Yoshiteru Ashikaga

> *"Do not underestimate my prowess in battle!"*
> - Yoshiteru Ashikaga
>
>

Yoshiteru Ashikaga is a Shogun featured in Demon Chaos. He appears in the game as Shogun of the fallen Ashikaga shogunate.

## Description

Yoshiteru is the Shogun of Japan, although it is implied that the shogunate has fallen from power at the time of Demon Chaos. He is intent on restoring the shogunate and is aided by Mitsuhide Akechi.

## Personality

Yoshiteru appears to be a very stern and commanding individual, and is capable of defending himself in battle. When Aoi explains her duty to him, he orders her to defend Kyoto from the Demons, showing little in the way of appreciation or respect.

## Plot

### Kyoto (December, 1564)

Yoshiteru brings a force of his men to Kyoto in order to destroy the Demons nesting there and restore his fallen shogunate. He becomes surrounded by Demons, but Mitsuhide, Aoi and Inugami are able to defend him (Mitsuhide had ridden to Kyoto in order to aid Yoshiteru). Yoshiteru mistakes Inugami for a Demon, but is corrected by Mitsuhide. Aoi explains her duty of cleansing the realm of Demons to Yoshiteru. He replies that if that is her duty she should start by cleansing Kyoto. After a long battle, the group successfully rid Kyoto of the Demons, however, with the city in ruins, the shogunate cannot be successfully re-established.

## True History

Yoshiteru Ashikaga was born on March 31st, 1536, the son of the 12th Shogun of the Ashikaga shogunate, Yoshiharu Ashikaga.
After his father was forced to retire in 1546 over a political struggle, Yoshiteru became Shogun at the age of 11. The shogunate had effectively fallen under the control of the most powerful daimyo clans at this time, essentially meaning that Yoshiteru had no real political control and acted as a puppet Shogun.
Yoshiteru’s father had been repeatedly driven out of Kyoto prior to his retirement, but after Yoshiteru became Shogun, Yoshiharu successfully made a truce that allowed him and Yoshiteru back into the city. Shortly after, a war was started that once again drove Yoshiteru out of Kyoto, making him a Shogun in exile. While in exile in 1550, Yoshiteru’s father died.

In 1552, Yoshiteru made a peace with the powerful daimyo Nagayoshi Miyoshi in order to return to Kyoto. However, the next year, Yoshiteru and the daimyo Harumoto Hosokawa (who had caused Yoshiteru’s father’s exile and gained control of the shogunate) started a war against Nagayoshi to remove his influence. The war initially went well for Yoshiteru, but he was driven out of Kyoto again in 1558 after a counterattack from Nagayoshi. Nagayoshi did not press on after the victory to kill Yoshiteru for fear of being accused of killing a shogun, and instead signed a truce to have Yoshiteru back in Kyoto under his influence. Nagayoshi continued as the real power in Kyoto, with Yoshiteru nothing more than a puppet Shogun.

Surrounded by daimyōs who intended only to use the authority of Shogun for their own good, Yoshiteru still managed to reaffirm the Shogun's authority by active diplomacy that extended to every part of Japan. By trying to negotiate a peace between such well known daimyo as Shingen Takeda and Kenshin Uesugi, his authority was again recognized by various daimyo. Nobunaga Oda and Kenshin Uesugi were among the many daimyos and samurai who travelled to Kyoto to pay their respects to Yoshiteru.

In 1564, Nagayoshi died and Yoshiteru saw an opportunity to fully reclaim the authority of the shogunate. However, in 1565, a daimyo companion of Nagayoshi, Hisahide Matsunaga, and a guardian of Nagayoshi’s son, Yoshitsugu Miyoshi laid siege against a collection of buildings where Yoshiteru lived. With no help arriving in time from the daimyo that could have supported him, Yoshiteru and the few troops under him were overrun. Yoshiteru committed suicide during the attack.