) was a Japanese daimyo

Daimyo

is a generic term referring to the powerful territorial lords in pre-modern Japan who ruled most of the country from their vast, hereditary land holdings...

 of the Sengoku period

Sengoku period

The or Warring States period in Japanese history was a time of social upheaval, political intrigue, and nearly constant military conflict that lasted roughly from the middle of the 15th century to the beginning of the 17th century. The name "Sengoku" was adopted by Japanese historians in reference...

, who ruled a part of Echizen Province

Echizen Province

was an old province of Japan, which is today the northern part of Fukui Prefecture. It was sometimes called , with Etchū and Echigo Provinces.Echizen is famous for washi . A text dated AD 774 mentions the washi made in this area. Echizen-produced Washi is still the most commonly sold traditional...

.

Born in Ichijodani Echizen, Yoshikage ascended to the head of the Asakura clan in 1548. He proved to be adept at political and diplomatic management, markedly demonstrated by the Asakura negotiations with the Ikkō-ikki

Ikko-ikki

', literally "Ikkoshū Uprising", were mobs of peasant farmers, Buddhist monks, Shinto priests and local nobles, who rose up against samurai rule in 15th to 16th century Japan. They followed the beliefs of the Jōdo Shinshū sect of Buddhism which taught that all believers are equally saved by Amida...

 in Echizen. As a result of the negotiations and effective governance by Yoshikage, Echizen enjoyed a period of relative domestic stability compared to the rest of Sengoku era Japan. Consequently, Echizen became a site for refugees fleeing the violence in the Kansai region.

It is said that Yoshikage's tragic flaw was indecision. After the capture of Kyoto, Ashikaga Yoshiaki appointed him regent and requested Asakura aid in driving Nobunaga out of the capital. As a result, Oda Nobunaga launched an invasion of Echizen. Due to Yoshikage’s lack of military skill, Oda's forces were successful at the Siege of Kanegasaki, leaving the entire Asakura domain open to invasion.

Fortunately for Yoshikage, the military intervention of Nobunaga's brother in law, Azai Nagamasa

Azai Nagamasa

was a Daimyo during the Sengoku period of Japan. His clan, the Azai, were located in northern Ōmi Province, east of Lake Biwa. He was both the brother-in-law of Oda Nobunaga, starting in 1564, and one of Nobunaga's enemies from 1570-1573. Nagamasa and his clan were utterly destroyed by Oda...

 - who launched a pincer attack strategy against Oda Nobunaga

Oda Nobunaga

was the initiator of the unification of Japan under the shogunate in the late 16th century, which ruled Japan until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was also a major daimyo during the Sengoku period of Japanese history. His opus was continued, completed and finalized by his successors Toyotomi...

 in Kanegasaki) - the Asakura/Asai forces failed in the task of capturing him. However, during the Battle of Anegawa

Battle of Anegawa

The 1570 came as a reaction to Oda Nobunaga's sieges of the castles of Odani and Yokoyama, which belonged to the Azai and Asakura clans. It was also referred to as the Battle of Nomura by the Oda and Azai clans and the Battle of Mitamura by the Asakura clan.As warriors sallied forth from the...

, he was defeated by the numerically superior Tokagawa on the battlefield.

In 1573, he was betrayed by his own cousin, Asakura Kageakira

Asakura Kageakira

was a retainer beneath the clan of Oda throughout the latter Sengoku Period of Feudal Japan....

 and was forced to take his own life.

External links

• http://www.sengoku-expo.net/person/E/176.html