Japanese warrior, who overthrew many powerful daimyo in an attempt to end the disorder of the Ashikaga period. He was assisted by Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu – and by the fact that many of his troops were armed with muskets, introduced by the Portuguese after 1542. In 1568 he entered Kyoto and in 1573 he drove out the shogun. He began “sword hunts” to disarm much of the population and organized land surveys. By the time he was assassinated by one of his followers, firm rule had replaced political chaos in most of central Japan.