He took over as the head of the family when his father, Yoshimoto, was killed by Nobunaga ODA at the Battle of Okehazama, but when he was invaded by Shingen TAKEDA and Ieyasu TOKUGAWA he lost, and the Imagawa family was destroyed as a daimyo.
父・義元が桶狭間の戦いで織田信長によって討たれたため家督を継いだが、武田信玄と徳川家康の侵攻を受けて敗れ、大名としての今川家は滅亡した。