Biographies XCVIII: Kikuchi Takatoki, Takeshige, Taketoshi and Takemitsu; Yūki Munehiro and Chikamitsu

Kikuchi Takatoki

¶Kikuchi Takatoki, commonly called Jirō, was a man of Higo province. His ancestors descended from Fujiwara-no-Takaie, Chūnagon, Middle Counsellor. Takaie's grandson Noritaka became Dazai-no-gen, Inspector of the Dazaifu; in the second year of Enkyū (1070) he went to Higo and made his home in Kikuchi district, and his descendants founded a house there. For generations they were known as a distinguished clan. Yoshitaka, Takatoki's ancestor six generations back, answered an imperial command and served the throne during the Jōkyū disturbance. His grandfather Takefusa won merit by striking the invaders at the time of the Mongol attacks in the Bun'ei and Kōan years (Note: following the Kikuchi genealogy, and also consulting the petition of Kikuchi Taketomo. According to the genealogy, Takaie fathered Masanori, who grew into a man of valor. When Takaie became Dazai-no-gon-no-sotsu, Provisional Governor-General of the Dazaifu, Masanori accompanied him to his post. In the third year of Kan'nin (1019), when the Toi pirates raided the western frontier, Masanori defended against them and won merit. The court ordered the military officers of Kyūshū to follow Masanori's command, and honored him with a brocade banner and a poem composed by the emperor himself. This Masanori was the father of Noritaka. However, when the Shōyūki and the Chōya Gunsai are examined, the names of those who defended against the Toi pirates are recorded in detail, but the name of Masanori does not appear. Neither does it appear in the Sonpi Bunmyaku or in Taketomo's petition. For this reason this account is not adopted). His father Takamori fathered Tokitaka and Takatoki. Tokitaka disputed land with his uncle Takemoto and brought a suit in Kamakura. The Hōjō decided the matter and awarded the land to Tokitaka. Takemoto bore a grudge over this, and in the end he and Tokitaka stabbed each other and died together. Takatoki succeeded to the household (Note: following the genealogy). Later he shaved his head and took the name Jakua (Note: following the genealogy, Taketomo's petition, and the Taiheiki).

¶In the third year of Genkō (1333), Emperor Go-Daigo took refuge at Mount Funanoe. Takatoki, in concert with Shōni Sadatsune and Ōtomo Sadamune, planned to take up arms for the imperial cause, and secretly sent a memorial to the emperor's temporary residence. The emperor approved, bestowed on him a brocade banner, and encouraged his loyalty. Hōjō Hidetoki, the Chinzei Tandai, Governor-General of Kyūshū, who was at Hakata, heard of the plot and summoned Takatoki. Takatoki realized that the matter had leaked, and sent messengers to Shōni Sadatsune and Ōtomo Sadamune telling them to send out their troops at once and join forces with him. Sadamune hedged and held back his answer, and Sadatsune too, hearing that the imperial armies had been defeated again and again in the capital, grew doubtful and fearful, and in the end beheaded Takatoki's messenger and sent the head to Hidetoki. Takatoki, in a fury of mortification, said, "I resent that I have been outwitted by petty men. Now I will raise my own troops; why should I need your hands?" and at once set out with one hundred and fifty of his household soldiers. As he passed before the Kushida Shrine, his horse stamped and would not advance. Takatoki cursed, "I am going to war; how could the god blame me for passing on horseback?" He took two kaburaya, whistling arrows, and shot them one after another into the doors of the shrine hall. The horse then went forward as before. Afterwards, it is said, people found a great serpent in the shrine precincts, dead from an arrow (Note: the Tenshō text of the Taiheiki says that when Takatoki passed before the Kushida Shrine, he went by way of the foot of the Su shrine, took up one arrow, offered the god a poem of vow, and swore himself to certain death. This seems to duplicate the preceding story, and as it is not found in the other texts, it is not adopted here). Takatoki advanced and attacked Hōjō Hidetoki, and his men all fought keenly, careless of death. Hidetoki was hard pressed and was about to take his own life when Shōni Sadatsune and Ōtomo Sadamune arrived with several thousand troops to his rescue. Seeing that he could not win, Takatoki detached fifty men and gave them to his eldest son Takeshige, charging him, "I now give my life for the great cause; that is my duty. You must hurry home to the province, fortify the castle, gather troops, and avenge your father." Takeshige begged to die with him but was refused, and left, shaking off his tears. Takatoki, with his remaining men, burst into the enemy camp and fell in battle (Note: following the Taiheiki). He was forty-two years old (Note: following the genealogy).

