Biographies XCIX: Nitta Yoshisada

Nitta Yoshisada

¶Nitta Yoshisada was commonly called Kotarō (Note: the printed Sonpi Bunmyaku has Tarō, and the Masukagami has Koshirō, but both are probably mistaken). He was a man of Nitta district in Kōzuke province and a descendant in the tenth generation of Minamoto-no-Yoshiie. Yoshiie's son Yoshikuni fathered Yoshishige; Yoshishige fathered Yoshikane; Yoshikane fathered Yoshifusa, Kurōdo, Secretary of the Jōsaimon-in; Yoshifusa fathered Masayoshi; Masayoshi fathered Masauji; Masauji fathered Motouji; Motouji fathered Tomouji; and Tomouji fathered Yoshisada. Because the family held Nitta district, Serada, and other villages generation after generation, they took the name Nitta (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku; for Serada, following the Taiheiki).

¶In the spring of the third year of Genkō (1333), when the emperor (Emperor Go-Daigo) had been banished to Oki, Imperial Prince Moriyoshi held to Mount Yoshino, and Kusunoki Masashige built a fortress on Mount Chihaya (Note: Chihaya Castle), each gathering troops and planning a recovery. Hōjō Takatoki divided his forces and sent them against these two. The Prince was defeated and fled, so the shogunate's armies could concentrate on attacking Masashige.

¶At this time Yoshisada was serving in the army besieging Chihaya, but in his heart he secretly intended to submit to the imperial court. He confided his plan in private to his retainer Funada Yoshimasa, saying: "In former times the Minamoto and the Taira stood at court and held each other's power in check. Our house has for generations possessed the capacity to serve as commanders and has been esteemed among the clans. That we lost our strength and have been driven to follow another house is by no means my wish. Of late the conduct of the Sagami Nyūdō (Hōjō Takatoki) has been utterly dissolute, and he is hastening his own ruin. Now is the time to raise troops and strike him down, to relieve the anxiety of the Son of Heaven and raise the fame of our house. But this cannot be done without proper authority. I hear that the Ōtō-no-Miya (Imperial Prince Moriyoshi) is hiding in the mountains nearby. Will you obtain his ryōji, his princely order, for me?"

¶The Ōtō-no-Miya was none other than Imperial Prince Moriyoshi. Yoshimasa sought it by stratagem and obtained the order. Its text, modeled on the form of a rinji (an imperial command), read: "To rule the myriad lands by virtue is the virtue of an enlightened sovereign; to put down disorder and pacify the four seas is the duty of a warrior-subject. In recent years Hōjō Takatoki has scorned the laws of the court and wielded his rebellious power at will. Through the extremity of his accumulated evil deeds, Heaven's punishment is already plain. That you now wish to ease the sovereign's heart and raise a righteous army is a matter that deeply moves the imperial approval. The reward for such merit will by no means be slight. Swiftly lay your plans of punitive war and achieve the merit of restoring peace" (Note: in strictness a document issued by an Imperial Prince should be called a ryōji, and it is doubtful that the form of a rinji is used here. According to the Masukagami, at this time Imperial Prince Moriyoshi frequently sent secret messengers to the temporary palace on Mount Senjō. Whether the document sent to Yoshisada was in the form of a ryōji is not clear. But since there is no other evidence to rely on, the text of the present work is followed for the time being).

¶Yoshisada was overjoyed. The next day he pleaded illness and at last withdrew to his home province. Every day he gathered his kinsmen and the young men of his house and planned the overthrow of Hōjō Takatoki. In the summer, Takatoki's forces were defeated in Kyoto. The shogunate therefore dispatched yet greater armies and levied military provisions on every district and county. Since Serada was by nature a wealthy land, a special levy of sixty thousand sen was laid on it, with a deadline of five days, and officials were sent to press the villagers; but the collection was exceedingly harsh and hurried. Yoshisada seized those officials, executed them, and exposed their heads.

¶Takatoki was greatly enraged and prepared to send troops to attack him. Yoshisada, together with his younger brother Yoshisuke, led one hundred and fifty men, among them Ōdate Muneuji and his sons Yukiuji, Ujiaki, and Ujikane, Horiguchi Sadamitsu and his younger brother Yukiyoshi, Iwamatsu Tsuneie, Satomi Yoshitane, Eda Yukiyoshi, and Momonoi Naoyoshi, and raised his standard before the shrine of Ikushina Myōjin. They set up the Nakaguro banner, the emblem of the Nitta, read the princely order aloud, and marched out to Kasakake Moor.

¶At nightfall his kinsman Ōiida Tsunetaka, together with the Satomi, Toriyama, and Hakawa houses, arrived from Echigo leading about two thousand troops. Yoshisada was both startled and delighted, and said: "We had not yet had time to send word of today's undertaking. How did you come so quickly?" Tsunetaka bent low in his saddle and replied: "Four days ago someone came proclaiming in Echigo that 'my lord has raised troops in obedience to an imperial command.' So we hurriedly made ready and pressed on along the road. Kinsmen from farther away will surely follow." He had not finished speaking when more than a thousand men of the Minamoto clan from Echigo, Kai, and Shinano also came galloping in.

¶Advancing to Musashi province, they found that soldiers of Kōzuke, Shimotsuke, Kazusa, Hitachi, and Musashi had gathered without any agreement, and the army had already grown to more than twenty thousand men (Note: this work says two hundred thousand, but here the Kinshōin text is followed). Its momentum was great.

¶They fought Sakurada Sadakuni, a general of Hōjō Takatoki, at the Iruma River, and engaged more than thirty times in a single day. The next day they fought again at Kume River, and Sadakuni was defeated and fled to Bubai. Takatoki sent his younger brother Yasuie at the head of troops to support him. Yoshisada advanced to attack but was heavily defeated, and withdrew to hold Horigane.

¶Just then Miura Yoshikatsu, a man of Sagami (Note: the Ōtawa Kafu gives Yoshiyuki, but it is not known which is correct), joined him with more than six thousand troops. Yoshisada received him with the fullest courtesy and asked him about military matters. Yoshikatsu replied: "When the realm is divided in two and heroes arise one after another, victory and defeat commonly trade places. But which side it finally falls to will surely be decided by the will of Heaven. How could your enterprise fail to succeed? Fortunately I can add my troops to your army, and I urge you to advance and fight."

¶Yoshisada said: "That enemy is fresh and high in spirit. With our weary troops it will be hard to withstand his keen edge." Yoshikatsu said: "In tomorrow's battle I pledge to you a certain victory. When a general grows proud after a victory and his soldiers grow slack, that is how Wuxin Jun (Note: a general of Zhao) came to be defeated. Yesterday I sent spies to scout the enemy, and I learn that their commander is exceedingly arrogant. He is surely about to follow in the footsteps of Song Yi. I ask to send my own men ahead as the vanguard before you." Yoshisada agreed.

