Yamana Mochitoyo

Yamana Mochitoyo (born June 26, 1404, Japan—died April 15, 1473, Kyōto) was the head of the most powerful warrior clan in western Japan in the 15th century. Yamana’s attempts to increase his family’s rank and influence brought him into conflict with a rival clan in eastern Japan and resulted in the Ōnin War (1467–77), which was followed by a century of internecine strife. As a Buddhist monk, he took the name Sōzen, and, because of...