¶When the emperor returned to the capital he had the merits of his ministers recorded. Nitta, Kusunoki, Nawa and the others all took their places in the assembly. Kusunoki Masashige came forward and addressed him: "In the matter of the merits of the Genkō campaign, it is truly hard to say who ranks above whom. But we were simply fortunate to receive your favor. A man like Takatoki, who threw away his life in answer to your command, ought to be ranked first among the meritorious retainers." The emperor nodded in assent (Note: following Taketomo's petition). Takatoki had fifteen children: Takeshige, Taketoshi, Yoritaka, Takeshige (of a different character), Tsuneshige, Takatoshi, Takeyoshi, Takemitsu, Takeyoshi (of a different character), Takenao, Taketoyo, Takehito, Taketaka, Takezumi, and Takekata (Note: following the genealogy).

Kikuchi Takeshige

¶Kikuchi Takeshige was commonly called Saburō. He was appointed Higo-no-kami, Governor of Higo (Note: following the Kikuchi genealogy and the Taiheiki), and later became Sakyō-no-daibu, Master of the Eastern Capital Office (Note: following the genealogy). In the third year of Genkō (1333), when Takatoki attacked Hōjō Hidetoki, Takeshige was ordered to leave the army and return home, to prepare for a second rising. Soon afterwards Shōni Sadatsune raised troops to strike Hidetoki and sent a messenger to inform him. Takeshige said, "He has already deceived my father; now I will repay him," and answered, "If you truly mean to strike Hidetoki, let us talk after we meet in the field," and beheaded the messenger (Note: the passage from "He has already" onward follows the Tenshō text of the Taiheiki). In the Kenmu years he followed Nitta Yoshisada in attacking Ashikaga Takauji. He fought Ashikaga Tadayoshi at Hakone, where Takeshige led the van and broke the enemy. But soon afterwards the imperial army was defeated at Takenoshita and its troops were scattered. Yoshisada meant to withdraw his men but was troubled by how few they were; relying on the fact that Takeshige's force arrived intact, he was able to turn back westward with it. When Takauji violated the imperial residence, Takeshige followed Yoshisada and defended at Ōwatari, but without success, and then escorted the emperor's carriage to the Enryakuji. He also followed Wakiya Yoshisuke and attacked Funasakayama with success. Later, when the emperor was deceived by Takauji and returned to the capital, Takeshige too was seized and made a prisoner. Watching for a gap in the guard, he escaped and returned home (Note: following the Taiheiki), gathered troops, and served the imperial cause. In the second year of Engen (1337), when Isshiki Noriuji invaded Higo, Takeshige and Uji Koremasu, Aso Daiguji, Chief Priest of the Aso shrine, met him at Inuzukabaru and defeated him. Koremasu cut down Isshiki Yoriyuki, and soon afterwards besieged the rebels in Kōshi castle and defeated them again and again (Note: following the petition of Uji Koremasu). Takeshige had no son, and adopted his younger brother Takehito as his heir.