¶The next morning Yoshikatsu became the vanguard, advancing quietly with banners furled, and Yoshisada followed. When they closed in from three sides, the enemy soldiers were startled and routed, and Hōjō Yasuie barely escaped with his life alone. Oyama Hidetomo and Chiba Sadatane defeated Kanezawa Sadayuki, another of Takatoki's generals, at Tsurumi (Note: for Tsurumi, following the Baishōron).

¶Yoshisada's army grew ever stronger. Advancing, it halted for one day at Sekido, and then divided into three columns. Yoshisada and Yoshisuke went by Kewai Pass, and Horiguchi Sadamitsu and a certain Ōshima held it (Note: the Kinshōin text of the Taiheiki gives Yoshimae). Kobukuro Pass was taken by a certain commander, and Ōdate Muneuji and Eda Yukiyoshi went by Gokuraku-ji Pass, burning the houses of the people as they closed in on Kamakura. In one day and one night there were sixty-five engagements.

¶Yoshisada, together with Horiguchi Sadamitsu, won a victory and advanced into Yamanouchi. Ōdate Muneuji attacked Gokuraku-ji Pass but was defeated and killed, and his men broke and fled. Yoshisada therefore led twenty thousand picked troops and, in the night, followed a hidden road to Gokuraku-ji Pass. Tens of thousands of enemy troops held the top of the pass in firm defense, had raised palisades to block the main routes, and had lined the shore with many warships, so that Yoshisada's army could not easily pass.

¶Yoshisada then dismounted, faced the sea, took off his helmet, and prostrated himself in prayer: "The Son of Heaven is being pressed by rebel traitors and has been moved to the western lands. Your subject Yoshisada dares to take up the axe (Note: the weapon symbolizing the authority to punish), and is resolved to go deep into enemy ground, to quell the troubles of the state and set right the royal civilizing influence. Humbly I pray to the Dragon Gods of the Eight Orders. May you take note of your subject's loyalty, draw back the tide and open a road." Then he unbuckled the gilt-mounted sword at his waist and threw it into the sea. When dawn came the tide had gone out and bared more than twenty chō of sand, and all the enemy warships were carried off drifting on that tide.

¶Yoshisada was greatly pleased and said: "Of old the Nisui (Note: Li Su of Tang) is said to have struck a mountain and obtained a spring, and the Empress Jingū to have cast a jewel and driven back the tide. A wonder of a thousand ages in Japan and China, and now I have met with one myself." With a great voice he commanded his troops and attacked straight into Kamakura. The enemy soldiers guarding the pass were startled and thrown into confusion, and had no time to defend and fight. The armies of Eda Yukiyoshi, Horiguchi Sadamitsu, and the others pressed forward one after another, vying to be first. They set fires everywhere, and just then a fierce wind blew, so that the shogunate's mansions caught fire in turn. The cries of women filled the smoke and flames. The army took advantage of its momentum and fought from all four sides, and the slain were beyond counting. Hōjō Takatoki at last fled to Kasaigayatsu (Note: Tōshō-ji) and killed himself together with his whole clan. From the raising of troops to this point, Kamakura was pacified in about fifteen days.

¶He then sent three successive messengers galloping off to report the victory to the temporary palace. Yoshisada remained in Kamakura, seized and put to death Hōjō Takatoki's son Kunitoki, Kanō Shigemitsu, and others, and searched out the remnants thoroughly. He comforted and received those who surrendered and submitted, and his prestige rose day by day. Among the powerful men of the eight provinces of the Kantō, there were none who did not follow his orders.

¶At this time the emperor had moved from Oki to Mount Senjō, and since the imperial army had recovered Kyoto, he was discussing a return to the capital. The ministers remonstrated that Hōjō Takatoki had not yet been destroyed, but the emperor would not listen and set out. Just as the imperial procession reached Hyōgo, news from Yoshisada arrived. The emperor was greatly pleased and granted official rank to the messenger (Note: that rank was granted follows the Tenshō text). He also conferred upon Yoshisada from afar the office of Sama-no-suke, Assistant Director of the Left Equestrian Bureau.

¶In the first year of Kenmu (1334), Yoshisada came to court, was granted Junior Fourth Rank Upper, and was appointed Sahyōe-no-kami, Commander of the Left Gate Guards (Note: whether Yoshisada became Commander of the Left Gate Guards in this year or the next is not clear. It is set down here for the time being). He concurrently became Harima-no-kami, Governor of Harima, and held the post of shugo over the two provinces of Kōzuke and Harima (Note: in this year Akamatsu Norimura was shugo of Harima, so there would not have been two shugo set over one province at the same time. According to this work, Norimura was soon stripped of his post as shugo, so the grant to Yoshisada probably took place at that time. The old text is followed for the time being). He served as night guard of the capital.

¶At this time the emperor doted on Ashikaga Takauji and employed him heavily, trusting his words (Note: following the Taiheiki). He seized Imperial Prince Moriyoshi and handed him over to Takauji's younger brother Tadayoshi, who confined him at Kamakura. Yoshisada was of the same clan as Takauji, but there had long been a slight feud between them and they were not on good terms. Takauji had harbored treasonous intentions from the first, and secretly feared Yoshisada, constantly plotting to remove him, though he had not yet acted (Note: the Taiheiki and the Baishōron have been consulted and combined).

¶In autumn of the second year of Kenmu (1335) (Note: "second year" follows the Tenshō text), the army of Hōjō Tokiyuki attacked Kamakura, and Tadayoshi killed Imperial Prince Moriyoshi and fled. The court did not yet know this and sent Takauji anew to attack Tokiyuki. Takauji remained in Kamakura and defied the imperial order. He took away entirely the holdings of Yoshisada's kin in the Kantō, submitted memorials of protest, and recruited troops, all of it in the name of punishing Yoshisada.

¶When Yoshisada heard this, he confiscated all the Ashikaga holdings within his own jurisdiction and submitted a memorial setting forth the traitorous plots, saying:

¶"When the imperial army first began to win victories, Kusunoki Masashige stood in the south and Akamatsu Enshin in the west, righteous armies rose on every side, and the six armies of the court crouched like tigers awaiting their moment. At that time Ashikaga Takauji, in obedience to the orders of the rebels of the eastern lands, entered Kyoto with his whole clan; but seeing that the imperial army was riding on victory, he had in his heart the wish to escape death, and he watched the wind and could not decide, still harboring two minds. Only after Nagoe Takaie was defeated did he at last join the imperial army in Tanba province. Had the righteous banners not closed in on Kyoto, and had the rebel commanders not been brought to offer up their heads, could he alone have taken up arms and faced a strong enemy? Nevertheless, with little merit he demands heavy rewards, is suspicious of the loyalty and service of others, and heaps up false slanders in the hope of bringing them down. If one weighs what lies behind his words, his rebellious heart is plain.

