The Ashkaga: A History of Japan

Kyoto became a major urban center, with a population of over 100,000 by the year 1400 AD. Students began to form into hereditary guilds similar to the European model. Most started off as offshoots of local shouen estates, but eventually became rich enough that they could take charge of their own affairs. The political decay of the Ashkad that stopped that momentum made its tracks.