Kikuchi Taketoshi

¶Taketoshi became Kamon-no-suke, Assistant of the Bureau of Housekeeping (Note: following the genealogy. The Taiheiki writes the name as Taketoshi with a different character, which is an error). He raised troops in his home province, in distant response to the imperial army, as Ashikaga Takauji fled westward. Shōni Sadatsune had his son Yorihisa lead an army to meet him. Taketoshi learned of this, set out with over three thousand troops, and lay in wait at the Mizuki crossing. When Yorihisa had already crossed, he struck his rear force and annihilated it (Note: following the Taiheiki). Sadatsune remained at the Dazaifu, but the troops in the provincial seat were few (Note: consulting the Baishōron and the Taiheiki). When Taketoshi was about to attack Sadatsune, Sadatsune marched out to Chikugo. Taketoshi fought and defeated him there, advanced to attack the Dazaifu, and burned all its arms and equipment (Note: following the Baishōron). Sadatsune withdrew and shut himself up on Uchiyama. After the siege had gone on for several days, some of Sadatsune's kinsmen wished to submit and pressed Sadatsune to take his own life. Taketoshi took advantage of this momentum and attacked Takauji in Chikuzen. Takauji, with his younger brother Tadayoshi, met him at Tatarahama, and Taketoshi was defeated and withdrew. Soon the enemy commanders Isshiki Noriuji and Nikki Yoshinaga attacked, and Taketoshi could not hold; he barely escaped by hiding in the mountains (Note: following the Taiheiki). When Takauji withdrew and raised troops again, Taketoshi fought Imagawa Kurando at Karakawa, Toyofuku and other places (Note: following the Shōdai documents).

¶Yoritaka, commonly called Saburō, followed his father in attacking Hōjō Hidetoki and fell in battle together with him. Takeshige (of the different character) became Tsushima-no-kami, Governor of Tsushima. Tsuneshige was commonly called Hachirō. Takatoshi shaved his head and took the name Anichibō, became Chikugo shugodai, Deputy Military Governor of Chikugo, and followed his father and was killed in battle (Note: following the genealogy). Takeyoshi was commonly called Shichirō, and at the battle of Minatogawa he was serving in the army of his eldest brother Takeshige. While Kusunoki Masashige was defending against Takauji at Suma-no-ura, Takeshige sent Takeyoshi to observe how the fighting stood. When he arrived, Masashige's army had already been defeated and Masashige was about to take his own life (Note: following the Taiheiki). Seeing that Takeyoshi had come, Masashige said, "My strength is spent and I am about to die; you are fortunate to live and return, so report this matter." Takeyoshi said, "Is this the time for a man to go back alive?" and the two cut their bellies and died together (Note: following the Imagawa-ke, Mōri-ke, Hōjō-ke and Nanto texts of the Taiheiki. The present work has "Taketomo," but it is now corrected according to the genealogy and Taketomo's petition). Takeyoshi (of the other character) was commonly called Hikojirō (Note: following the genealogy) and later shaved his head and took the name Jikan. In the Tenju years he fought Ōuchi Yoshihiro at Ninauchi and fell in battle (Note: following Taketomo's petition). Takehito became the adopted son of Takeshige, was commonly called Jirō, and became Higo-no-kami (Note: following the genealogy). When Takeshige died, he went back and forth between Higo and Chikugo, repeatedly attacking the enemy armies. Because of this, none among the imperial forces of the two provinces harbored thoughts of defecting (Note: following Taketomo's petition). Soon afterwards he shaved his head and took orders. Taketaka was appointed Hizen-no-kami, Governor of Hizen, and fathered Takenobu and Takeaki, and the family won distinction in war for generations. Takezumi became Higo-no-kami (Note: following the genealogy).

Kikuchi Takemitsu

¶Kikuchi Takemitsu was at first called Toyoda Jūrō. Because Takehito had early given up the duties of the household headship, Takemitsu succeeded to that post, was appointed Higo-no-kami, and also became Hizen-no-kami. Following the teaching of his father and elder brothers, he devoted himself wholeheartedly to the service of the court (Note: following the genealogy). At first Emperor Go-Daigo appointed Prince Kaneyoshi Chinzei Taishōgun, Commander-in-Chief for the Subjugation of the West, and sent him to Tsukushi to pacify it (Note: following the documents of the Aso shrine). In the Kōkoku years (1340-1346) Takemitsu received the prince in Higo and upheld him (Note: consulting the documents of the Aso shrine and Taketomo's petition). He took the field year after year against Ōtomo Ujitoki and Shōni Yorihisa, and defeated them repeatedly (Note: consulting the genealogy, the petition of Uji Koremasu, and the genealogy of the Go-Daigo line).

