Born the second son of Shimazu Takahisa of Satsuma (Kagoshima). With his elder brother Yoshihisa and younger brothers Toshihisa and Iehisa, he worked to expand Shimazu power in Kyushu.
He fought his first battle at Iwatsurugi castle in Ōsumi.
With far fewer men, he defeated the large Itō army of Hyūga at Kizakibaru, opening Hyūga to Shimazu expansion.
With his brother Yoshihisa he crushed Ōtomo Sōrin's great army, which had invaded Hyūga, at the Mimikawa. The Shimazu went on to dominate most of Kyushu.
When Toyotomi Hideyoshi's vast army invaded Kyushu, he surrendered with his brother Yoshihisa; the Shimazu kept Satsuma, Ōsumi and some other lands.
He crossed to Korea in the Bunroku campaign; short of ships and men, he reportedly struggled with a late departure.
In the Keichō campaign he routed a huge Ming-Korean army attacking his Sacheon fort (enemy numbers debated) and was greatly feared. After Hideyoshi's death he returned to Japan while covering the retreat of allied forces.
At Sekigahara he joined the Western Army. When it collapsed he retreated with a small force straight through the enemy's front, losing many retainers but reaching Satsuma—the legendary "Shimazu retreat".
Thanks to long negotiations by his brother Yoshihisa and others with Tokugawa Ieyasu, the Shimazu kept their lands intact. Yoshihiro retired, leaving headship to his son Tadatsune (Iehisa).
He died at Kajiki in Ōsumi in his eighties. Deeply loved by his retainers, he is said to have had some follow him in death.
Ōtomo SōrinTokugawa IeyasuToyotomi Hideyoshi
Shimazu YoshihisaŌmura SumitadaOda NobunagaHosokawa Yūsai (Fujitaka)Niwa NagahideAshikaga YoshiteruToyotomi HideyoshiAshikaga Yoshiaki
People of the Sengoku/Azuchi-Momoyama period ・ People by period
Based on facts found in textbooks and biographies. Uncertain points are marked as such.