However, by 1464, he was convinced to join his brother, the shōgun, and assist him, putting himself into a position to be the next in the line of succession.

The birth of the Shōgun's son placed Yoshimi in an awkward situation, making his succession no longer definite, but he remained as Yoshimasa's Deputy.

Hosokawa did not attend, as he was preparing for the imminent war between himself and Yamana, who supported the succession of the shōgun's infant son Ashikaga Yoshihisa.

Through a set of complicated events, Yoshimi became one of Yamana's chief generals, and was declared a "rebel" by the Emperor, and stripped of his court rank.

[1] Yamana and Hosokawa both died soon afterwards, in 1473, and the Ōnin War came to an end in 1477, along with Yoshimi's political aspirations.