Ashikaga Yoshiaki

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Ashikaga Yoshiaki (足利 義昭, 1537 – 1597), also known by his Shinbakufu alias The Tatsu (龍, lit. "The Dragon") or, alternatively, The Horseman, was the 15th and final shōgun of the Ashikaga shogunate, ruling Japan from 1568 to 1573.

Biography

Early reign

In 1565, Yoshiaki's older brother and reigning shōgun Yoshiteru was assassinated and replaced with their cousin Yoshihide, who was the Miyoshi clan's puppet. This prompted Yoshiaki to travel around the provinces seeking a benefactor to back his own claim to the title. In 1568, Yoshiaki visited the daimyō Oda Nobunaga, who had just established himself at Gifu Castle, and presented his case. Surprisingly, Nobunaga agreed to support him and the two marched on Kyoto, but Yoshiaki was unaware that Nobunaga was only using the shogunate's usurpation as a pretext for military action. That November, Nobunaga entered Kyoto with his army and installed Yoshiaki as shōgun; Yoshiaki offered him the position of deputy shōgun, but Nobunaga declined.

Deposition

Though he attempted to rule, Yoshiaki noticed that his power relied on Nobunaga's aid. By 1572, there was tension between the two, with Nobunaga issuing several admonishments that caused Yoshiaki to take offense. Yoshiaki began plotting against him, trying to convince other daimyō like Takeda Shingen to turn against Nobunaga and "rescue" Yoshiaki in Kyoto.

In 1573, Yoshiaki rebelled, leading to Nobunaga's forces marching on Kyoto and expelling him. He escaped with his life and took up residence with the Mōri clan in Western Japan, from where he continued attempting to undermine Nobunaga, even raising troops against him for the Ishiyama Hongan-ji War, but he never managed to overthrow his enemy nor to reinstall himself as shōgun.

Life in exile

Leading the Shinbakufu

Following his deposition, Yoshiaki, resentful of Nobunaga, sought to depose him and also to claim the three Imperial Regalia, which were said to grant the divine right to rule over Japan. To this end, Yoshiaki formed a secret organization known as the Shinbakufu, which he led under the alias of "The Tatsu".

Taking advantage of the Templars' recent expansion to Japan, Yoshiaki and his fellow Shinbakufu members succeeded in recovering two of the regalia safeguarded by the Kakushiba ikki, decimating the Brotherhood in the process, and gave them to the Portuguese Templars, who had their own need of the artifacts. In exchange, the Templars would fund the Shinbakufu's operations and help Yoshiaki regain his title and power.

On 30 September 1581, after discovering the third and final regalia's whereabouts in Iga, a masked Yoshiaki, accompanied by the rest of the Shinbakufu, used Nobunaga's invasion of the region as cover to infiltrate Iga and steal the artifact. Despite opposition from Fujibayashi Nagato and his daughter Naoe, who killed one the group's members—Ido Yoshihiro—the Shinbakufu succeeded in seizing the regalia's box after ambushing Nagato and Naoe outside Katano Castle. As a masked Akechi Mitsuhide was about to execute the mortally wounded Nagato, Wada Koretake intervened and asked that their enemies be left to die in pain. Yoshiaki, having achieved his primary objective, granted Koretake's request and departed with the other Shinbakufu, leaving Nagato and Naoe to succumb to their injuries.

Encounters with Naoe and Yasuke

By 1582, Yoshiaki had made his way to Yamashiro, where he took a liking to spectating sumo matches held at the Iwashimizu Hachiman Shrine. In late June of that year, he met Naoe—who had survived the events in Iga—and Yasuke, and though neither of them recognized him until after he had left, he imposed some philosophical life lessons onto them.

After founding their own incarnation of the Kakushiba ikki, Naoe and Yasuke, seeking revenge against the Shinbakufu for their own personal reasons, hunted the group's members until only Yoshiaki and Mitsuhide remained. Following the latter's defeat at the Battle of Yamazaki, he informed the pair of Yoshiaki's identity as the Shinbakufu's leader in his final moments, leading the pair to confront the former shōgun at Kuramadera Temple.

Humbly sitting on the ground with his mask and the box containing the regalia stolen from Iga before him, Yoshiaki offered information in exchange for his life. Suspecting that Naoe sought her mother Tsuyu, he instructed her to travel to Sakafune-ishi in Yamato. Naoe accepted his offer and reclaimed the box. However, Yasuke declared that he must answer for Nobunaga's death and his betrayal of Emperor Ōgimachi. Yoshiaki defended his actions and condemned Nobunaga's, then correctly deduced that Yasuke sought information on the Templars and advised him to head to Takahara Village to investigate their activities. With their business concluded, Naoe declared that Yoshiaki no longer posed a threat without the Shinbakufu, and Yasuke added that Nobunaga's name would live on while Yoshiaki's would be forgotten, before the two left him alone.

Gallery

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  Ashikaga Yoshiaki meditating

Appearances

• Echoes of History – Shadows (first mentioned)
• Assassin's Creed: Shadows (first appearance)