Imagawa Yoshimoto

Imagawa Yoshimoto (今川 義元; 1519 – June 12, 1560) was a Japanese samurai and daimyō (feudal lord) of the Sengoku period. Based in Suruga Province, he was known as The number one archer in the Tōkaidō (海道一の弓取り, Kaidō-ichi no Yumitori);¹² he was one of the three daimyō that dominated the Tōkaidō region. He died in 1560 while marching to Kyoto. He was killed in the village of Dengakuhazama in Okehazama by Oda Nobunaga.³

Early life and succession

Yoshimoto was born as in 1519, the third son of Imagawa Ujichika⁴ of the Imagawa clan, which claimed descent from Emperor Seiwa (850–880). His childhood name was Yosakimaru (芳菊丸). His family branched from Minamoto clan by the Ashikaga clan. As he was not the eldest son, he was not an heir to his father's lordship. As a result, the young boy was sent to a temple where his name was changed to Baigaku Shōhō (梅岳承芳) or Sengaku Shōhō (栴岳承芳).

In 1536, his older brother Ujiteru died suddenly, unleashing successional disputes. His elder half-brother, Genkō Etan (玄広恵探), tried to seize the lordship, but the clan split into two factions. Yoshimoto's faction argued he was the rightful heir because Yoshimoto's mother (Jukei-ni) was the consort of Ujichika. Genkō Etan's faction disputed this based on Genkō's seniority, and that his mother was a member of the Kushima family. However, with the assistance of Hojo Ujitsuna of Sagami province and support of of , the Genkō faction was eliminated in the Hanagura Disturbance (花倉の乱, ). Baigaku Shōhō changed his name to Yoshimoto at this point and succeeded the clan.