{ { Infobox officeholder
| name = Shimazu Yoshihiro
| commands = Iino Castle
| predecessor = Shimazu Yoshihisa
| termend = 1602
| termstart = 1587
| office = Head of Shimazu clan
| mother = Sesshō
| father = Shimazu Takahisa
| nationality = Japanese
| battles =
Early Battles
Battle of Kizaki
Siege of Takabaru
Battle of Mimigawa
Kyūshū campaign
Siege of Iwaya Castle
siege of Kagoshima
Korean campaign
Imjin War
Gangwon campaign
Jeongyu War
Battle of Chilchonryang
Battle of Sacheon
Battle of Noryang
'Sekigahara Campaign
Battle of Sekigahara
| unit = Shimazu clan
| relations = Shimazu Yoshihisa (brother)Shimazu Toshihisa (brother)Shimazu Iehisa (half-brother) | allegiance = Shimazu clan Toyotomi clan Western Army | nickname = "Shimazu Demon"(Oni-Shimazu) | birth_place = Izaku Castle, Satsuma Province | death_date = August 30, 1619 (aged 84) | birth_date = August 21, 1535 | caption = Shimazu Yoshihiro | image = Dai Nihon Rokujūyoshō, Satsuma Shinazu Hyōgo no Kami Yoshihiro by Yoshitora.jpg | native_name = 島津 義弘 | rank = Daimyo | successor = Shimazu Tadatsune | spouse = Hongō Tadataka's daughterSaishō-dono | children = Shimazu HisayasuShimazu Tadatsune }}
was the second son of Shimazu Takahisa and the young brother of Shimazu Yoshihisa. Traditionally believed to be the 17th head of the Shimazu clan, he was a skilled general during the Sengoku period who greatly contributed to the unification of Kyūshū.
Early life
He is said to have been born in Izaku Castle in 1535. He was the castle lord in command of Iino Castle.
Yoshihiro along with Niiro Tadamoto defeated the Itō clan at the Battle of Kizaki, in 1572, and defeated the Otomo clan with his brothers in the 1578 at Battle of Mimigawa. In 1587, facing Toyotomi Hideyoshi's troops that sought to pacify Kyūshū, Yoshihiro pressed for war even after his brother and the head of clan Yoshihisa surrendered. After Yoshihisa repeatedly asked for the surrender, Yoshihiro finally accepted. After Yoshihisa became a Buddhist monk, it was believed that he became the head of the clan, though the real power remained in Yoshihisa's hands.
Service under Hideyoshi
He had been a willing and skillful general under Toyotomi Hideyoshi. In both 1592 and 1597 of the Seven-Year War, Yoshihiro set his foot on the Korean peninsula and successfully carried out a series of battles. In 1597, working together with Tōdō Takatora, Katō Yoshiaki and Konishi Yukinaga, Yoshihiro defeated Won Kyun's navy. At the Battle of Sacheon (泗川) in 1598, facing a Ming army counting 37,000, Yoshihiro defeated them with only 7,000 soldiers. On the final battle of the war in 1598, the Battle of Noryang, Yoshihiro's objective was to cross the Noryang Strait, link up with Konishi and retreat to Japan.The Korean admiral Yi Sun-sin who had obstructed Yoshiaki died in this battle. Afterward, Yoshihiro rescued the Japanese commanders and returned to Japan.
Battle of Sekigahara
After Toyotomi Hideyoshi's death in 1598, the land became split between Toyotomi supporters backing Ishida Mitsunari and those that supported Tokugawa Ieyasu, eventually culminating in the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600. According to novels (Rakusuishū 『落穂集』) of the Edo Period, Yoshihiro was initially supposed to Ieyasu's side. He was crushed by Ishida Mitsunari's army upon his arrival for a rescue Torii Mototada during the siege of Fushimi Castle and, after being humiliated, he took the side of Ishida Mitsunari instead. However, recent research indicated that Yoshihiro had chosen to side with Mitsunari from the very start, before Mōri Terumoto announced the declaration of war against the Tokugawa in July 1600. Yoshihiro also played an important role as a member of Mitsunari's core staff and was pivotal in persuading Uesugi Kagekatsu to ally with them.