Ashikaga Yoshiharu

Timeline

1. 1521–1531Muromachi Gosho, Kyoto · JapanIn 1521, the ten-year-old Yoshiharu was installed as the 12th shogun under the patronage of the shogunate's strongman Hosokawa Takakuni. Owing to his youth, all government affairs were handled on his behalf by Hosokawa Takakuni in his capacity as kanrei. During this period the shogunate nominally continued to function, but real power had entirely slipped from the shogun's hands, leaving Yoshiharu to handle only ceremonial matters arranged by the powerful retainers.
2. 1531–1540Sakamoto, Ōmi · JapanIn the Battle of Ōnomikawa in 1531, Hosokawa Harumoto killed Hosokawa Takakuni and power changed hands. Yoshiharu was forced to cooperate with the new strongman Harumoto, remaining in reality a political puppet. As Kyoto's political situation remained turbulent, Yoshiharu fled repeatedly to Ōmi, taking temporary refuge at Sakamoto under the protection of Enryakuji and seeking support from local daimyō such as the Rokkaku, hoping to restore shogunal authority with outside help, with little success.
3. 1541–1550Sakamoto, Ōmi · JapanIn 1546, Yoshiharu abdicated the shogunate to his son Ashikaga Yoshiteru, took Buddhist vows, and received the dharma name Jishō-in. In his later years he remained at Sakamoto in Ōmi convalescing, passing his days with waka poetry and calligraphy, and died of illness in 1550. He is remembered for his literary cultivation; his waka collection reflects the sentiments of a literatus in an age of disorder.