| 1338 | Ashikaga Takauji is appointed shogun, establishing the Muromachi bakufu (shogunate) |
| 1358 | Takauji dies. Ashikaga Yoshiakira becomes shogun |
| 1367 | Yoshiakira dies |
| 1368 | Ashikaga Yoshimitsu becomes shogun. Ming Dynasty is founded in China |
| 1369 | First Ming mission arrives in Kyūshū |
| 1374 | Yoshimitsu sees nō for the first time and gives his patronage to Kanze Kan’ami and Zeami |
| 1392 | Northern and Southern Courts unite |
| 1394 | Yoshimitsu resigns as shogun in favor of his eight-year-old son, Ashikaga Yoshimochi, but remains dajō daijin (prime minister) |
| 1397 | Yoshimitsu builds Kinkaku-ji (Temple of the Golden Pavilion) |
| 1408 | Yoshimitsu dies. Yoshimochi assumes power |
| 1423 | Ashikaga Yoshikazu becomes shogun |
| 1425 | Yoshikazu dies. Yoshimochi resumes functions of shogun |
| 1428 | Yoshimochi dies |
| 1429 | Ashikaga Yoshinori becomes shogun |
| 1441 | Yoshinori is killed at house of Akamatsu Mitsusuke. His seven-year-old son, Ashikaga Yoshikatsu, succeeds him. Peasant uprisings and violence in the capital lead to the issuance of the first tokusei (cancellation of debt) |
| 1443 | Yoshikatsu dies. His younger brother, Ashikaga Yoshimasa, becomes head of the Ashikaga family |
| 1445 | Hosokawa Katsumoto is appointed kanrei (shogunal deputy) |
| 1455 | Yoshimasa marries Hino Tomiko |
| 1458 | Yoshimasa builds new Hana no gosho (Palace of Flowers) |
| 1465 | Tomiko gives birth to a son, Ashikaga Yoshihisa |
| 1467 | Ōnin no Ran (Ōnin War) breaks out at Kami Goryō Shrine in Kyoto. Rival forces are the Hosokawa and Yamana families |
| 1473 | Yoshimasa resigns as shogun in favor of his son, Yoshihisa |
| 1477 | Ōnin no Ran ends inconclusively |
| 1481 | Yoshimasa and Tomiko separate |
| 1482 | Construction begins on Higashiyama retreat, beginning the Higashiyama era |
| 1485 | Yoshimasa enters Buddhist orders as a Zen priest |
| 1487 | Completion of kaisho, the “meeting place” at Higashiyama retreat |
| 1490 | Yoshimasa dies |
| 1493 | Completion of Ginkaku (Silver Pavilion) |