In Japanese history, period of military government ( bakufu , or shogunate) from the 14th to the 16th century.
The bakufu was established in 1338 by the samurai (warrior) Ashikaga Takauji. Although the bakufu lasted in name until 1573, when the last of the Ashikaga shogun s was deposed, the Ashikaga in fact lost control of Japan during the Ōnin War (1467–77). The Muromachi period was, despite considerable turbulence and unrest, a time of great cultural growth, during which Zen Buddhism, sumi-e (Chinese-style ink painting) flourished. See also {{link=Ashikaga family">Ashikaga family ; daimyo ; Kanō school .