¶In the thirteenth year of Shōhei (1358) he struck Isshiki Naouji and his younger brother Norimitsu in Chikuzen and put them to flight, and his reputation rose greatly. Yorihisa, Ujitoki and the other powerful families bent before him like grass before the wind. Ashikaga Yoshiakira, hearing of the defeat of Naouji and the others, was greatly alarmed, and again sent his commander Hosokawa Shigeuji at the head of troops to attack, but Shigeuji died of illness on the way. Yorihisa and Ujitoki were deeply ashamed to take direction from Takemitsu and had secretly planned to join forces with Shigeuji, but on hearing of Shigeuji's death they gave up the plan. At that time Takemitsu led five thousand troops and attacked Hatakeyama Kunihisa at Mutsugasa castle in Hyūga. Ujitoki then took up a position near Takasaki castle, and Utsunomiya Hirotomo and Hida Masakazu joined him (Note: the present text of the Taiheiki reads "Hizen" for "Hida," but the various variant texts are followed here), and they sought to hold the narrow passes of Buzen and Chikugo and cut off Takemitsu's route home. Takemitsu judged that Ujitoki could do nothing, and first attacked Kunihisa's son Shigetaka at Mitsumata castle and defeated him. Kunihisa took fright, abandoned Mutsugasa castle, and fled with Shigetaka. Takemitsu then withdrew his army. Ujitoki and the others, seeing his keen edge, shrank back in fear and did not come out. Takemitsu planned to join forces with Yorihisa and with Uji Koremasu, the Aso Daiguji (Note: following the documents of the Aso shrine), to attack Ujitoki, but not yet knowing that these two also had designs of their own, he himself led five thousand men and headed first for Takasaki castle. On the way he heard that Yorihisa had gathered troops and occupied the Dazaifu, and that Koremasu had built nine forts behind the Oguni stronghold; he therefore turned his army back and attacked Koremasu, broke all nine forts, and cut off over three hundred heads. Koremasu barely escaped with his life.

¶The following year, upholding Prince Kaneyoshi (Note: "the following year" follows the Tenshō text), he led over eight thousand horsemen against Shōni Yorihisa. He advanced his army to Kōra, Yamayanagi, Sakamizu, Kōyama and other places. Yorihisa led sixty thousand men to meet him and drew up his lines across the Chikugo river. Takemitsu led five thousand of his own troops and first crossed the river to press upon him. Yorihisa did not fight but fell back about a ri. He set up camp at Ōharu, and when Takemitsu pursued, the enemy had already cut the road, and ahead lay a muddy swamp that could not easily be crossed. Earlier, when Yorihisa had been in Kōra castle and was attacked by Isshiki Naouji, Takemitsu had hurried to his aid and rescued him. Yorihisa was grateful for this and swore, "For seven generations my descendants will not turn against the Kikuchi," and left a pledge written in blood. Takemitsu took up this written oath, hoisted it on a flagpole to shame Yorihisa, and the two armies faced each other for over a month. At night Takemitsu sent his son Takemasa, his nephews Takenobu and Takeaki, and Akahoshi Taketsura and others, seven thousand picked men in all, divided into three bodies, advancing along the Chikugo river with the sound of the water covering their approach. He also chose three hundred stalwart soldiers and sent them at night along by-paths against the enemy's rear, where they raised a war cry and shot arrows like rain. The enemy was thrown into alarm and confusion, their ranks fell into great disorder, and they struck at one another, so that the dead lay in heaps.

¶At dawn Takemasa led his troops in the first assault and killed Yorihisa's son Tadasuke and three of his deputy commanders. Takeaki was killed in this battle. Takenobu and Taketsura followed with a thousand men, met ten thousand of the enemy, fought to the death, took seven hundred heads, and captured Tadasuke's younger brother Yoriyasu. Taketsura, together with Yūki Chikaaki, Katō Munetaka and others, died in battle along with three hundred men. Prince Kaneyoshi and Takemitsu, leading three thousand troops, charged with great shouts into the enemy's center. Arrows fell like rain; the prince received wounds in three places and was in grave danger. Several court officials held off the enemy and fell in battle, and thanks to them the prince was able to escape. Serada Daizen-no-daibu, Master of the Palace Table Office, a certain man, and others also fell. Takemitsu and Takemasa raised their voices to urge on their men and, leading the way themselves, fought fiercely with all their strength. When the enemy recognized Takemitsu, they massed their arrows and shot at him like rain; his horse was wounded and went down, and he took another and charged this way and that, crossing blades with the enemy seventeen times; the armor he wore was cut off and fell to the ground, and he received two sword wounds on his head. His horse was wounded again and in peril, when an enemy commander bore down on him; they grappled on horseback and fell together, and Takemitsu at last cut off his head, mounted his horse, put on armor again, and pressed forward once more. The fighting lasted from the hour of the Hare to the hour of the Cock, and the heads taken numbered over three thousand. Yorihisa was crushingly defeated and fled.

