The Sengoku period is the Japanese term for the era of widespread civil conflict from the 15th to 16th centuries.
Sengoku means “warring states.” The period is commonly dated from the Onin War, which began in 1467, to the political reunification completed under Tokugawa Ieyasu around 1600. Regional warlords called daimyo competed for territory, alliances, and influence while the authority of the Ashikaga shogunate weakened.
Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu are often called the three unifiers of Japan. Nobunaga began a major expansion, Hideyoshi completed much of the military unification, and Ieyasu established the Tokugawa shogunate after Sekigahara.
The Sengoku period was not constant warfare everywhere. Trade, agriculture, castle construction, religious institutions, and cultural exchange also developed. The label refers primarily to the fragmented political order and recurring conflicts among competing military powers.