¶"Now, it was on the eighth day of the fifth month that I, your subject, received a rinji and raised troops in Kōzuke. It was on the seventh day of the same month that Takauji joined the imperial army and attacked Rokuhara. The two places lie more than eight hundred ri apart, and news could not have traveled in that single day. Nevertheless he falsely reported that I raised troops only after hearing of the rebels' defeat in the capital. This is the first of his crimes.

¶"It was on the third day of the sixth month that Takauji's son Yoshiakira entered Kamakura with a hundred and some followers. It was on the twenty-second day of the fifth month that I, your subject, led a million troops and annihilated the vicious chieftain (Hōjō Takatoki). Nevertheless he falsely claims that merit was established by relying on a young and weak child (Yoshiakira). This is the second of his crimes.

¶"Though Takauji had not yet received any command, he arbitrarily imposed prohibitions in the capital and exposed and executed the heads of soldiers of the Imperial Prince. That he carried out punishments without holding the office for it is the third of his crimes.

¶"After the disorders, the distant provinces had not yet been settled, and so an imperial son (Imperial Prince Nariyoshi) was ordered to open a shogunate in the east. Nevertheless Takauji, proud of the favor shown him, plans to extend his power and set up his authority, and covets the rank and title of shogun. This is the fourth of his crimes.

¶"Takauji styles himself governor of the eight eastern provinces, nurtures troops to secure patronage, and harms the people to gather profit. The conduct of a subject so improper need not be argued again. This is the fifth of his crimes.

¶"There is no such thing as a Heavenly mandate that does not return; that government orders have come back to a single source and the reign has returned to the form of antiquity is truly owing to the strength of Hyōbu-kyō Shinnō, the Imperial Prince Moriyoshi. Nevertheless Takauji contrived various slanders and brought the Prince down into exile. This is the sixth of his crimes.

¶"That the Prince was lowered was within the heart of the Son of Heaven, who intended to curb the Prince's arrogance. Nevertheless Takauji used public deliberation as a pretext to indulge his private grudge, and seized the Prince and confined him in a prison. This is the seventh of his crimes.

¶"Ashikaga Tadayoshi, pressed by Hōjō Tokiyuki, withdrew without fighting, but before doing so he had already sent a man to turn the blade on the Prince. This great treason and lawless deed cannot even be put into words. The particulars have not yet reached official ears, but rumor in the world has already made them known. This is the eighth of his crimes.

¶"If these eight rebellious crimes are left alone and unquestioned, the four cords that support the state will surely snap, the eight pillars will lean, and repentance afterward will be of no avail. They are about to give free rein to their treachery, and to that end they first seek to remove the loyal. I humbly pray that the Son of Heaven look on this clearly, and issue an edict to punish Takauji, Tadayoshi, and the other rebel partisans."

¶When this memorial was presented, it was sent down to the deliberation of the court nobles. The Sangi, Councillor, Fujiwara-no-Kiyotada submitted: "Comparing the two memorials, I judge that Takauji's crimes are the weightier. Moreover, the matter of the killing of the Imperial Prince has now for the first time reached the imperial ear. If it is true, the crime ought not to be pardoned." Just then a lady-in-waiting of Imperial Prince Moriyoshi returned from Kamakura and reported the affair, and dozens of letters announcing Takauji's rebellion also arrived from the provinces of the Nankaidō and Saikaidō, and so an edict to punish Ashikaga Takauji was at last issued.

¶Imperial Prince Takayoshi, Nakatsukasa-kyō, Minister of the Central Affairs, was made Governor-General of the East, and Yoshisada was made Commander-in-Chief and Plenipotentiary General; leading more than sixty-seven thousand troops, they advanced by the Tōkaidō. The Daichi-in-no-Miya and Imperial Prince Tadafusa, Danjō-no-in, Director of the Board of Censors, led seven thousand men under Gon-Chūnagon, Provisional Middle Counsellor, Fujiwara-no-Saneyo and others, and advanced separately by the Tōsandō.

¶On the day Yoshisada was to take his leave of the emperor, he came to the palace with his army drawn up in array, and his arms and armor were brilliant and splendid. Under the old system, when a commanding general set out on campaign, a ceremony was held in the palace and he was granted the sessetsu-tō, the sword of authority, and the ekirei, the post-bells. But in the Jishō years, when Taira-no-Koremori went to subdue the east, he was not granted the sword of authority. Since that campaign ended unfavorably, the court deliberated and decided to restore the full ceremony in sending Yoshisada. Yoshisada, for his part, followed the precedent of Taira-no-Masamori's campaign against Minamoto-no-Yoshichika: he sent Funada Yoshimasa to surround Takauji's residence at Takakura. They raised the battle cry three times, loosed two humming-bulb arrows, hacked at the gatepost, and then departed.

¶Takauji sent out troops to hold the Yahagi River. Yoshisada drew up his army at a distance from the river and sent archers forward to shoot and lure the enemy out. The enemy did indeed cross the river to attack, and the imperial army fought in relays and killed and wounded great numbers. That same night the enemy fled to Sagisaka.

¶Utsunomiya Kintsuna, together with Owari Masayoshi, a certain Nishina, a certain Aiso, and others, attacked Sagisaka with more than three thousand troops and again defeated the enemy and put them to flight. Ashikaga Tadayoshi came as reinforcement leading more than twenty thousand men and encamped east of the Tegoshi River. Yoshisada had Yoshisuke and others cross the river and strike them. Only when darkness fell did the troops withdraw, but the enemy killed were beyond counting. At midnight Yoshisada secretly sent troops to approach the enemy camp and shoot at random. The enemy host was startled and thrown into disorder, and fled back to Kamakura.

¶Yoshisada won one victory after another; the enemy soldiers he caused to surrender numbered tens of thousands in all, and he advanced and entered the provincial office of Izu. Takauji was at his wits' end and did not know what to do, but because the army of the Tōsandō had not yet arrived, Yoshisada stayed several days at the provincial office of Izu. In the meantime the scattered enemy gathered again, and even those who had already surrendered rebelled again and went over to the enemy; styling themselves three hundred thousand, they came out to the steep ground of Takenoshita and Hakone and held it firmly.

¶Yoshisuke followed Imperial Prince Takayoshi to attack Takenoshita but did not prevail, and the imperial army was routed. Yoshisada fought Ashikaga Tadayoshi at Hakone. Yoshisada directed the army from high ground, and all his forces, taking advantage of their momentum, fought with vigor and were all but on the point of victory. But the next morning, when they heard of the defeat of Imperial Prince Takayoshi's force, the whole army was seized with terror, and almost all fled or surrendered.

