17 Laws of the Asakura Clan House Code - 17 Article Series Introduction
17 Article Series about the
17 Articles of the Asakura Clan
The next 17 posts will examine each of the 17 Articles of the House of Asakura, written by the leaders of a Samurai Clan around 1480AD.
What are Samurai House Codes? “KAKUN”
These House Codes, or House Laws, were known as “Kakun.” These Kakun were direct from the minds of Samurai Warriors who managed to gain and hold on to power. They saw patterns and methodologies that worked. They wanted to formalize these rules into something the next generations could learn and put to good use.
Who were the Asakura Clan?
They claimed descent from a lineage stemming from the Emperor Temmu, who was the 40th Emperor of Japan. The Asakura family settled in Tajima province some time around 800AD, later moving to Echizen province, serving the Shiba Clan.
Asakura Toshikage sensed a major opportunity…
Unhappy with the decisions being made by the Shiba clan, the leader of the Asakura Clan, Toshikage, organized his followers and gained external influence. He eventually overthrew the Shiba clan and took control of Echizen province. Toshikage (1428-1481) was a lead strategist in many major battles, including in the famous Onin War which sparked the Sengoku Period. Toshikage managed to win most of these battles, and led the Asakura clan to a place of strong reputation and honor.
Would future generations lose everything Toshikage had gained?
Asakura Toshikage had put forth incredible effort and risked everything by choosing sides against the Shiba clan - the last thing he wanted was for this effort to go to waste. Soon after seizing power for the Asakura, Toshikage immediately set in place one of today’s most well-known “House Codes” to ensure his descendants wouldn’t… mess things up!
Why should we care about these 17 Laws of the Asakura?
Is there still wisdom to be gained from these Samurai House Codes from the 1400s? The goal of these 17 Laws of the Asakura Clan was to strengthen and solidify his clan both in military power, and in the unity and effectiveness of his people. He even invited scholars from various areas of Japan to give their insights and knowledge to this purpose.
What happened to the Asakura Clan?
Did their descendants follow the house code? Did the Asakura Clan implement these laws strictly?
Toshikage must have seen good reason for these laws. He must have had the best of intentions for his clan. But having standards and laws does not necessarily mean that they’re followed!
The next 17 posts will examine each of the 17 Articles of the Asakura House Code.
We sincerely hope you’ll enjoy exploring them, and that you’ll end up gaining valuable personal insights along the way, thanks to the power of Samurai Wisdom!