Ashikaga Yoshitane

Who was Ashikaga Yoshitane?

Ashikaga Yoshitane, also known as Ashikaga Yoshiki, was the 10th shogun of the Ashikaga shogunate who headed the shogunate first from 1490 to 1493 and then again from 1508 to 1521 during the Muromachi period of Japan.

Yoshitane was the son of Ashikaga Yoshimi and grandson of the sixth shogun Ashikaga Yoshinori. In his early life, he was named Yoshiki, and then Yoshitada — including the period of when he is first installed as shogun; however, he changed his name to Yoshitane in 1501 in a period when he was temporarily exiled, and it is by this name that he is generally known today.

The 9th shogun Ashikaga Yoshihisa died in 1489 on a battlefield of southern Omi province. Yoshihisa left no heir; and Yoshitane became Seii Taishogun a year later.