¶When Funada Yoshimasa went around inspecting the camps, he found the banners and curtains still standing in solemn order, but not a single human voice could be heard. He hastily reported this to Yoshisada. Yoshisada abandoned the camp with only about a hundred attendants and withdrew. Owari Masayoshi, Kikuchi Takeshige, and a band of sixteen horsemen caught up with him from behind, and they withdrew fighting. Reaching Ukishimagahara, they broke more than five hundred Kai Genji troops and made them surrender. The scattered soldiers gradually gathered again, and he obtained more than seven thousand men (Note: following the Taiheiki).

¶When they reached the Tenryū River, the water suddenly rose, and as men and horses were also weary, they stayed there three days, pressing laborers into service and having them pull down houses to build a floating bridge. Yoshisada remained on the east bank as rear guard and advanced only after waiting for his own men to finish crossing (Note: following the Taiheiki. The Baishōron has also been consulted and combined).

¶The troops were about to remove the floating bridge, but Yoshisada said in anger: "Even after a fresh defeat we were still able to build this bridge. How much more so would the enemy, who are winning? Burning boats and breaking bridges is what men of old did when they sought a decisive battle. If we try to block the enemy by this means now, the enemy will laugh at our cowardice. I would be deeply ashamed of that." So he left the bridge in the keeping of the local people and departed (Note: following the Baishōron).

¶When they reached the post-station at Yahagi, many of the troops again deserted. Utsunomiya Kintsuna said: "If we stay here and pass several more days, the enemy's partisans will very likely cut the road ahead. I beg that we quickly move the army to the Kinai region and make our preparations relying on the reed-grown sandbars and the waterways." The generals too said: "If we remain long in a far frontier, some unforeseen disturbance may arise within the palace." Yoshisada followed this advice, withdrew, and encamped in Owari.

¶Just at this time, in Kyoto the government was in disorder, and the provinces had turned against the court and answered Takauji's call; the court was shaken and alarmed and hastily recalled Yoshisada. In the spring of the first year of Engen (1336), Takauji closed in on Kyoto and the populace was in uproar. People tore down their houses to carry out their goods, and one after another fled and hid in mountains and forests. Many of the troops also ran away, and those who remained no longer had any will to fight.

¶Yoshisada therefore divided his commanders and men to guard the various roads, and himself led ten thousand troops to hold Ōwatari and block the enemy. He drove stakes into the water, built a turret on the bridge, and removed some three ken of the bridge planking, leaving the girders uncut. He had the troops guarding the bank revile the enemy to lure them out. More than five hundred of the enemy tried to cross on rafts, but were stopped by the stakes and could not advance. When our side shot arrows at them without letup, the current suddenly grew violent and the rafts broke apart, and the enemy all drowned.

¶The troops guarding the bridge reviled the enemy again to lure them out. The enemy chose three men of strength and daring and had them reach the foot of the turret, where they pulled at the pillars until they all but broke them. Our side pretended to withdraw, and the enemy took advantage and pressed forward, each vying to be first. The bridge collapsed, and more than a thousand drowned. But the next day the enemy broke through Yamazaki and raced on to Kyoto.

¶Yoshisada hurried back with his troops and, escorting the emperor, shut himself up in the Enryaku-ji. The enemy general Hosokawa Jōzen occupied the Onjō-ji (Miidera) as a stronghold and was preparing to attack the temporary palace. Just then Chinjufu-shōgun, Commander-in-Chief of the Defense of the North, Minamoto-no-Akiie arrived to the rescue leading fifty thousand troops of Mutsu and Dewa, and Yoshisada took counsel with him and decided to attack the Onjō-ji.

¶At night he sent his generals to take up positions at the foot of the mountain. The warrior-monks of the Enryaku-ji moved and encamped on Nyoigatake. Several hundred ships of a naval force were floated on the lake to guard against flanking fire. At daybreak, the armies set fire to the houses of the people of Ōtsu and attacked; but it went badly and they withdrew, and the enemy took advantage of the momentum and pursued them. As the fires in the houses were blazing fiercely, the fleet on the lake shot arrows at random like rain, but could not advance. Yoshisada loosed his troops in a charge and broke the enemy.

¶Advancing, he closed in on the Onjō-ji. Kuryū Akitomo and others were first to climb the wall and seize the gate. Yoshisada attacked into the temple and set fire to it. The warrior-monks of Nyoigatake looked down on this, came down the mountain, and appeared at the enemy's rear. They burned every hall to the ground, and inside and out was in an uproar. Fighting hard under cover of the smoke, they took more than seven thousand three hundred heads. Jōzen fled to Kyoto, and Akiie drew up his army and withdrew.

¶Yoshisada, with more than thirty thousand troops of his own, pursued the enemy, caught up at Yamashina, drove them into a narrow place and struck them. The enemy, startled, scattered in confusion, trampling one another, and the fallen corpses lay strung along the road.

¶Having thus entered Kyoto, Yoshisada divided his army into three. One column went to Shōgunzuka, one to Shinnyodō, and one to Nijō Riverbank. Takauji also came out in person at the head of his troops to meet them. From Kawai no Mori to the Shichijō riverbank, men and horses were packed tight, stretching more than a ri from north to south. Yoshisada climbed Kachōzan and looked out over it and said: "The enemy host is twice ours. Here we should win by an unorthodox stratagem."

¶From within the army he chose men who knew one another by sight and formed them into units of fifty each. In all he gained more than a thousand men; he had them furl their banners and remove their identifying hat-marks, pose as stragglers of the defeated force of the Onjō-ji, and mingle among the enemy ranks, with the agreement: "Rise up when the two armies engage." Soon the armies met in close combat; but although Takauji's army was large in number, it was not under control, and our army alternately advanced and withdrew.

¶From noon until the hour of the Tori (evening) they fought more than sixty engagements and won every time. The men who had been sent in earlier suddenly raised the Nakaguro banners and rose up with loud shouts on Takauji's left and right. The enemy host was startled and thrown into confusion, began to strike one another, no longer knew which way to turn, and was utterly defeated and fled. The armies pursued as far as the Katsura River and then withdrew, and remained encamped in Kyoto.

¶That same night Hosokawa Jōzen turned back and attacked. Since the units had gone out scattered, there was no one to defend and fight. Funada Yoshimasa and others were killed by disorderly soldiers, and Yoshisada, heavily defeated, withdrew to Sakamoto. Takauji entered Kyoto again.

