Ashikaga Yoshinori, the Tyrant Shogun was Born and Assassinated on July 12!

Born July 12, 1394 – Assassinated July 12, 1441

Ashikaga Yoshinori was born the fourth or fifth son son of the Third Shogun, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, and the younger half-brother of the fourth shogun Ashikaga Yoshimochi. Yoshinori was invested with the title of the sixth Shogun on the day of his predecessor, Yoshimochi’s death, through a lottery-like system where the names of a number of potential successors names were entered, with “Divine Intervention” assisting in choosing the new Shogun. The deputy Shogun, Hatakeyama Mitsuie, drew Yoshinori’s name in the main hall of Kyoto’s Iwashimizu Hachiman Shrine, believing that Hachiman, the God of War, had influenced the choice.