was a leading military commander during the Muromachi period

Muromachi period

The is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate, which was officially established in 1338 by the first Muromachi shogun, Ashikaga Takauji, two years after the brief Kemmu restoration of imperial...

 in Mino Province

Mino Province

, one of the old provinces of Japan, encompassed part of modern-day Gifu Prefecture. It was sometimes called . Mino Province bordered Echizen, Hida, Ise, Mikawa, Ōmi, Owari, and Shinano Provinces....

 (modern-day Gifu Prefecture

Gifu Prefecture

is a prefecture located in the Chūbu region of central Japan. Its capital is the city of Gifu.Located in the center of Japan, it has long played an important part as the crossroads of Japan, connecting the east to the west through such routes as the Nakasendō...

), Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

. The characters for his name can also be read as Toki Nariyori. He became the eighth head of the Toki clan

Toki clan

The was a powerful clan that ruled in Japan from the Kamakura period to the Edo period. It descended from Emperor Seiwa by Minamoto no Yorimitsu from the Minamoto clan and used Toki in Mino Province as their hometown...

 at the age of 15 and was the adopted son of Toki Mochimasu. His sons included Toki Masafusa

Toki Masafusa

was the governor of Mino Province during the latter years of the Sengoku period of Feudal Japan. He was the son of Toki Shigeyori....

 and Toki Motoyori. After becoming a priest later in life, his name was changed to Muneyasu (宗安). His remains are at Zuiryū-ji

Zuiryu-ji (Gifu)

is a Buddhist temple of the Rinzai sect built in Mino Province . It is a branch temple of Myōshin-ji in Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan....

 in the city of Gifu

Gifu, Gifu

is a city located in the south-central portion of Gifu Prefecture, Japan, and serves as the prefectural capital. The city has played an important role in Japan's history because of its location in the middle of the country. During the Sengoku period, various warlords, including Oda Nobunaga, used...

.

Rise to power

When Mochimasu's eldest son, Toki Mochikane (土岐持兼) died, Mochikane's son　 was selected to be the next shugo

Shugo

was a title, commonly translated as "Governor," given to certain officials in feudal Japan. They were each appointed by the shogun to oversee one or more of the provinces of Japan...

(governor) of Mino Province. However, Saitō Toshinaga

Saito Toshinaga

was a daimyo during Japan's Muromachi period. He was the son of Saitō Sōen , shugo of Mino Province, and the older brother of Saitō Myōchin, making him the uncle of the warlord Saitō Dōsan. By his first wife, he was the father of Saitō Toshifuji and Saitō Noriaki...

, a shugodai

Shugodai

were officials during feudal Japan.Shugodai were representatives of provincial shugo when the shugo could not exercise his power, being often away from his province. Unlike shugo, who were appointed from the central power, shugodai were locally appointed....

(vice-governor), pushed Shigeyori to be the next shugo. At the time, Shigeyori was a member of the related Isshiki clan, but was adopted by Mochimasu and succeeded him in 1467. This is one of the many examples during the middle part of the Muromachi period in which the shugodai usurped the power of the shugo; the Saitō clan

Saito clan

The was a Japanese clan in Mino Province during the Sengoku period in the 16th century. According to records, the Saitō clan descended from the Fujiwara clan...

 even had its own power usurped later on.

In 1467, Shigeyori fought for the western armies in the Ōnin War

Onin War

The ' was a civil war that lasted 10 years during the Muromachi period in Japan. A dispute between Hosokawa Katsumoto and Yamana Sōzen escalated into a nationwide war involving the Ashikaga shogunate and a number of daimyo in many regions of Japan....

. He commanded a group of 8,000 men and fought with the forces stationed in Kyoto

Kyoto

is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...

; his actions protected the life of Saitō Myōchin

Saito Myochin

was a daimyo and a monk during the Sengoku period in Japan. Myōchin was the son of Saitō Sōen , who served as the guardian of Mino Province, and the younger brother of Saitō Toshinaga. He began his training as a monk from a young age at Zene-ji...

, the current shugodai of Mino Province. Afterwards, the Tomishima (富島氏 Tomishima-shi) and Nagae (長江氏 Nagae-shi) clans sided with the eastern armies and a civil war broke out within Mino Province, but Myōchin was able to defeat them. Because there were fears that the eastern armies would be able to take control of an influence the bakufu, the western armies worked to gain organize and join with powerful shrines and other strong groups. Through this, Myōchin was able to extend his power to Owari

Owari Province

was an old province of Japan that is now the western half of present day Aichi Prefecture, including much of modern Nagoya. Its abbreviation is Bishū .-History:The province was created in 646....

, Ise

Ise Province

or was a province of Japan including most of modern Mie Prefecture. Ise bordered Iga, Kii, Mino, Ōmi, Owari, Shima, and Yamato Provinces.The ancient provincial capital was at Suzuka...

, Ōmi

Omi Province

is an old province of Japan, which today comprises Shiga Prefecture. It was one of the provinces that made up the Tōsandō circuit. It is nicknamed as .Lake Biwa, Japan's largest lake, is located at the center of the province...

 and Hida

Hida Province

is an old province located in the area of Gifu Prefecture. It was sometimes called . The province was in the Tōsandō area of central Honshu.-History:...

 provinces and Shigeyori was able to exert more influence over the western armies.

Return to Mino Province

In 1477, after the end of the Ōnin War

Onin War

The ' was a civil war that lasted 10 years during the Muromachi period in Japan. A dispute between Hosokawa Katsumoto and Yamana Sōzen escalated into a nationwide war involving the Ashikaga shogunate and a number of daimyo in many regions of Japan....

, Shigeyori gave sanctuary to Ashikaga Yoshimi

Ashikaga Yoshimi

was the brother of Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa, and a rival for the succession in a dispute that would lead to the Ōnin War.Yoshimi was the abbot of a Jōdo monastery when he was first approached by Hosokawa Katsumoto, who wished to support his bid to become Shogun. He originally sought to stick to...

 and his son Ashikaga Yoshitane

Ashikaga Yoshitane

, also known as Ashikaga Yoshiki , was the 10th shogun of the Ashikaga shogunate who headed the shogunate first from 1490 to 1493 and then again from 1508 to 1521 during the Muromachi period of Japan....

, the nominal heads of the western armies, he returned home to Mino Province. Yoshimi and Yoshitane spent the following eleven years living in Kawate Castle

Kawate Castle

was a castle that existed between the Nanboku-chō period and the Sengoku period. Its ruins are located in the present-day city of Gifu, Gifu Prefecture, Japan. An alternative way to write its name in Japanese is 革手城, which has the same pronunciation...

.

After Myōchin died in 1480, Saitō Myōjun and Saitō Toshifuji fought for the right to succeed Myōchin. Myōjun won and further strengthened the power of the Saitō clan

Saito clan

The was a Japanese clan in Mino Province during the Sengoku period in the 16th century. According to records, the Saitō clan descended from the Fujiwara clan...

.