He battled numerous times with Yamana's rival, Hosokawa Katsumoto, at one point commanding 20,000 men and 2,000 boats, moving his troops by land as well as by sea.
In 1473, both Yamana and Hosokawa died, but Ōuchi refused to lay down his arms until the Shogunal succession was decided.
Finally in 1475, after most other daimyōs had submitted to the Shōgun's rule, Ōuchi did the same, and returned to his home in Kyoto.
Ōuchi then left the city, establishing himself in his family's ancestral domains of Yamaguchi and seeking to recreate the depth of Kyoto culture there.
He also invited a number of famous artists to his home, including Sesshū, who painted the Long Scroll (Chōkan) for him in 1486.