Imagawa Yoshimoto
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Imagawa Yoshimoto (今川義元, 1519-1560) was one of the leading daimyo (feudal lords) in Suruga Province along the Tokaido road, Japan. He first left home as a young boy. Unrest broke out when his older brother Ujiteru was killed. Yoshimoto spent some contemplative time as a monk, but returned to secular life, whereupon he slew his mother and brother-in-law. His relations with the Hojo clan worsened when he married Takeda Nobutora’s daughter. He repelled the Hojo, and wrested control of a wide area including Suruga, Totomi, and Mikawa. Later, Imagawa established a three-way alliance with Takeda and Hojo, and set out toward the capital with Matsudaira Motoyasu of Mikawa. However, they were defeated in a surprise attack by Nobunaga Oda at Okehazama.
He was killed by the assault of Oda Nobunaga at the Battle of Okehazama. Afterward, the Matsudaira declared independence and allied with Nobunaga.
Yoshimoto’s Officers:
- Matsudaira Motoyasu
- Okabe Motonobu
- Abe Motozane
- Matsui Munenobu
- Udono Nagateru
- Asahina Yasutomo
- Ichinomiya Munekore
- Ii Naochika
- Ii Naomori
- Iio Tsuratatsu
- Iio Noritsura
- Itami Yasunao
- Katsurayama Ujimoto
- Yamaguchi Noritsugu
- Yamaguchi Noriyoshi
- Yokoe Magohachi
- Taigen Sessai
- Miura Yoshinari
Appearances in popular fiction
Yoshimoto Imagawa is a playable character in the Koei action game Samurai Warriors: Xtreme Legends. He also appeared early on in the company's action-strategy game Kessen III. Both games depict Imagawa as a childish dandy, although Samurai Warriors takes this to an extreme by giving him a kemari (a Japanese kickball), which he uses as a weapon (though he used a sword in the original Samurai Warriors game). In his story mode ending, Yoshimoto miraculously manages to defeat both Shingen Takeda and Nobunaga Oda in Kyoto, and then plays kemari to his heart's content in front of the other warlords who look on in bemusement and disgust.Yoshimoto is also featured as an unplayable character in the Japanese action game Sengoku Basara. The game was heavily retooled for the western market and renamed Devil Kings, eliminating all references to Japanese history. Yoshimoto's character thus became Muri.
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