The war officially began in 1467 with a strong attack by Hosokawa Katsumoto's forces against the Isshiki mansion in Kyoto. Attacks and counter attacks proceeded for several months until 1468 which left much of Kyoto in ashes and rubble. The fighting between families related to the belligerents spread to the provinces and continued through 1476. However, both Hosokawa Katsumoto and Yamana Sozen, who had started the war, had been dead for three years.