Ashikaga Yoshiharu (April 2, 1511 – May 20, 1550) held the position of the twelfth shogun in the Ashikaga shogunate from 1521 to 1546, during the late Muromachi period of Japan. He was born as the son of the eleventh shōgun, Ashikaga Yoshizumi, and was known by the childhood name Kameomaru.
Yoshiharu was a man known for his wisdom, respect, and considerable stature. He governed Japan for over two decades, from 1521 to 1546, displaying a notable grasp of power. However, like his predecessors, his rule was not without controversy.
As the twelfth shogun of the Ashikaga Shogunate, he was the offspring of the eleventh shogun, Ashikaga Yoshizumi, and his biological mother was a lady named Hino Akiko.
The Rule of Ashikaga Yoshiharu
Critics often argue that Ashikaga Yoshiharu's tenure as shogun was marked by ineffective leadership. Drawing from historical records, references, and books, scholars have observed how advisers wielded significant influence over him. In some instances, they even made decisions on his behalf.
There were multiple occasions when these advisers managed to remove the Shogun from the capital for various reasons, effectively placing him in exile while they ruled in his name. This typically occurred when the shogun attempted to assert his ultimate authority.
One of the most notable incidents took place in 1528, when Shogun Yoshiharu was forced into exile due to an intense power struggle with Miyoshi Nagamoto, a retainer of Hosokawa Takakuni. At the time, the shogun sought to gather more supporters to potentially remove these daimyos from the council and consequently from the city. However, Miyoshi and Hosokawa, being cunning strategists, were already steps ahead of him.
Later on, with the assistance of Hosokawa Harumoto and Miyoshi Nagayoshi, the Shogun brokered a peace with Takakuni and Nagamoto, allowing him to return to the city. During his reinstatement, they once again attempted to wrest power from Nagamoto, but their efforts ultimately failed. This led to Yoshiharu's exile once more.
This time, the Shogun made the decision to retire from his position, believing that his lack of authority merely attached a title to his name without granting him the true ability to govern. Faced with repeated exiles, he chose to live as an ordinary citizen and pave the way for his successors to ascend to the throne.
The Passing of Ashikaga Yoshiharu
In 1561, Ashikaga Yoshiharu officially resigned from his post as the leader of the Muromachi period's shogunate. He was in exile in the Omi province at this time, accompanied by his family. Recognizing his impotence as a ruler and the futility of ongoing power struggles, he grew weary of being pushed out of the capital and constantly contending with formidable daimyos for the authority he rightfully deserved.
He passed away on May 20, 1550. Later, in 1568, supported by Oda Nobunaga, his son Ashikaga Yoshiaki ascended to become the fifteenth shogun.
From a Western perspective, Yoshiharu holds significance as he was the shogun at the time of Japan's first contact with the European West in 1543. A Portuguese ship, blown off course to China, made landfall in Japan.
See also
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Minamoto no Yoshitsune
Minamoto no Yoshitsune was the son of Minamoto no Yoshitomo and his second wife, Tokiwa Gozen, as well as the younger half-brother of Minamoto no Yoritomo, the founder of the first shogunate, who had once suffered defeat in the struggle against the Taira clan. Yoshitsune spent his childhood in exile at the Kuramayama Temple. According to legend, he studied not so much Buddhist sutras there as the arts of war. At the age of fifteen, he entered the service of the governor in Mutsu, Fujiwara Hidehira.
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Miyoshi Chokei
The eldest son of Miyoshi Nagamoto (Motonaga), at the age of seventeen and with the support of Miyoshi Masanaga and Matsunaga Hisahide, invaded Kinai, the inner provinces of Japan, and in 1539 seized control of Kyoto. In 1543 he expelled Hosokawa Ujitsuna from the commercial city of Sakai and appointed his own brother, Sōgo Kazunari, as the city’s new leader. In 1548 he took the name Chōkei. When a conflict arose between him and Masanaga, Chōkei appealed to his liege lord, Hosokawa Harumoto, asking him to raise troops in the provinces of Settsu, Izumi, and Kawachi, but Harumoto instead chose to ally with Masanaga against Chōkei.
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Matsudaira Ietada
Matsudaira Ietada, also known as Tomomo-no Suke, was the eldest son of Matsudaira Koretada, the head of the Fukozu branch of the Matsudaira clan. Ietada was born in 1555 at Fukozu Castle. When he reached adulthood (for samurai children this age range was between 11 and 17), the Fukozu-Matsudaira clan was under the authority of Tokugawa Ieyasu and commanded by Sakai Tadatsugu. In the Battle of Nagashino in 1575, Tadatsugu’s unit, which included both Ietada and his father, took part in the assault on the fort on Mount Tobigasu-yama. During the fighting, Koretada was killed, and twenty-year-old Ietada became the new head of the clan.
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Matsudaira Tadaakira
Tadaakira was the fourth son of Okudaira Nobumasa, a vassal of the Tokugawa clan, and his mother was Kame, the eldest daughter of Tokugawa Ieyasu. In 1588, Tadaakira was adopted by Ieyasu and received the Matsudaira family name; at that time, he bore the name Kiyotada.
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Mashita Nagamori
Nagamori possessed remarkable diplomatic and administrative talent while remaining a brave warrior. He is believed to have come from the village of Mashita in the province of Owari, which today is part of Aichi Prefecture. He was a vassal of Oda Nobunaga and later served Toyotomi Hideyoshi. In the Battle of Komaki–Nagakute in 1584, Nagamori took at least two enemy heads. Later, he was entrusted with overseeing major public construction projects, including the reconstruction of Fushimi Castle and the building of the large Sanjō and Gojō bridges in Kyoto.
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Magara Jurōzaemon Naotaka
Magara Jurōzaemon Naotaka was a vassal of Asakura Yoshikage from the province of Echizen, and very little is known about his life, including even the exact year of his birth. Magara gained his renown through his heroic death at the Battle of Anegawa in 1570. In this battle, the combined forces of Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu confronted the armies of Asai and Asakura, with Ieyasu taking command of the left flank and fighting against the Asakura forces. After crossing the shallow Anegawa River, which separated the two armies, Tokugawa’s finest generals — Honda Tadakatsu and Sakakibara Yasumasa — launched an assault on the headquarters of Asakura Kagetake, the commander-in-chief of the Echizen army. The attack by Honda Tadakatsu was so swift that Kagetake found himself almost completely surrounded by enemy troops.
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Kusunoki Masashige
Kusunoki Masashige was, without exaggeration, a genius of guerrilla warfare. If not for this talented commander, Emperor Go-Daigo would likely have failed not only to ascend the throne, but even to put up any real resistance against the powerful Hojo clan.
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Kobayakawa Takakage
Kobayakawa Takakage was rightfully considered one of the most intelligent men of his era. Even Kuroda Kanbei, the celebrated strategist famed for his cunning—about whom people said he could outwit even a fox—admitted that Takakage was his equal in intellect, and at times even surpassed him. After the death of his father, Mōri Motonari, Takakage effectively governed the Mōri clan for many years while serving as advisor to his nephew, Mōri Terumoto.
