When Nobunaga was en route to Kyoto in 1568, supporting Yoshiaki ASHIKAGA, the younger brother of Yoshiteru ASHIKAGA, the 13th shogun of the Muromachi bakufu, Ieyasu sent his troops to help Nobunaga.
永禄11年（1568年）、信長が室町幕府13代将軍・足利義輝の弟・足利義昭を奉じて上洛の途につくと、家康も信長へ援軍を派遣した。