¶Just then the Daichi-in-no-Miya and Imperial Prince Tadafusa arrived at Sakamoto with twenty thousand troops of the Tōsandō, and the army revived. Yoshisada therefore agreed with his generals to advance together at night. Kusunoki Masashige, Nawa Nagatoshi, and Yūki Munehiro encamped at Shimomatsu, Minamoto-no-Akiie at Yamashina, and Fujiwara-no-Saneyo at Akayama. The warrior-monks of the Enryaku-ji encamped at Shishigatani, and Yoshisada was stationed at Kita-Shirakawa.

¶When dawn came, the warrior-monks advanced and took Kaguraoka. Kusunoki Masashige and others defeated Ashikaga Takatsune at Izumoji, and Akiie raised his troops and fought Takauji's side at the Shijō riverbank. Yoshisada struck the enemy lines with more than thirty thousand men. When the enemy saw the banners they were startled and said, "The Nakaguro banner has come!" and merely at the sight of the wind they broke and collapsed. Yoshisada changed his dress and rode deep into the enemy alone and shot at Takauji, but did not kill him, so he split off down another road and chased him. As night fell, he returned to the camp at Sakamoto following Masashige's plan. Takauji entered Kyoto again.

¶Three days later Yoshisada attacked again together with the generals, and Takauji was defeated and fled to Hyōgo (Note: following the Taiheiki). Yoshisada several times returned to Kyoto. The next day he led his generals in haste to Hyōgo, defeated Ashikaga Tadayoshi at Teshimagawara, and further defeated Hosokawa Kazuuji at Segawa. Just then Doi Michiharu and Tokunō Michitoki arrived at a gallop leading naval forces, and together with them he also defeated Tadayoshi at the post-station of Uchide. Takauji at last took to the sea and fled west (Note: the Taiheiki and the Baishōron have been consulted and combined).

¶Yoshisada gathered more than ten thousand surrendered troops and withdrew his army, and for that achievement was appointed Sakonoe-no-chūjō, Middle Captain of the Left Imperial Guards. After about a month, the provinces of San'in and San'yō rose again and answered Takauji's call. An edict was issued placing sixteen provinces of San'in and San'yō under Yoshisada's authority, and sending him to subdue them.

¶Just then Yoshisada fell ill and could not advance. He first sent ahead to Harima more than two thousand men under Eda Yukiyoshi, Ōdate Ujiaki, and others. When Yoshisada recovered from his illness, he set out soon after and stayed several days at Kakogawa, where the assembled soldiers numbered more than sixty thousand; he advanced to the post-station of Ikaruga and planned to attack Akamatsu Norimura's Shirahata Castle. Norimura falsely begged to surrender. Yoshisada believed him and sent an express messenger asking for the court's decision. The round trip took more than ten days, during which Norimura finished repairing the castle's defenses, and then uttered insolent words and denounced the court.

¶Yoshisada was enraged, surrounded the castle in many rings and attacked day and night, determined to take it, but after a month he had not been able to bring it down. So he detached more than twenty thousand men under Yoshisuke, Eda Yukiyoshi, Ōiida Ujitsune, and others and sent them to attack Ishibashi Kazuyoshi at Funasakayama. Just then Kojima Takanori raised troops at Kumayama and answered the call, and they attacked from front and rear and won. Yoshisuke advanced and surrounded Mitsuishi Castle, Eda Yukiyoshi advanced and subdued Mimasaka, and Ōiida Ujitsune occupied Fukuyama Castle in Bitchū.

¶Before long Takauji, leading a great army, came east by sea. Tadayoshi led the land army and attacked Fukuyama Castle. Ujitsune was defeated and withdrew and joined Yoshisuke's army. Yoshisuke sent an express rider to report the defeat. Yoshisada replied: "The enemy is advancing by water and land at the same time. If we try to block the land army, the naval force will very likely strike straight at the capital. For now we should withdraw our positions to Settsu, hold both armies in check, and guard the imperial capital. Lift the siege and withdraw to the mountain villages and join us." And he sent a messenger to Mimasaka to summon Yukiyoshi.

¶Yoshisada finally lifted the siege of Shirahata Castle, withdrew, and remained two days west of Kakogawa, waiting for Yoshisuke, Yukiyoshi, and the others to arrive. It happened that long rains had swollen the water, our troops were many, and the enemy was also closing in. The men begged Yoshisada to lead the generals and prepare boats and cross first. Yoshisada said: "If the enemy closes in suddenly before our army has finished crossing, our line of retreat will be cut, and everyone will be resolved to die. This is what is called fighting with one's back to the water. Moreover, there is no harm if I set out after waiting for the armies to finish crossing."

¶So he first sent off the wounded and those whose horses were too weary to ride. At dawn, when the water had gone down, Yoshisuke's army also arrived, and all crossed the river together and reached Hyōgo, but more than half of the officers and men had deserted. When an express rider hurried to report to the court, the whole court was seized with fear. They therefore sent Kusunoki Masashige to join in defending against the enemy.

¶Yoshisada met with Masashige, asked about the court's deliberations and its plans, and said: "The enemy's momentum is strong, and to drive beaten troops against them is truly difficult. Only, last year we lost an army in the Kantō, and it gave rise to public criticism. Now again, having marched west under an imperial command, before taking a single castle, to turn back suddenly on hearing that a large enemy army is closing in is something I privately feel ashamed of. Therefore I wish to stake my life on a single battle. Victory or defeat is no longer a matter that concerns me."

¶Masashige said: "To advance when the opportunity offers and withdraw as the time requires is the way of a general. Why should you give any thought to idle talk in the world? Last year you annihilated Takatoki, and this spring you broke Takauji and put him to flight. This was by the good fortune of the Son of Heaven, but it was also through your own martial skill. Who can raise an objection to your conduct of arms?" Hearing this, Yoshisada felt his heart clear, and they drank through the night.

¶The next day Takauji's army of several hundred thousand by land and sea arrived, with banners covering the sky and ships covering the sea. Yoshisada deployed his generals: he had Yoshisuke lead more than five thousand men and encamp on Kyōgashima, and Ōdate Ujiaki lead three thousand and encamp south of the Tōrō-dō to guard against the naval force. Kusunoki Masashige, with seven hundred and more men of his own command, was set to encamp west of the post-station of Minatogawa to guard against the land army. Yoshisada himself led more than twenty-five thousand men to hold Wadanosaki, coordinating the armies.

¶The enemy vanguard Hosokawa Jōzen advanced toward Kyōgashima with a fleet of several hundred ships. More than two hundred men landed first, but Yoshisuke's troops struck and wiped them out. Jōzen directed his fleet toward Konbe-no-ura to the east. Yoshisada, together with Yoshisuke and Ujiaki, led all their soldiers and pursued them along the shore. In that interval Takauji's great fleet of several thousand ships landed at Wadanosaki. Tadayoshi's infantry attacked from Suma. Kusunoki Masashige was killed in battle here.

