Yasutomo Asahina

Yasutomo Asahina was a leading general and advisor to the Imagawa clan. After Yoshimoto Imagawa's demise, Yasutomo took it upon himself to protect Ujizane Imagawa in the conflicts around Suruga. His loyalty and devotion were met with much praise and he ultimately surrendered only to ensure his lord's safety and status were kept in high regard.

Role in games
Yasutomo Asahina is a constant general in the Imagawa ranks throughout the series, appearing mainly at Okehazama. Though not always mentioned by name, he also acts as Yoshimoto's companion in various cutscenes, such as doubting the honesty of Shingen Takeda before Komaki-Nagakute and warning his lord, only to be rebuked and forced to keep counting his lords kick-ups of the kemari ball. In Yoshimoto's Okehazama in Samurai Warriors 2, he serves as the strategist for the campaign against Nobunaga Oda. He is clearly beleaguered trying to make sense of his lord's eccentricates, reminding him to concentrate on the battle at hand before humorously quipping "What did I do to deserve this?" In Samurai Warriors 4, at both Kakegawa Castle and Enshu, he serves as the last line of defense for his lord Ujizane and refuses pleas to defect despite many of his former comrades doing so to both the Tokugawa and the Takeda.

In the Warriors Orochi games, he first appears at the Saika Territory and lures the Wei forces who serve Orochi into a trap. Once his forces at the central village are defeated, the Takeda and Uesugi armies arrive to pincer Zhang Liao and the Wei forces, the player must simultaneously fight both forces and defend the captured village. In subsequent games, he appears as little more than a frontline officer around Yoshimoto.

Live Action Performers

 * Jinza Kei - Butai Nobunaga no Yabou Taishi -Rei- Okehazama Zenya ~Kyoudai Soukoku Hen~

Historical Information
Asahina Yasutomo was born to Asahina Yasuyoshi and was Imagawa Yoshimoto's first cousin, once removed. The exact date of his birth an early life are not well known, but he did take over the Asahina clan when his father passed away and took on administration projects like restoring Ryōzen Temple in 1558. He was also made castellan of Kagegawa castle. When Yoshimoto prepared to march on the capital, Yasutomo joined Ii Naomori in the preemptive assault on Washizu fortress, one of the outlying hill fort that needed to be taken to safely march through Owari. Yasutomo held Ōtaka Castle on the night that Oda Nobunaga led his decisive assault on Yoshimoto's camp at Okehazama.

With the sudden death of his lord, Asahina Yasutomo strove to remain faithful to his new lord, Imagawa Ujizane. Ujizane almost immediately put this faith to the test when he permitted many of his Samurai to engage in personal grudges and being tricked into executing faithful retainers like Ii Naochika. Neighboring clans took notice of this weakness and began to move in. In 1568, Takeda Shingen was the first warlord to take advantage of this weakness, driving Ujizane out of Suruga. Yasutomo offered up his castle, Kagegawa as a new base to reside. With such a setback, more Imagawa officers chose to pledge to Shingen then continuing to resist the Takeda.

Before the year ended, Tokugawa Ieyasu made his move and rebelled, capturing Hamamatsu castle and sending Hattori Hanzō to lay siege to Kagegawa, pinning Yasutomo and his lord. This loss proved the last straw for almost every remaining Imagawa officer, who chose to now join Ieyasu instead. After a five month siege, Yasutomo arranged safe travel for Ujimasa, his wife, and himself out to the Hōjō's land in exchange for surrendering the castle peacefully. All the while, Yasutomo kept up correspondence with the Yamayoshi clan, a vassal of the Uesugi, in order to secure support for his lord. Eventually Ujizane left the Hōjō for a place in Ieyasu's court, but Yasutomo did not join him. Instead, he disappears from historical record, with some hypothesizing that he entered the service of Sakai Tadatsugu.