Sasaki Takauji

Who was Sasaki Takauji?

Sasaki Takauji, also known by his religious name Sasaki Dōyō, was a Japanese poet, warrior, and bureaucrat of the Muromachi period.

Born in Ōmi province, Sasaki Takauji served the regent Hōjō Takatoki briefly, before aiding the Shogun Ashikaga Takauji in overthrowing the Kemmu Restoration and establishing the Ashikaga shogunate. During his period of service to the shogunate, Sasaki Takauji served as shugo of six provinces, and held a number of other important positions. He was also known for his waka and renga poetry, and contributed 81 of his poems to the first imperial anthology of renga, the Tsukubashū. He is portrayed in the epic Taiheiki as a paragon of elegance and luxury, and as the quintessential military aristocrat. He exemplifies the extreme of extravagant taste known as "basara" where “the love of the extraordinary and accumulation of objects was paramount", and hosted events such as the twenty day long flower viewing event at Oharano