Early Life and Succession
Yoshimoto was born in 1519, the third son of Imagawa Ujichika. of the Imagawa clan-which claimed descent from Emperor Seiwa (850-880). {It was a branch of the Minamoto clan by the Ashikaga clan.} As he was not the eldest son, he was ineligible to inherit the family headship directly from his father. As a result, the young boy was sent to a temple where his name was changed to Baigaku Shōhō (梅岳承芳?). Unrest broke out when his older brother Ujiteru died suddenly in 1536. His elder half-brother, Genkō Etan (玄広恵探?), tried to seize the heirship but the clan split into two factions. Yoshimoto's faction demanded that since Yoshimoto's mother was the consort of Ujichika, he was the rightful heir. Genkō Etan's faction demanded that since he was older, he was the rightful heir. Genkō Etan's mother was a concubine and a member of the Kushima family, but they were defeated and killed in the Hanagura Disturbance (花倉の乱, Hanagura-no-ran?). Baigaku Shōhō changed his name to Yoshimoto at this point and succeeded the clan.
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