¶In the sixteenth year (1361), once more together with the Nitta kinsmen, he upheld Prince Kaneyoshi, led over five thousand troops, and encamped at Hakata. Shōni Yorihisa, Ōtomo Ujitoki and others, twenty-five thousand men, opposed him and encamped at Kashii. Three thousand of the Matsura band took up a position on Iimoriyama, intending to strike Takemitsu from behind, and the standoff lasted over ten days. Jō Echizen-no-kami, a kinsman of Takemitsu (Note: the Kinshōin text has "Shigetsune" or "Chikakado"), secretly sent a wandering monk to ask the Matsura band whether it was true that "many in the army are plotting to turn to Takemitsu." Echizen-no-kami then led a thousand men, reached the foot of the mountain at daybreak, and raised a war cry. The enemy, long suspicious of one another, had no heart left to fight, and scattered in flight, each trying to get away first; the pursuers cut down nearly all of them. Takemitsu was delighted and said, "I had thought the Matsura troops were strong and not easily to be beaten; now they have already been broken. To defeat the likes of Shōni and Ōtomo is as good as in the palm of my hand." The next day he advanced with the prince and attacked Kashii. Ujitoki had relied on Yorihisa and the others, but on hearing of the defeat of the Matsura band he was seized with fear, abandoned his camp, and fled in rout. Military funds and weapons were left strewn along the roads.

¶The following year (1362) Ashikaga Yoshiakira sent Shiba Ujitsune as Kyūshū Tandai, Governor-General of Kyūshū, to Bungo. Takemitsu had his younger brother Takeyoshi lead five thousand men, including those of Jō Echizen-no-kami and others, to attack him. Ujitsune had his son Matsuōmaru lead seven thousand men, including Yorihisa, Ujitoki, and the Munakata Daiguji, to meet them at Chōjabaru. Takeyoshi's army was defeated; he received wounds in three places and fell back about a ri. Echizen-no-kami fought with fury and cut down over four hundred heads, including the enemy commanders Tsushima Yorisuke and Sukitoshi (Note: "Yorisuke" and "Sukitoshi" follow the Shōni genealogy). The enemy then fled. Takemitsu arrived behind them, joined forces with Takeyoshi, and pursued as far as the Bungo provincial seat. Ujitsune and Ujitoki withdrew and shut themselves in Takasaki castle. Yorihisa and the Munakata Daiguji also holed up in their castles and held out firmly. Takemitsu halted his army at the Bungo seat and divided his troops to attack them, and the confrontation lasted three years.

¶In the nineteenth year (1364), earlier than this, Ōuchi Hiroyo, acting on an imperial command, had put down the enemies in Suō and Nagato and had gone on to keep those two provinces in order. About this time he turned against the court and submitted to Yoshiakira. Yoshiakira then dismissed Hiroyo from the post of Nagato shugo, Military Governor of Nagato, and tried to have a certain Kōtō Suruga-no-kami govern the two provinces as before. Suruga-no-kami resented this, and in the end he surrendered to Takemitsu and asked to borrow troops to attack Hiroyo. Hiroyo led three thousand men to Bungo (Note: some texts have "Buzen"), but Takemitsu, together with Suruga-no-kami, struck and routed him, and Hiroyo asked to submit and departed (Note: following the Taiheiki).

