Who was this person?
The tenth shogun of the Muromachi shogunate. A son of Ashikaga Yoshimi, he grew up in Mino after the Ōnin War. He became shogun in 1490 but was ousted by Hosokawa Masamoto in the Meiō coup of 1493. After moving through Etchū and Suō, he regained the shogunate in 1508 with the help of Ōuchi Yoshioki, and is known for having been shogun twice.
| Name | Ashikaga Yoshitane (足利義稙) |
|---|---|
| Born–died | 1466 – 1523 |
| Period | Muromachi period |
| Also known as | Ashikaga Yoshiki, Ashikaga Yoshitada |
| Main achievements |
|
He was born a son of Ashikaga Yoshimi, younger brother of the eighth shogun Yoshimasa and once named his heir. His first name was Yoshiki. The year after his birth the Ōnin War began and his father Yoshimi came to side with the Western Army, so Yoshitane grew up from early childhood amid the quarrels of the shogun's family.
When the Ōnin War, which had lasted eleven years, finally died down, he moved with his father Yoshimi to Mino Province (Gifu), relying on its military governor Toki Shigeyori. Their life in Mino, far from Kyoto, lasted more than ten years. Though a member of the shogun's family, he lived under the protection of a provincial military governor.
The ninth shogun Ashikaga Yoshihisa had died in camp in Ōmi the year before, and in this year Yoshimasa also passed away. Partly because Hino Tomiko, Yoshihisa's mother, supported him, Yoshitane returned to Kyoto and became the tenth shogun. His father Yoshimi acted as his guardian, but Yoshimi too died the following year.
Seeking to restore the shogun's authority and carrying on Yoshihisa's aims, he sent troops against Rokkaku Takayori of Ōmi, who had seized lands of temples, shrines and nobles. He took the field in Ōmi himself and drove Takayori back into the mountains of Kōka. But the kanrei Hosokawa Masamoto was unenthusiastic about such campaigns, and a rift grew between the two men.
While he was away campaigning against Hatakeyama Motoie in Kawachi, Hosokawa Masamoto raised troops and set up Ashikaga Yoshizumi, Yoshimasa's nephew, as the new shogun. This is called the Meiō Coup. Yoshitane was captured and confined in Kyoto, but he soon escaped and fled to Hōjōzu in Etchū (Toyama).
In Etchū he was welcomed by Jinbo Nagenobu, a Hatakeyama retainer and deputy governor, and set up a shogunal government at Hōjōzu. He sent letters to lords in the Hokuriku and elsewhere to gather allies and tried to oppose the shogunate in Kyoto. For this he was also called the Etchū kubō, and it was as if two shoguns stood side by side.
Renaming himself Yoshitada, he went by way of the Asakura of Echizen and tried to advance on Kyoto from Ōmi, but was defeated by the Hosokawa side. He then moved to Yamaguchi, relying on Ōuchi Yoshioki of Suō (Yamaguchi), who held great power in western Japan. He lived in Yamaguchi for nearly ten years, waiting for a chance to return to Kyoto.
The year before, Hosokawa Masamoto had been killed by his own retainers, and a succession dispute broke out in the Hosokawa house. Taking this chance, Yoshitane marched to Kyoto with Ōuchi Yoshioki's large army and, with the help of Hosokawa Takakuni, regained the post of shogun. Shogun Ashikaga Yoshizumi fled to Ōmi, and Yoshitane returned to Kyoto as shogun after fifteen years.
When the army of Hosokawa Sumimoto, who backed Yoshizumi, approached Kyoto, Yoshitane withdrew for a time to Tanba. But he counterattacked with the forces of Ōuchi Yoshioki and Hosokawa Takakuni and defeated Sumimoto's side at the Battle of Funaokayama in Kyoto. Shortly before, Yoshizumi had died of illness in Ōmi, and Yoshitane's position became stable for the time being.
He changed his name to Yoshitane. That year, dissatisfied that he could not govern as he wished, he clashed with Ōuchi Yoshioki and Hosokawa Takakuni and secretly left Kyoto for Kōka in Ōmi. He returned when the two apologized and came for him, but it remained true that the shogun could not stand without the support of powerful men.
After Ōuchi Yoshioki went home to Suō, Yoshitane's conflict with Hosokawa Takakuni deepened. He drew closer to the side of Hosokawa Sumimoto, Takakuni's rival, and finally left Kyoto for Awaji. Takakuni set up Yoshizumi's son Ashikaga Yoshiharu as the new shogun, and Yoshitane lost the post of shogun for the second time.
He moved on from Awaji to Muya in Awa (Tokushima) and died of illness there while waiting for a chance to return to Kyoto. Because he became shogun twice and wandered from province to province, he is also called the drifting kubō or the island kubō. He is seen as a figure reflecting the start of the Sengoku period, when shoguns were swayed by the power of regional lords.
A. The tenth shogun of the Muromachi shogunate. A son of Ashikaga Yoshimi, he grew up in Mino after the Ōnin War. He became shogun in 1490 but was ousted by Hosokawa Masamoto in the Meiō coup of 1493. After moving through Etchū and Suō, he regained the shogunate in 1508 with the help of Ōuchi Yoshioki, and is known for having been shogun twice.
A. Period: Muromachi period. Born in 1466, died in 1523.
A. In 1493, while shogun Yoshitane was campaigning in Kawachi, the kanrei Hosokawa Masamoto raised troops and installed Ashikaga Yoshizumi as the new shogun. This coup, in which a retainer replaced the shogun, is sometimes regarded as one beginning of the Sengoku period (views differ).
See also: Wikipedia (ja) / Wikipedia (en) / Wikipedia (fr) / Wikipedia (zh) / Wikidata
Follow this life (autoplay)Ashikaga YoshimasaAshikaga YoshimiHino TomikoAshikaga YoshihisaHosokawa MasamotoŌuchi Yoshioki
Ōta DōkanAshikaga YoshimasaAshikaga YoshimiHino TomikoHatakeyama MasanagaAshikaga YoshihisaHosokawa MasamotoŌuchi Yoshioki
People of the Muromachi period ・ People by period
Based on facts found in textbooks and biographies. Uncertain points are marked as such.