Ashikaga Yoshimasa
The "Ōnin" conflict began as a controversy over who would succeed "shōgun" Ashikaga Yoshimasa. In 1464, Yoshimasa had no heir. He persuaded his younger brother, Ashikaga Yoshimi, to abandon the life of a monk, and named him heir. In 1465, the unanticipated birth of a son to Yoshimasa put these plans in question. The infant, Yoshihisa, led to a succession crisis with two competing factions. On one side was the "shōgun" and his brother, together with the "shōgun's" deputy, Hosokawa. On the other side was Yoshihisa's mother, Hino Tomiko, and her ally Yamana, who was the governor of several provinces.