Stories of the Japanese 01284 [Muromachi Period/Yoshimochi Era]: Yoshitsugu and Shiba Yoshimasa

Now, although Yoshimochi had been overturning Yoshimitsu's personnel decisions one after another, there were two people he had to continue to treat with importance from the Yoshimitsu era: his younger brother Yoshitsugu and the powerful shugo, Shiba Yoshimasa.
Regarding Yoshitsugu, Yoshimitsu had promoted him exceptionally, and Yoshimochi initially followed that trend. Yoshimochi, who visited the Imperial Palace with Yoshitsugu on December 26, 1408 (the 15th year of Oei), continued to apply for promotions in Yoshitsugu's court rank. He was promoted to Senior Third Rank on January 5, 1409, Acting Governor of Kaga on March 23 (intercalary month), and Acting Chunagon on July 23.
They also traveled together frequently. On June 25, the brothers toured Hyogo together, on November 19 they visited Iwashimizu together, and on December 11 they went to the Kitano Shrine and stayed there together. Although these brothers were ultimately destined to have a falling out, one can see that at this point, they were taking great care to ensure no conflict arose.
The other important figure was Shiba Yoshimasa. Yoshimasa had held the position of Kanrei (shogunal deputy) for many years, but at this time his son Yoshishige was the Kanrei, and Yoshimasa held significant behind-the-scenes influence as his father.
On June 7, 1409, an unexpected personnel change was announced. The position of Kanrei was transferred from Yoshishige to Yoshimasa—that is, from son to father. This was the fourth time Yoshimasa had assumed the position of Kanrei.
The purpose of this unexpected personnel change soon became clear. On June 18, Yoshimasa sent a letter to the Joseon dynasty under the title of 'Kanrei of Japan,' informing them of Yoshimitsu's death and Yoshimochi's succession as head of the family. In other words, Yoshimasa likely took the Kanrei position from his son because he needed an official title to lead foreign diplomacy.
The Ming dynasty, having learned of the change in ruler, sent an envoy named Zhou Quan. On July 5, Yoshimochi met with Zhou Quan at the Kitayama Palace and was invested as 'King of Japan,' just as Yoshimitsu had been. In Yoshimitsu's case, he had cleverly managed to have the title of 'King of Japan' issued to him personally as a 'former Seii Taishogun' and 'former Daijo-daijin' (see episode 01267), but this time, Yoshimochi, who was the incumbent Seii Taishogun, became the King of Japan, so I feel this is likely to cause more controversy than it did for Yoshimitsu.
Having finished this diplomatic ritual, Shiba Yoshimasa, as if to say he no longer had any use for the position of Kanrei, handed the position over to his grandson Yoshinori on August 10. It was as if the Shiba family was monopolizing the position of Kanrei. For Yoshimochi, this must have been a presence that threatened his own power, but he likely had no choice but to employ him heavily, as he was a powerful figure who had also been valued by Yoshimitsu.
However, in the winter of the same year, an event occurred that was typical of Yoshimochi, who disliked his father. When Ouchi Morimi came to the capital to celebrate Yoshimochi's succession, Yoshimochi took a great liking to Morimi and enthusiastically urged him to stay rather than return home. Perhaps Yoshimochi had a considerable interest in Morimi, who was the only one to survive while defying Yoshimitsu. In the end, Morimi ended up staying in the capital for 15 years, until July 1425.