¶Takemitsu had two sons, Takemasa and Yoshimasa. Takemasa succeeded him, was appointed Higo-no-kami (Note: following the genealogy), and, upholding Prince Kaneyoshi, pacified the nine provinces (Note: following Taketomo's petition). In the third year of Bunchū (1374) he died at the age of thirty-five (Note: following the Kaei Sandaiki. "Thirty-five" follows the genealogy). His son Taketomo succeeded him, but was only eleven years old (Note: following Taketomo's petition). He became Higo-no-kami and was appointed Sakyō-gon-no-daibu, Provisional Master of the Eastern Capital Office (Note: following the genealogy). In the Tenju years, Imagawa Sadayo invaded Higo, and Taketomo led his troops and fought at Mizushima and defeated him. Two years later, with the pacification of Chinzei nearly complete, he upheld the Shōgun-no-miya, the Shogun Prince, and advanced his army to the Chikuzen provincial seat. There Sadayo's younger brother Nakaaki raised troops to attack him. Taketomo sent Takekuni to meet him at Hakata and drove him back (Note: following Taketomo's petition. The "Shōgun-no-miya" in the present work is probably Prince Kaneyoshi's son Yoshimune. But at present there is no other evidence, and for the time being the old text is followed).

¶In the third year (Tenju 3, 1377), Ōuchi Yoshihiro came attacking with troops of Buzen and Bungo. Taketomo met him and fought a great battle at Ninauchi. Our army was defeated, and Uedanomiya, the Prince of Ueda, was killed. Kikuchi Takeyoshi, Takeyasu and others also fell in battle (Note: consulting Taketomo's petition and the Gogumaiki. The Gogumaiki says that the Prince of Ueda was a son of the late Miya Sōjō, Bishop Miya. Who this Bishop Miya was is not clear, but he was probably a kinsman of Prince Kaneyoshi. The personal name of the Prince of Ueda is not handed down, and there is now no way to investigate it). Taketomo turned his army back. In the fourth year, Sadayo again came with his army to Takumabaru. Taketomo fought, was defeated and wounded, and lost many of his kinsmen. Just then the Shogun Prince came to his aid with troops and drove Sadayo back. At the beginning of Kōwa (1381) he attacked and put down kinsmen who had rebelled holding Moriyama (Note: following Taketomo's petition). In the fourth year of Ōei (1397), the Kikuchi kinsmen raised troops together with the Shōni, Chiba, Ōmura and others, but were defeated by Ōuchi Yoshihiro (Note: following the Ōeiki). In the fourteenth year (1407) Taketomo died at the age of forty-five; his Buddhist name was Jōchō, and he was called Shintokuji. He had three sons: Kaneyori, Taketate and Eichō. Kaneyori succeeded him and became Higo-no-kami (Note: following the genealogy. "The fourteenth year of Ōei" is inferred from the statement in Taketomo's petition, "the fourth year of Tenju, age sixteen." One text of the genealogy writes "Kaneyori" as "Kanetomo").

Yūki Munehiro

¶Yūki Munehiro bore the surname Fujiwara. His great-grandfather Tomomitsu was highly favored by Minamoto-no-Yoritomo. His father was named Sukehiro and was commonly called Yashichi-zaemon (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku and the Yūki Kafu). Because he made his home at Shirakawa in Mutsu province, he was called the Shirakawa Yūki, to distinguish him from the main line living in Shimōsa province (Note: following the Yūki Kafu). Munehiro became Kōzuke-no-suke, Assistant Governor of Kōzuke, and shaved his head and took the name Dōchū (Note: following the Yūki Kafu, the Yūki documents, and the Taiheiki. The Kinshōin and Saigen'in texts of the Taiheiki, and one text of the Yūki Kafu, have "Genshū").