¶Yoshisada reached Nishinomiya (Note: the Mōri-ke text, Hōjō-ke text, Saigen-in text, Nanto text, and Tenshō text all give Wakinohama), saw Jōzen's banners in the distance, and said: "These are all only enemy lieutenants, those who came by way of Minatogawa. Ashikaga Takauji and his brother are the true rebels." So he turned the army back with Ikuta no Mori at his back, deployed his generals in three positions, and fought with all his strength, but was finally defeated.

¶The enemy's pursuit was hard, so Yoshisada himself served as rear guard and turned back to fight. His horse was struck by an arrow and fell, and he stood on a mound by the road waiting for a fresh horse. Enemy soldiers pressed in and surrounded him, each vying to be first, but Yoshisada shot an arrow and felled one man (Note: that he shot down one man follows the Saigen-in text). The enemy, daunted by this, did not come close, and instead massed their arrows and shot at him. On this day Yoshisada wore the famed armor called Usugane, and with two famous swords, Onikiri and Onimaru, in his two hands he cut down the flying arrows, striking some and dodging others, and the lightness and speed of his body were as those of a god. Oyamada Takaie galloped up, gave Yoshisada his own horse, and fought on foot and was killed. Thanks to this, Yoshisada was able to escape, and entered Kyoto by way of Tanba. The emperor's progress was hurried, and he again withdrew to the Enryaku-ji.

¶Takauji entered the Tō-ji and made it his base, dividing his troops into three to attack the temporary palace. Yoshisada and the generals held Higashizaka, dug moats, built bridges, lined up lookout towers, and arrayed war boats on the lake like scales. The court nobles and warrior-monks were guarding Nishizaka, but relying on the steepness of the terrain they were negligent in their preparations. The enemy came straight on, but at that moment a deep fog settled on the mountain so that nothing could be seen before one's eyes, and the warrior-monks took advantage of it and drove the enemy back.

¶A few days later the enemy attacked again, and the imperial army fared badly; they hurriedly rang the bell of the Daikōdō to sound the alarm. Yoshisada led six thousand troops, raced up Mount Hiei, and together with Utsunomiya Kintsuna attacked down from the heights. The enemy collapsed and fled down the mountain, each vying to be first, and the dead filled the valleys. Yoshisada then encamped on Ōtake. For more than ten days, from morning to night, they continued to fight, and only then did the army come to an agreement: if any sudden emergency arose on Higashizaka or Nishizaka, each side would ring a bell to inform the other.

¶The next morning a troop of monkeys rang the bell in confusion, and the armies, thinking the enemy had come, vied with one another to gather at Higashizaka and Nishizaka. The enemy lines saw this and wavered, whereupon our side came down the mountain to attack and defeated them utterly. The enemy's men and horses were trampled, and the dead were piled one upon another. Yoshisada's men took alive the enemy general Kō-no-Moroshige; the warrior-monks begged for him and cut him down, and his head was exposed at Karasaki.

¶Through repeated defeats the enemy's soldiers were scattered in every direction. After more than ten days they gradually gathered again, but the imperial army judged that the enemy troops were still few and could be attacked. Kintsuna and the others advanced to attack the Tō-ji, but the enemy sent troops out into various lanes of Kyoto and met them there. The imperial army was defeated and withdrew, and the enemy's strength flourished again.

¶Just then Fujiwara-no-Moromoto, former Gon-Dainagon, Provisional Major Counsellor, came galloping to the crisis with more than three thousand troops from the northern provinces. They then planned again to attack the Tō-ji. When the line of march was discussed, the men said: "To go through Kyoto to the Tō-ji, the streets of the city are narrow in many places, and advance and retreat are very difficult. This is why we were defeated the other day. We should divide the army in two, setting fire in the west from Uchino and in the east from the riverbank, and catch them between." But there happened to be a traitor, who secretly informed the enemy of this plan, and the imperial army did not notice.

¶Fujiwara-no-Moromoto and the others entered from the riverbank and Yoshisada advanced from Uchino, but they were again defeated and withdrew. The warrior-monks of the Enryaku-ji sent a letter to the Kōfuku-ji asking for reinforcements, and the Kōfuku-ji agreed. Soldiers of the Kinai who had been holding their weapons and watching events now one after another showed their sincerity and asked to become allies of the imperial generals. Accordingly, various generals, including Chūnagon Fujiwara-no-Takasuke, were dispatched to command them, and they blocked the roads leading to Kyoto from all four directions and cut off the enemy's supply lines for provisions.

¶In this way soldiers of the provinces, in tens and hundreds, came in crowds, and those gathering at the temporary palace day after day did not cease. The enemy was greatly distressed. The court nobles urged Yoshisada to attack (Note: that they urged Yoshisada follows the Kinshōin text). Yoshisada therefore sent three thousand troops of Awa and Awaji to Amidagamine and had them burn many torches at night to make the army look large. Together with the armies of Fujiwara-no-Takasuke and others in the various directions, he decided to fix a day and advance from all four sides.

¶When the day arrived, Yoshisada, followed by forty-three men of his clan, went to the palace to take his leave. The emperor cheered and encouraged him with a gentle countenance, and Yoshisada prostrated himself and replied: "Success or failure depends on the sacred fortune of Your Majesty, and is not something I, your subject, can foretell. Only, if today I should approach the enemy lines and fail to loose even a single arrow, I will certainly not return alive."

¶He then divided his troops into three, and advanced by Ōmiya, Inokuma, and Shijō, burning as they went and fighting from place to place, and the enemy troops bowed before them. At last they reached the Tō-ji, approached Takauji's camp, and called out: "That the realm is in turmoil is because of the two of us. We should not idly seek personal fame and injure the lives of the people. I propose that we meet in single combat and exchange at least a single arrow." As soon as he finished speaking, the arrow he shot pierced the pillar of the room in which Takauji sat, so that the arrowhead was buried.

¶Suddenly enemy soldiers closed in unexpectedly from behind, and Yoshisada galloped his horse, broke through, and escaped. The enemy swarmed together again like clouds and surrounded him in many rings. An arrow struck Yoshisada's forehead, and blood covered his face (Note: from "struck" onward follows the Kinshōin text). Yoshisada had his officers and men all turn their horses' heads to the west, resolved to go to a place of death.

¶Now, when the army had set out from the temporary palace, the emperor had himself attended and taken off the crimson hakama he was wearing (Note: the Baishōron says a brocade banner), cut it into pieces, and distributed them among the officers and men. The soldiers were all moved, and tied the scraps to their hats as marks and set out. Now at this point those eight hundred soldiers fought with all their strength, broke through the encirclement, and went in, and bore Yoshisada away (Note: the eight hundred soldiers and the bearing away follow the Kinshōin text).

