He was a member of the Ashikaga shogun family that had descended via eldest son lineage from a family line of the Seiwa-Genji (Minamoto clan) that originated from MINAMOTO no Yoshikuni, Kawachi-Genji (Minamoto clan) head and son of Chinjufu shogun (Commander-in-Chief of the Defense of the North) MINAMOTO no Yoshiie.
家系は清和源氏の一家系　河内源氏の棟梁　鎮守府将軍源義家の子　源義国を祖とする足利氏の嫡流足利将軍家の一門。