¶Hōjō Takatoki seized the monk Enkan and placed him in Munehiro's custody, to be confined on his estate. Soon afterwards Munehiro followed the Kantō army to Kasagi. In the third year of Genkō (1333), when the emperor took refuge at Mount Funanoe, many men of loyal purpose appeared in every quarter. At that time Munehiro was in Kamakura, while his son Chikamitsu was engaged in affairs in the capital, but Chikamitsu answered the command of Prince Morinaga and went over to the imperial side, and the prince's order reached as far as Kamakura. Munehiro at once raised troops together with his younger brother Katami Sukeyoshi, Tajima Hirotaka and others, joined Nitta Yoshisada, and with him attacked and took Kamakura. He sent a messenger to report the victory to the throne (Note: following the Yūki documents). When he returned to the capital with the emperor's carriage, Munehiro went to court with Enkan, and by imperial command his estates were confirmed as before (Note: following the Taiheiki). He was further granted the Uda estate in Mutsu (Note: following the Yūki documents). He then accompanied Minamoto Akiie, Chinjufu Daishōgun, Commander-in-Chief of the Pacification Office, in upholding Prince Noriyoshi, returned to Mutsu, and pacified it (Note: following the Genkō Nikki Uragaki). Munehiro became a member of the Hyōjōshū, Council of Deliberation (Note: following the Kenmu Ninen-ki), assisted in the government of the provinces, and brought peace to the districts and counties (Note: following the Genkō Nikki Uragaki).

¶When Ashikaga Takauji rebelled, the emperor took refuge at the Enryakuji, and Munehiro, together with Akiie, upheld Prince Noriyoshi and went to the emperor's aid (Note: consulting the Jinnō Shōtōki and the Taiheiki), attacked the Onjōji, fought repeatedly in the capital, and in the end defeated Takauji. But soon afterwards the provinces rebelled again, and he followed Akiie back to the eastern provinces to pacify them (Note: following the Taiheiki). In the second year of Engen (1337), when fighting broke out within the province, Akiie upheld Prince Noriyoshi and fled, shutting himself up in Ryōzen castle (Note: following the Genkō Nikki Uragaki and the Yūki documents). Munehiro followed him (Note: following the Shirakawa documents). He also sent troops separately to hold Kumano-dō castle as a rear guard for Ryōzen castle (Note: following the Sōma documents). The emperor sent a letter praising Munehiro for his diligent loyalty despite his advanced age (Note: following the Shirakawa documents).

¶He again followed Akiie in attacking Kamakura and reached Nara. When Akiie discussed with the generals which way the army should go, Munehiro said, "Our army has won victory after victory, and the road into the capital is already open. Yet we still shrink before the rebels and cannot cross Kuroji Bridge. To go to Yoshino in this state would be far too timid. We should strike the capital at once and sweep away the rebel traitors. If that cannot be done, we shall at least leave our bodies in the royal city." Akiie thought this right. But before they set out, the enemy commander Momonoi Naonobu and others attacked, Akiie fell in battle, and Munehiro fled to Yoshino. At this time Nitta Yoshisada had died in battle in the northern provinces, Minamoto Akinobu had abandoned Otokoyama and fled, and the court was shaken and did not know what to do.

¶Munehiro submitted a memorial: "In the space of three years Akiie twice sent out great armies to come to your aid, and kept Mutsu and Dewa obedient to the court's authority, leaving no worry behind. Now, while the people's hearts have not yet changed, you should send one of the imperial princes there, raise and openly proclaim your commands, punish the rebel traitors and reward the loyal and the obedient. For a general pacification, there is no need to fear that it will not be accomplished. I have examined the maps: the fifty-four districts of Mutsu amount to nearly half of Japan, and can furnish some four or five hundred thousand troops. I am ready to stake my head to guard the prince, mobilize the people of the districts, and recover the capital. Within a year we can wipe out our former shame." The court's deliberation approved. By imperial command Prince Noriyoshi, together with Minamoto Chikafusa, Jun-daijin, Quasi-Minister (Note: "Chikafusa" follows the Genkō Nikki Uragaki), and Akinobu, were to go to Mutsu. Fearing that the land routes would be blocked by the enemy, the armies all gathered in Ise and set sail from Ōminato (Note: the Saigen'in text has "Toba-no-tsu"). When they reached the Tenryū Sea, they met a storm and the fleet was scattered in every direction. Munehiro's ship drifted for seven days and was cast ashore at Anotsu (Note: the Imagawa-ke and Mōri-ke texts have "Fukiage village"). He waited for the wind for over ten days, fell ill, and was close to death.

