Imagawa Yoshimoto

Imagawa Yoshimoto (今川 義元, 1519 – 1560) was a Japanese daimyō in the Sengoku period. A powerful warrior, Yoshimoto controlled , , and s, and was in constant conflict with the who ruled over Owari Province to his west, first fighting Oda Nobuhide and then his son Nobunaga.Echoes of History – Shadows – Episode 5: Oda Nobunaga
==History==
In 1560, Yoshimoto decided to attempt to march on Kyoto and seize control of Japan's central government by raising 25,000 troops for his invasion. The march had to go through Owari to reach the capital, though Yoshimoto's forces outnumbered Nobunaga's almost 10 to 1. His invasion of Owari had significant early successes in taking several forts, with troops quickly taking the Oda clan's border fort of Washizu while Matsudaira Takechiyo led the to the outnumbered frontier fort of Marune.
Yoshimoto was with only a few thousand troops, with the rest of his men spread out, when they decided to rest and celebrate their future win at the small gorge of Dengakuhazama. While there, a rainstorm hit, allowing Nobunaga's forces to position themselves for a against Yoshimoto and his forces. At first, Yoshimoto assumed it was a drunken brawl between his men, realizing only too late he was under attack. Nobunaga's vassals and killed and beheaded Yoshimoto, and his surviving men either surrendered or fled.
==Appearances==
*Echoes of History – Shadows 
==References==
Category:1519 births
Category:1560 deaths
Category:Individuals
Category:Japanese
Category:Monks
Category:Samurai
Category:Daimyō