Stories of the Japanese 01558 [Muromachi/Saigoku/Onin War] Yoshimi's Return to Kyoto and Second Flight
I will discuss the most puzzling event within the Onin War, which lasted for over ten years.
The story returns to Kyoto.
For Yoshimasa, whose Eastern Army continued to face unfavorable conditions, the fact that his younger brother Yoshimi remained in Ise and would not return was a major concern. His son Yoshihisa was not yet three years old, and Yoshimasa could not retire without first passing the shogunate to Yoshimi. In the first place, Yoshimi had not even been dismissed as the commander-in-chief of the Eastern Army and still held the position of supreme authority in the war against the Western Army. Yet, Yoshimi was far away in Ise.
Yoshimasa repeatedly urged Yoshimi to return, and in April of the second year of Onin (1468), he even issued an imperial decree in the name of the Retired Emperor Gohanazono to summon Yoshimi, but Yoshimi still did not return.
In September, Yoshimasa went so far as to promise Yoshimi that he would be granted the 'hanzei' (half-tax) portion of the Ise provincial government territory if he returned. Faced with such an offer, Yoshimi finally bestirred himself, left Ise with an entourage of 2,000, and entered Omi on September 7th. For some reason, he spent two weeks there and finally entered Kyoto on the 22nd.
However, immediately after returning to Kyoto and having an audience with Yoshimasa, Yoshimi angered Yoshimasa by proposing the removal of 'three evil followers.' While two of the three are thought to be Ise Sadachika and Hino Katsumitsu, it is unclear who the third person was.
Indeed, Ise Sadachika was a mortal enemy to Yoshimi, as he had previously slandered Yoshimi by claiming he was plotting a rebellion, which led to Yoshimi's downfall. From Yoshimi's perspective, he likely felt, 'Do not try to favor both me and Sadachika. Choose one.' Since Hino Katsumitsu was also close to Sadachika, he was likely viewed as an enemy as well.
However, this presumptuous demand completely infuriated Yoshimasa. Yoshimasa was enraged and had Yoshimi leave, and even Katsumoto, who was supposed to be Yoshimi's guardian, began to suggest to Yoshimi,
'Why don't you give up on succeeding to the shogunate and enter the priesthood?'
and so on.
Thus, Yoshimi's place within the shogunate was completely gone. On November 10th, Yoshimi's close aide, Arima Motoya, was killed by Akamatsu Masanori on Yoshimasa's orders. This was because he was considered a spy for the Western Army, but it is thought to have been due to Sadachika's slander. Because of this, Yoshimi began to feel even more in danger.
On November 13th, Yoshimi finally escaped from the shogun's palace and fled to Mount Hiei. The Western Army, which had its eyes on Yoshimi, reached out to him on November 23rd and invited him to the residence of Shiba Yoshikado. Sozen and the other generals of the Western Army welcomed Yoshimi and installed him as the commander-in-chief of the Western Army.
In this way, Ashikaga Yoshimi went from being the commander-in-chief of the Eastern Army to the commander-in-chief of the Western Army.
As I mentioned before, if one adopts the conventional theory that 'the Onin War was a battle between the Eastern Army, which wanted Yoshimi to be the next shogun, and the Western Army, which wanted Yoshihisa,' it becomes impossible to explain why Yoshimi became the commander-in-chief of the Western Army halfway through. It should be understood that the main causes of the Onin War were (1) the succession disputes of the Hatakeyama and Shiba families, and (2) the struggle for political leadership between the Hosokawa and Yamana families.