¶That day, Yoshisada had agreed with Fujiwara-no-Takasuke and others to enter Kyoto together at the hour of the Mi (about ten in the morning), using the raising of a fire as the signal. But just then a fire broke out in the houses of Kita-Shirakawa, and Takasuke advanced and fought ahead of the appointed time and was defeated. The troops at Amidagamine and the armies from the other directions were all defeated as well. The Kōfuku-ji broke its promise and did not come to the field, and the imperial army withdrew and held the foot of Sakamoto (Note: following the Taiheiki).

¶Before long Takauji set up Kōmyō-in as emperor (Note: following the Rekidai Kōki). Ever since the emperor had gone to the Enryaku-ji, from the sixth month to the ninth month, the provisions for the two hundred thousand soldiers in attendance had all been supplied by the warrior-monks of the Enryaku-ji. The warrior-monks exhausted their resources in arranging it, and still it was not enough. By this time the enemy had further cut the supply routes on the northeast, and the imperial army sallied out repeatedly to contest them but could not prevail. The soldiers fell into hunger and want and deserted one after another, and the units dwindled day by day.

¶In winter, the emperor secretly accepted Ashikaga Takauji's offer of peace and was about to return to Kyoto. Fujiwara-no-Saneyo sent a man galloping to tell Yoshisada. Yoshisada was at that moment receiving his officers in audience, and on hearing this did not believe it, saying: "This messenger is merely talking nonsense." Horiguchi Sadamitsu rushed there first and saw that the emperor's carriage had already been made ready. Sadamitsu prostrated himself before the throne and pleaded in tears, holding back the return, and only then did the emperor understand his heart.

¶Yoshisada, with his sons and younger kinsmen, led three thousand troops to the palace and sat in rows below the steps, all with anger in their faces yet grave in bearing. The emperor had Yoshisada and Yoshisuke come forward and said: "When Ashikaga Takauji, presuming on favor, plotted rebellion, I thought that since you were of the same clan as he you would surely side with him. Instead you have held up a tottering and endangered court and been wholly faithful to righteousness. I deeply recognize your loyalty, and wished to rely on your house to pacify the realm. But the mandate of Heaven is not yet with us, and the strength of the troops is exhausted, so for the time being I mean to make peace with the rebels and return to Kyoto to plan what follows.

¶"Only, I feared that this matter might leak, and meant to tell you on the eve of departure. But that Sadamitsu came in haste to plead with me must be because he did not yet grasp the subtlety of the matter. Yet I am not without feeling for his words. Now Kawashima Koreyori is in Echizen to the north, and the Shinto priest of Kehi has built a castle at Tsuruga and responds to the imperial army. You should go there, take hold of the region, and make the circuit of the northern provinces to plan for recovery.

¶"I think that once I have entered Kyoto, you will certainly bear the name of rebel. Therefore today I transfer the throne to the Crown Prince and entrust him to you to take with you. All the affairs of the realm I leave in your hands. Serve the heir to the throne with reverence, as if serving me." As he spoke these words tears fell, and all who were present prostrated themselves choking with tears.

¶That night Yoshisada prayed at the Hie Shrine: "O god, continue to extend your protection, let your subject go forward unharmed on his road, and let the righteous army be raised again to destroy the vicious rebels. If that cannot be, then grant that among my descendants there be one who can repay the state." Then he dedicated one precious sword (Note: the Baishōron says a suit of red armor). The next day the emperor's carriage entered Kyoto. Yoshisada escorted the Crown Prince (Imperial Prince Tsuneyoshi) and Imperial Prince Takayoshi and set out north.

¶When they reached Shiotsu, they heard that the enemy was lying in wait at a dangerous place ahead, and changed their road to cross Kinome Pass. At this time rain and snow were falling in the mountains in bitter cold, and the whole party slept in the open, lying embracing one another, or burned bows and arrows for fires. The men and horses that froze to death could not be counted. The three hundred troops of Kōno Michinawa and Tokunō Michitoki met the enemy and were all annihilated. Chiba Sadatane, with more than five hundred men, turned against them and surrendered to the enemy. After three days of hardship, Yoshisada at last reached Tsuruga-no-tsu. Kehi Ujiharu came out to meet him and received him into Kanegasaki Castle.

¶Yoshisada sent his eldest son Yoshiaki to Echigo and Yoshisuke to Somayama to summon the troops of the provinces. Ashikaga Takatsune surrounded Kanegasaki Castle with more than twenty thousand men. Yoshisuke and Yoshiaki turned back from midway and drove them off by an unorthodox stratagem. Yoshisada then floated a boat and held a great banquet for the Crown Prince and Imperial Prince Takayoshi. Yoshisada and Yoshisuke each took up an instrument and played. Just then a fish leaped into the boat, and Fujiwara-no-Saneyo, citing the precedent of King Wu of Zhou, cut it open and sacrificed to Heaven. The Crown Prince received the leftover offering, and everyone ended the banquet in great harmony.

¶The enemy sent out yet greater forces and attacked by water and land. The garrison held the high ground and shot arrows and hurled stones. The enemy dead were counted by the thousand in a single day, and after more than a month they were still unable to come close. At this time the emperor (Emperor Go-Daigo) had moved to Yoshino, and soldiers of the Kinai were gathering at the temporary palace day by day, and so he sent Watari Tadakage bearing an edict to Yoshisada, bidding him strive with all his strength for recovery.

¶In spring of the second year of Engen (1337), Wakiya Yoshiharu sent troops from Somayama to the rescue, but they were defeated on the way. After this, outside reinforcements ceased, and provisions too were already exhausted, so they gathered sea products to stave off hunger. After that, every morning they slaughtered a horse to supply the daily food of the officers and men. But as the season gradually warmed and the snow melted and the roads opened, the enemy gathered below the castle day by day until they reached a hundred thousand. Yoshisada judged that he could not sustain the pressure, and together with Yoshisuke and Fujiwara-no-Saneyo he secretly left the castle and went to Somayama, planning to gather troops and drive back the enemy.

¶After ten days or so they had obtained only five hundred and some men, and armor and horses were still not in sufficient supply. In the further ten-odd days that passed, the enemy at last took Kanegasaki Castle. The Crown Prince was taken captive, and Imperial Prince Takayoshi and Yoshiaki killed themselves. Yoshisada lay hidden at Somayama for about half a year, sent out secret messengers to summon his old partisans, and gathered more than three thousand men.

