WI: Sengoku jidai ends in a stalemate

I've been thinking of this for a while.

What if the Sengoku jidai ends in an uneasy peace/stalemate between several major clans? Let's say whoever gets central Japan (including Kyoto) fell a bit short in defeating the far-flung regional clans (like the Shimazu, Mori, Date, etc.) and decided to negotiate a settlement, where the regional clan will recognize the authority in Kyoto, at least nominally, in exchange for some degree of independence.

How long can the uneasy peace last before somebody gets itchy to go for war again? What if that setting lasted? Any other effects?
 
I doubt it would last long. I can imagine that most Daimyo would be untrusting of any peace and see it as a ploy by the others to gain strength for the next battle. I can't imagine that the smaller daimyo will believe that the owners of Kyoto are willing to broker peace and keep to it.
The problem with the Sengoku Jidai is that there are too many people who want power and no one trusted anyone else. Daimyo were even suspicious of their own family members.
 

PhilippeO

Banned
Uh, isn't this actually happening ? Tokugawa didn't push Tozama lords (Date, Mori, Shimazu, etc) too much and tolerate much more independence than other European countries. Even end of Tokugawa is happen because alliance of several Tozama daimyo, its generally acknowledged that Shogunate could be defeated by cooperation of several Tozama daimyo, so Tokugawa always careful when confrontation happen.
 
It'd be difficult. A big feature of this period was that people were fighting one another constantly for said land, Clan headship, and so on. If you weren't expanding, or planning to expand, there was someone else trying the same, the conflict between Shingen Takeda and Kenshin Uesugi over Shinano Province being a key example. Not to mention that it's often a poor idea to allow neighbours of your lands to develop their own military power-base far off from the Centre without some kind of control. Not to mention that said neighbours are going to note the man in Kyoto's inability to conquer them and assume that maybe they could take a bit more land.

Could any Shogun/Daimyo allow for all of Kyushu to be lost? Surrender Tohoku? Allow Chugoku to remain under the Mori? I doubt they would if they're trying to assert their authority in Kyoto, which is rooted in supposedly being the military arm of the Emperor and the Imperial Court. Even if they did, it'd just be the waiting game on both sides to see who'll die and leave a lesser heir first.
 
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