He was born a son of Asakura Iekage, a senior retainer of the Shiba family, shugo of Echizen. The Asakura claimed descent from an old warrior band of Tajima and had become powerful vassals of the Shiba through the Nanboku-chō period. His father Iekage died early, so the young Takakage grew up supported by his grandfather Norikage.
He received the character "Toshi" from his lord Shiba Yoshitoshi, shugo of Echizen, and changed his name from Norikage to Toshikage. Takakage is known for changing his name several times, calling himself Norikage, Toshikage, Norikage again and finally Takakage. He is often written as Toshikage to distinguish him from his great-grandson of the same name.
The Chōroku War broke out between his lord Shiba Yoshitoshi and Kai Tsuneharu, deputy shugo of Echizen. Takakage sided not with his lord but with the deputy, fighting as his main force. A deputy shugo governed a province on behalf of the shugo. This war of vassals against their lord foreshadowed the age of gekokujō.
When peace talks arranged by the shogunate failed because of Yoshitoshi's opposition, Takakage discarded the character "Toshi" and again called himself Norikage. That year, at the Battle of Wada in Asuwa District, he defeated his brother-in-law and uncle, who had sided with the shugo, and led the deputy's side to victory. The next day Kai Tsuneharu died in Kyoto, and Takakage's power grew further.
After Yoshitoshi angered the shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa and withdrew to Suō, Shiba Yoshikado, who came from the Shibukawa family, became head of the Shiba. Takakage is said to have arranged this with Yamana Sōzen, but some deny it because he was then campaigning in Tōtōmi and the Kanto, away from Kyoto, and views differ.
Because he encroached on estates in Echizen belonging to Daijōin of Kōfukuji in Nara, Daijōin laid a curse on the name "Norikage." Learning of this, he changed his name to Takakage to escape the curse. Takakage took over the lands of temples, shrines and nobles one after another and was a formidable opponent for estate owners.
Fighting the deputy Masuzawa Kai-no-kami, he is said to have deliberately held a linked-verse gathering to put the enemy off guard and then soundly defeated Masuzawa's attacking army. Takakage loved renga and waka and associated with the poet-monk Shōtetsu and the renga master Sōgi. He was a man versed in both war and culture.
When Yoshikado was ousted as head of the Shiba and Yoshitoshi restored, Takakage joined Yamana Sōzen and others in opposition. They drove the shogun's aide Ise Sadachika, Yoshitoshi and others out of Kyoto and restored Yoshikado as family head. This was the Bunshō Coup, and the rifts within the shogunate led to the great war of the next year.
When the Ōnin War began, Takakage joined the Western Army with his lord Yoshikado and distinguished himself in battles across Kyoto. Records state that when the shogun ordered the Western Army punished, Yoshikado's surrender was to be accepted only if he handed over "Takakage's head," showing that Takakage was seen as the mainstay of the Western Army.
He defeated and killed Honekawa Dōken, an ashigaru leader who had holed up at Fushimi Inari and harassed the Western Army. Ashigaru were lightly equipped hired soldiers who set fires and looted during the Ōnin War, ravaging Kyoto. Takakage's troops were strong and kept fighting at the center of the Western Army, burning across the city.
Takakage secretly contacted the Eastern Army and, after receiving from the shogun Yoshimasa and Hosokawa Katsumoto a promise recognizing his control of Echizen, switched to the Eastern Army. His heir Ujikage in Kyoto reportedly drank at Yamana Sōzen's mansion and entered the Eastern camp that same night. The defection gave the Eastern Army the upper hand, and the great war moved toward its end.
Back in Echizen, Takakage fought the forces of the Kai, the deputy shugo family, across the province. At first he struggled and sometimes lost, but he gradually won victory after victory, and this year he captured Fuchū, seat of the shugo's office. Extending his control over Echizen by real force, he became a forerunner of the Sengoku daimyō.
Defeating enemies such as the Ninomiya one after another, he brought almost all of Echizen under his control. There was once a theory that he was appointed shugo, but since his son Ujikage was appointed deputy shugo, he is thought actually to have held the position of deputy. A vassal had seized real power over the province in place of his Shiba lord.
While struggling against counterattacks by Shiba Yoshihiro, the Kai and others, he ended his life in Echizen. The court noble Kanroji Chikanaga, whose lands had been seized, called him "the greatest villain in the realm" in his diary, yet he is also said to have been a commander who cherished his men. He is said to have set the house code known as the Asakura Takakage Articles, though some doubt this. His heir Ujikage succeeded him.
Yamana SōzenSōgiHosokawa KatsumotoAshikaga Yoshimasa
Uesugi NorizaneRennyoSesshūSōgiHosokawa KatsumotoŌta DōkanAshikaga YoshimasaAshikaga Yoshimi
People of the Muromachi period ・ People by period
Based on facts found in textbooks and biographies. Uncertain points are marked as such.