Jochi KAI (the shugodai, deputy military governor, of Echizen and Totomi Provinces) was the vassal and steward of the Shiba clan and he was in charge of the family for years, along with Mochitane, Yoshitoshi's father, but they conflicted over the leadership of the family.
斯波家被官で執事の甲斐常治（越前・遠江守護代）は、義敏の父の持種とともに、長年にわたって家中を指揮していたが、常治と持種は主導権を巡って対立する。