Ashikaga Yoshiakira (July 4, 1330 – December 28, 1367) served as the second shogun of the Ashikaga shogunate from 1358 to 1367 during Japan's Muromachi period. He was the son of Ashikaga Takauji, the founder and inaugural shogun of the Muromachi shogunate. His mother, known as Akahashi Toshi or Hojo Nariko, was Takauji's consort.
During his early years, Yoshiakira, then known as Senjuo, resided in Kamakura as a hostage under the guardianship of the Hojo clan. His father, Takauji, aligned himself with the exiled Emperor Go-Daigo, who led a rebellion against the Kamakura shogunate in what is known as the Kenmu Restoration. Yoshiakira actively supported Nitta Yoshisada (1301–1338) in the attack against the Kamakura shogunate. Throughout the Nanboku-cho period, Yoshiakira successfully reclaimed Kyoto from various Loyalist occupations in the 1350s.
In 1349, internal turmoil within the government necessitated Yoshiakira's return to Kyoto, where he was designated as Takauji's heir. On April 5, 1352, Loyalist forces led by Kitabatake Akiyoshi, Kusunoki Masanori, and Chigusa Akitsune seized Kyoto for a period of 20 days before Yoshiakira managed to recapture the city. In July 1353, Loyalist forces under the command of Masanori and Yamana Tokiuji once again took control of Kyoto, only to be repelled by Yoshiakira in August. In January 1355, Loyalist forces led by Momonoi, Tadafuyu, and Yamana once more captured Kyoto. However, on April 25, Takauji and Yoshiakira's combined forces successfully reclaimed the city. Following his father Takauji's passing in 1358, Yoshiakira assumed the title of Sei-i Taishogun.
Upon Takauji's death in 1358, Yoshiakira's appointment as shogun led to discord and defections within the shogunate. In 1362, Hosokawa Kiyouji and Kusunoki Masanori launched an attack on Kyoto. Yoshiakira fled the city but managed to retake it within twenty days. Later, in 1365, Prince Kaneyoshi (also known as Kanenaga), the son of Emperor Go-Daigo and leader of the rival Ashikaga court, gained control of Kyushu. In 1367, Yoshiakira fell seriously ill and passed on his position to his son.
Several months after his demise, he was succeeded by his son Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, who assumed the role of the third shogun in 1368. Yoshiakira was posthumously honored with the title Hokyoin, and his resting place is located at Toji-in in Kyoto, the same site as his father's grave.
See also
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Tsutsui Sadatsugu
Tsutsui Sadatsugu (June 6, 1562 – April 2, 1615) was a prominent figure in the Sengoku and early Edo periods, known as the cousin and adopted heir of Tsutsui Junkei, the feudal lord of Yamato Province. Following Junkei's death in 1584, Toyotomi Hideyoshi relocated Sadatsugu to Iga Province, where he oversaw the construction of Iga Ueno Castle, marking the height of his prominence.
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Matsudaira Kiyoyasu
Matsudaira Kiyoyasu (September 28, 1511 – November 29, 1535) served as the 7th lord of the Matsudaira clan during Japan's tumultuous Sengoku period. Renowned as the paternal grandfather of Tokugawa Ieyasu, one of Japan's "great unifiers," Kiyoyasu expanded his clan’s influence, bringing all of northern Mikawa Province under his control after subduing the Saigo clan. His power was further symbolized by the construction of Okazaki Castle, a testament to the Matsudaira’s growing dominance.
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Matsudaira Hirotada
Matsudaira Hirotada (June 9, 1526 – April 3, 1549) was a daimyo and lord of Okazaki Castle in Mikawa Province during Japan’s turbulent Sengoku Period. He is best known as the father of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of the Tokugawa shogunate.
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Ikeda Tsuneoki
Ikeda Tsuneoki (1536 – May 18, 1584), also known as Ikeda Nobuteru, was a prominent daimyo of the Ikeda clan and a distinguished military commander during Japan's Sengoku and Azuchi-Momoyama periods. He served under the influential warlords Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Tsuneoki’s connection to Nobunaga began early, as his mother, Yotokuin, was Nobunaga’s wet nurse and later became a concubine to Oda Nobuhide, Nobunaga's father.
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Oda Nobutaka
Oda Nobutaka (1558–1583) was a samurai of the Oda clan, also known as Kanbe Nobutaka after being adopted as the head of the Kanbe clan, which governed the central region of Ise Province. He was the third son of Oda Nobunaga, born to a concubine named Sakashi. Nobutaka was referred to as "San Shichi," possibly because he was born on the seventh day of the third month in the Japanese lunar calendar. However, there is a theory suggesting he was born twenty days earlier than his elder brother, Oda Nobukatsu, but due to delays in reporting and the low status of his mother’s family, he was acknowledged as Nobunaga’s third son.
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Yamauchi Kazutoyo
Yamauchi Kazutoyo (also spelled Yamanouchi; 1545/1546? – November 1, 1605) was a prominent samurai and retainer who served Oda Nobunaga and later Toyotomi Hideyoshi during Japan's Sengoku and Azuchi-Momoyama periods. His father, Yamauchi Moritoyo, was a descendant of Fujiwara no Hidesato and a senior retainer of the Iwakura Oda clan, which opposed Oda Nobunaga. Moritoyo was also the lord of Kuroda Castle in Owari Province. Kazutoyo is especially renowned for his marriage to Yamauchi Chiyo, whose wisdom and resourcefulness played a key role in his rise to prominence.
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Saito Tatsuoki
Saito Tatsuoki (6 September 1548 - 1573) was a daimyo of Mino Province during Japan's Sengoku period and the third-generation lord of the Saito clan. He was the son of Saito Yoshitatsu and grandson of Saito Dosan. His mother was a daughter of Azai Hisamasa, making him a nephew of Azai Nagamasa and a relative of Oda Nobunaga's first wife, Nohime, who was also a daughter of Saito Dosan.
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Kyogoku Tadataka
Kyogoku Tadataka (1593–1637) was a Japanese nobleman and the head of the Kyogoku clan during the early 17th century, a pivotal time marked by the Tokugawa consolidation of power. His childhood name was Kumamaro, and he hailed from a lineage claiming descent from Emperor Uda (868–897). Tadataka was the son of Kyogoku Takatsugu and one of his concubines, with his paternal grandfather being Kyogoku Takayoshi.
