Who Is Ashikaga Yoshihisa (Ashikaga Yoshihiro)?
Ninth Muromachi shogun, who died at the Magari camp
Ashikaga Yoshihisa was the ninth shogun of Japan's Muromachi shogunate. The son of the eighth shogun, Ashikaga Yoshimasa, and Hino Tomiko, he became shogun as a child. In 1487 he personally marched out to strike down Rokkaku Takayori of Omi Province and set up camp at Magari, in present-day Ritto, Shiga Prefecture. This is known as the Magari campaign. The fighting dragged on, and in 1489 Yoshihisa died of illness in camp at just 25.
He appears in episode 1 of this manga, marching into Omi at the head of a great army. Takayori, however, retreats to the mountains and refuses to fight head-on. Yoshihisa is portrayed as a shogun who watches unseen night raids wear down his camp, then falls ill amid frustration and exhaustion.
The dispute over Yoshihisa's succession is considered one of the causes of the Onin War. His decision to lead the Magari campaign himself is also said to have been an attempt to restore the shogun's power, which had weakened after that war.
