Overview
Gradually, the Ashikaga clan lost control of the nobles under its command. By the 1460's, Japan had no effective central political authority and the country had become an armed camp. During the 1500's, Japan sank into a period of civil war that was called the warring states period. This period lasted until 1603, when a warrior named Tokugawa Ieyasu became shogun of Japan and helped to restore stability.