Born a son of the 3rd shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu. As his brother Yoshimochi was to inherit, he was destined for a monastery from childhood.
Around this time he entered Shōren-in in Kyoto as the monk Gien (year debated). Studious, he eventually became head of the Tendai school.
His brother Yoshimochi died without naming an heir. Senior retainers drew lots at Iwashimizu Hachimangū to choose the next shogun, and Gien was picked. That year the Shōchō uprising, sparked by Ōmi packhorse drivers, saw peasants demand debt cancellation.
He left the priesthood, took a new name and became the 6th shogun. With shogunal authority weakened, he aimed for strong, shogun-centered rule, judging cases himself.
He revived the tally trade with Ming China that his brother had suspended, restoring shogunal finances.
He harshly attacked Enryaku-ji on Mount Hiei for defying the shogunate; cornered monks set fire to the main hall in protest.
He attacked Ashikaga Mochiuji, the Kamakura deputy who defied the shogunate (Eikyō Disturbance); the next year Mochiuji took his own life.
He crushed Mochiuji's remaining partisans in the Yūki War and punished one military governor and noble after another, seizing their lands. An imperial prince's diary described the mood as "terror for all".
The military governor Akamatsu Mitsusuke feared his own lands would be seized. Invited to Mitsusuke's mansion for a victory celebration, Yoshinori was struck down while watching sarugaku (Kakitsu Incident). Shogunal authority was badly shaken.
Ashikaga YoshimitsuZeamiNisshinAshikaga YoshimasaAshikaga YoshimiAkamatsu MitsusukeAshikaga MochiujiMansai
Shō HashiMansaiAkamatsu MitsusukeAshikaga YoshimochiIkkyū SōjunAshikaga MochiujiIchijō KaneyoshiYamana Sōzen
People of the Muromachi period ・ People by period
Based on facts found in textbooks and biographies. Uncertain points are marked as such.