ABSTRACT
The post of shugo, or military governor, served as the primary link between local leaders and the Ashikaga shoguns, though it was a connection rendered increasingly remote and abstract as time went on. This relationship began during the 1330s when those appointed to the post were called upon to play a central role in providing the shogun with essential military support. Military governors who succeeded in securing the services of these warrior families became warlords of their own well-organized domains, while those who did not were either overrun by aggressive neighbors or supplanted by ambitious subordinates who hailed from this very same kokujin class. In the wake of the Onin War, the position of military governor withered and declined. To be sure, many of the most powerful warrior families of the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries continued to occupy positions as shugo. Warlords were bound to both enforce and uphold the laws of their domains.