¶Takauji again sent Ashikaga Takatsune, leading more than six thousand men, into the provincial office of Echizen to face Yoshisada. Shikiji, Yamagishi, and others, men of Kaga, raised troops and answered Yoshisada's call. Hata Tokiyoshi was made commander and had them hold the Kaga–Echizen border, and they took Tenshōji Castle. The warrior-monks of the Heisen-ji also held Mitsumine and responded and supported them, so Yoshisuke was sent to command that force and bring it up against the provincial office of Echizen.

¶In spring of the third year of Engen (1338), Yoshisuke went out with more than a hundred men to inspect a camp. The enemy sent troops out to take him by surprise. Yoshisuke raised a fire to give the alarm. Yoshisada rushed to him leading more than three thousand men, and Takatsune met them with more than three thousand as well, and they drew up on opposite sides of the river. The snow had just melted and the water was high, but the imperial army churned the current and pushed across. In the midst of the battle the warrior-monks of Mitsumine came out behind the enemy and set fire to burn the provincial office. The enemy looked back in alarm and withdrew. Yoshisada took advantage of this, pursued, and attacked into the provincial office.

¶Takatsune fled to Asuwa and held Kuromaru Castle, but the other partisans' strongholds that collapsed on rumor alone numbered more than thirty (Note: "more than thirty strongholds" follows the Tenshō text; this work says seventy-three). The whole of Hokuriku trembled at this, and righteous armies rose again on every side, each holding its province or district and awaiting Yoshisada's entry into Kyoto. But Yoshisada resolved to destroy Takatsune first and only then advance to the campaign.

¶In summer he took the field at the provincial office and sent Fujiwara-no-Yukizane, Konoe-no-shōshō, Lesser Captain of the Palace Guards, together with Hosoya Hidekuni and Funada Tsunemasa, to attack Takatsune. Yukizane and the others scorned the enemy and attacked in haste, and were defeated and withdrew. In autumn Ōiida Ujitsune arrived with twenty thousand troops of Echigo, and Yoshisada's army flourished again, and he prepared to attack Kuromaru Castle once more. He further improved his siege equipment and resolved to take it without fail.

¶At this time Yoshisada's second son Yoshioki had gone west with Minamoto-no-Akiie, but just then Akiie was killed in battle, and Yoshioki and Akiie's younger brother Akinobu, Konoe-no-shōshō, gathered the scattered troops and shut themselves up in Otokoyama, where they were surrounded by the enemy. The emperor issued an edict with his own hand to Yoshisada, ordering him to lead troops to the rescue. Yoshisada rejoiced and said: "Since ancient times there have been many Minamoto and Taira warrior-subjects who rendered service to the royal house, but I have never heard of any being granted an edict by the emperor himself. Now I have received the highest honor. How could I not repay it at this time?" So he sent a cho to the Enryaku-ji asking for cooperation. The warrior-monks were greatly pleased and agreed.

¶As Yoshisada was about to set out, he reasoned that leaving Takatsune behind as a concern at his back would bring disaster, so he himself remained in Echizen with more than three thousand men to hold him in check, and gave twenty thousand men to Yoshisuke to go first to relieve Otokoyama. But before they arrived he heard that Otokoyama had fallen, and turned back. Yoshisada then went out to Kawai, planning to take Kuromaru Castle.

¶Takatsune was seized with fear, repaired his defenses on a large scale, and set up seven camps so that they could support one another. The warrior-monks of the Heisen-ji turned against Yoshisada again, took position at Fujishima, and answered Takatsune's call. Yoshisada had a dream one night: "He fought Takatsune at the Asuwa River, and within a few days his own body turned into a long serpent and lay writhing. Takatsune was startled and fled." The next morning he told the people, and all said: "A dragon drives clouds and rain and shakes heaven and earth. That Takatsune should lose his senses and flee in alarm is therefore a most auspicious dream."

¶Saitō Dōken (Note: some variant texts give Dōyū. The Mōri-ke text gives Kojima Takanori, but this is probably mistaken), hearing of it, said privately: "The way the realm is divided and contending resembles the age of the Three Kingdoms. When the Sleeping Dragon (Zhuge Liang) died, Shu was the first to fall. Moreover, the dragon is a creature of yang nature, and in the season of yin it hides its body. Now it is about autumn, and for that dragon to appear by the water means it has lost its true nature. I cannot think that this is an auspicious dream."

¶On the second day of the intercalary seventh month, Yoshisada fixed the day and led his troops out. As he was about to mount, the horse reared and went wild, and the groom holding the reins was nearly killed. When crossing the Asuwa River, the horse of the soldier carrying the banner suddenly fell, and the banner toppled into the current, and people took it as an ill omen. Yoshisada drew up near the Tōmyō-ji and divided his troops to attack the seven camps. The enemy soldiers at Fujishima wavered, and our side took advantage of the momentum and climbed the ramparts. The warrior-monks fought hard, and past the hour of Hoji (evening) the imperial army was close to being driven back.

¶Yoshisada, enraged, changed horses and armor, and with fifty horsemen rushed to the rescue by a hidden road. Takatsune sent out three hundred infantry to relieve Fujishima, and Yoshisada met them on the way. The enemy hid behind shields and shot arrows at random, and our men carried no shields for defense and could only shield Yoshisada with their own bodies. His attendant Nakano Munemasa (Note: the name Munemasa follows the Kinshōin text; Munemasa is also written Jōchō) gave Yoshisada a look and said: "A strong crossbow of a thousand jun is not triggered for a single field mouse."

¶Yoshisada said: "To abandon my troops and escape alone is not what I desire." And he whipped his horse forward. The horse took five arrows and fell into a muddy swamp. Yoshisada tried to rise, and a flying arrow struck his forehead. Realizing he could not escape, he at last cut his own throat and died (Note: following the Taiheiki). He was thirty-eight years old (Note: following the Seiwa Genji Keizu). Nakano Munemasa, Yūki Chikaharu, Kanamochi Shigeoki, and others cut open their bellies and followed him in death (Note: the names of the two follow the Kinshōin text). All those who had followed him were also killed in battle.

¶At this time a misty rain hung in the dim light, and none of the other forces in the end came galloping to the rescue. When evening fell, several horsemen returned to Kawai, and the people, seeing them from afar and thinking it was Yoshisada, each withdrew as he saw fit, and only afterward learned of his death. Almost all fled, scattered, or surrendered, and the northern provinces could no longer be held (Note: following the Taiheiki).

¶Yoshisada had three sons, Yoshiaki, Yoshioki, and Yoshimune (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku and the Taiheiki. The Yura Keizu says that Yoshisada's son Sadauji was only six years old when his father died, was raised afterward by Yokose Shinkurō, took his surname, and later became the Yura clan. Whether this is true is not clear). Each has a separate biography.