent regional rulers. As the daimyo came to dominate the country, they suppressed the autonomous tendencies that had been developing among the peasantry. During the Ashikaga period a significant change in the economic life of the country took place. Agricultural production increased, and commerce and industry began to expand. Economic growth was stimulated by the peace and order that prevailed after the country was unified under the Kamakura Bakufu.