¶A monk came and asked, "Death is at hand. There is nothing to do but recite the Buddha's name. If you have anything you wish left behind, I will convey it to your sons." Munehiro, who had been on the point of closing his eyes, on hearing this sat up and laughed, saying, "I have lived seventy years and have nothing in any matter to regret. Only that I should die without having destroyed the rebels is a bitterness beyond all others. I would trouble you to carry my words to my son Chikatomo: do not make offerings to the Buddha nor give alms to monks, and do not recite the holy name or read sutras. Swiftly cut off the rebels' heads and hang them before my grave." When he had finished speaking, he drew his sword in a reverse grip, gritted his teeth, and died (Note: following the Taiheiki). He had sons Chikatomo and Chikamitsu. Chikatomo is recorded in the "Biographies of Shogunal Retainers."

Yūki Chikamitsu

¶Yūki Chikamitsu was commonly called Kurō, and became Kebiishi Saemon-no-jō, Police Commissioner and Lieutenant of the Left Gate Guards (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku). He was called Ōta Hōgan (Note: following the Baishōron and the Yūki Kafu). At the time of the Genkō disturbance he belonged to Hōjō Takatoki, followed Ōsaragi Sadanao in attacking Akasaka castle and took it (Note: following the Taiheiki and the surviving fragments preserved at the Kōmyōji). He then remained at Rokuhara to defend against the imperial army (Note: following the Taiheiki).

¶When he received Prince Morinaga's order, he realized which side was that of the rebels and which that of the loyal. He suddenly set out, reached Yamazaki, and submitted under Akamatsu Norimura (Note: consulting the Yūki documents and the Taiheiki). Because Chikamitsu was brave and skilled in war, the emperor relied on him deeply and treated him very generously (Note: following the Taiheiki). Gradually he came to take part in the affairs of government (Note: following the Baishōron). Later he followed Ashikaga Takauji in attacking Hōjō Tokiyuki (Note: following the Kinshōin text of the Taiheiki).

¶When Takauji rebelled and violated the capital, Chikamitsu followed Minamoto Tadaaki and defended against him at Seta (Note: following the Baishōron). But the imperial army was in the end defeated, and the emperor took refuge at the Enryakuji. Chikamitsu resolved to stab Takauji to death and remained alone in the capital. He had a monk convey a false offer of surrender. Takauji suspected this and sent Ōtomo Sadanori to probe his intentions, and the two met on the way. Sadanori suddenly said to Chikamitsu, "The general has accepted the sincerity you have shown and has sent me to receive your surrender. Take off your armor." Chikamitsu, assuming that Sadanori suspected him, at once drew his sword and cut at him. Sadanori fell from his horse and died on the spot. More than three hundred of his men surrounded Chikamitsu and attacked fiercely. Chikamitsu and fourteen followers fell, stabbing it out with the enemy. The people of the time are said to have deeply lamented it (Note: following the Taiheiki. The Tenshō text of the Taiheiki says the following: formerly, at the battle of Hakone, Ōtomo Sadanori surrendered to Ashikaga Takauji and turned about to shoot at the imperial army, and as a result the army suffered a great defeat. The emperor hated him even more than he hated Takauji. When the emperor's carriage went to the Enryakuji, Sadanori's name again came up. Chikamitsu then planned to stab Sadanori to death. The Baishōron says the following: Chikamitsu went before the emperor and asked, "When the imperial army earlier struck Kamakura, we should have put down the rebels in a single battle. But Ōtomo Sadanori turned his troops partway, so the achievement could not be completed, and Your Majesty has been brought to this pass. I hate him deeply for it. Please allow me now to remain in the capital, pretend to surrender, and stab Sadanori to death in repayment to Your Majesty." The emperor, recognizing his loyal heart, gave his consent. Lord and vassal both shed tears and parted sunk in grief. Returning to the capital, Chikamitsu met Sadanori at Tōji and at once asked to surrender. Sadanori granted it and promised, "When we come near the general's camp, you are to take off your armor." Chikamitsu agreed, took off his sword and came forward, and pretending to hand it over, struck at Sadanori. Grappling with him, he was in the end cut down. Over ten of his kinsmen died with him. Sadanori too was badly wounded and is said to have died after some days. Which account is correct is not known).