Biographies CXXX: The Shogunal Retainers, Part XIII

Hōjō Tokifusa

¶Hōjō Tokifusa was first named Tokitsura and was styled Gorō. He was a younger brother of Hōjō Yoshitoki. In the Genkyū era (1204-1206) he served successively as Tōtōmi-no-kami and Suruga-no-kami, then became Musashi-no-kami and was granted Junior Fifth Rank Lower (Note: following the Hōjō Keizu). In the rebellion of Wada Yoshimori, Tokifusa fought hard, and for this service he was granted the Obu estate in Kazusa province as a fief and was transferred to the post of Sagami-no-kami (Note: following the Azuma Kagami). In the third year of Jōkyū (1221), Yoshitoki ordered Yasutoki and Tokifusa to lead troops to Kyoto. When they reached Tōtōmi, more than ten soldiers of the imperial army passed in front of Tokifusa's host; Tokifusa had every one of them cut down and exposed their heads on the left side of the road. Yamada Shigetada and others, together with the warrior monks of Enryaku-ji, removed the Seta Bridge and defended the crossing. Tokifusa fought in the vanguard but did not prevail; as it happened, Yasutoki broke the imperial army at Uji, and Tokifusa, together with Yasutoki, pressed the advantage and drove straight into Kyoto (Note: following the Azuma Kagami and the Jōkyūki), where he pacified the southern quarter of Rokuhara (Note: following the Shōgun Shikken Shidai and the Keizu). He also held concurrently the post of Constable of Ise. When Yoshitoki died he returned to Kamakura and, together with Yasutoki, countersigned documents as Rensho to the Regent. Before long he concurrently became Shuri-no-gon-no-daibu, resigned as Sagami-no-kami, and rose in rank to Senior Fourth Rank Lower (Note: recorded with reference to the Azuma Kagami and the Shōgun Shikken Shidai). There were warriors who had received no reward for the Jōkyū campaign, and Tokifusa repeatedly petitioned on their behalf but was not heard. He therefore asked to surrender four of his own private estates, and distributed them among those who had rendered service (Note: this supplies an omission in the Azuma Kagami). Once, while he was holding a drinking party at his residence, Yasutoki suddenly fell ill. The members of his household all said, "You should go to inquire after him," but Tokifusa would not listen. "That I can enjoy myself today," he said, "is because the Governor of Musashi (Yasutoki) is in good health. If anything were to happen to the Governor of Musashi, I would resign my post and retire far away. How could I again drink wine in good cheer?" And he laughed and made merry, quite unconcerned (Note: following the Azuma Kagami Hui). In the early years of Ninji (1240-1243) he died (Note: following the Kantō Hyōjōden and the Azuma Kagami Hui).

¶Tokifusa took the name Osaragi from his residence. His sons were Tokimori, Tokimura, Suketoki, Tomonao, and Tokinao. The deeds of Tokimori are given in the biography of his son Ōgo Tokiharu. Tomonao took Osaragi as his clan name. In the first year of Kenchō (1249), when the post of Hikitsuke Tōnin, Head of the Section of Appeals, was first established in the Hyōjōsho, Tomonao was appointed to it; he served successively as Sagami-no-kami and Musashi-no-kami, was transferred to Tōtōmi-no-kami, and was granted Senior Fifth Rank Lower. In the first year of Bun'ei (1264) he died (Note: following the Kantō Hyōjōden). His sons were Tomofusa and Nobutoki. Tomofusa was styled Musashi Tarō (Note: following the Keizu). Once, having been expelled by his father, he was living in seclusion; when he heard that Miura Yasumura had raised a rebellion, he galloped to the scene alone, without even taking time to put on his armor. Yasumura's soldiers vied with one another to cut him down, and he was hard pressed, but allied troops came to his rescue and he escaped (Note: following the Azuma Kagami). Later he became Bitchū-no-kami (Note: following the Keizu). Nobutoki was first named Tokitada; he served successively as Musashi-no-kami and Mutsu-no-kami and was granted Junior Fourth Rank Lower. In the Kōan era (1278-1288) he served as Rensho to the Regent. Nobutoki's son Munezane and grandson Koresada likewise served one after another as Rensho to the Regent in the Kagen and Kakyaku eras (1303-1306, 1326-1329) (Note: recorded with reference to the Shōgun Shikken Shidai and the Teiō Hennenki).

Hōjō Tokinao

¶Hōjō Tokinao was Tōtōmi-no-kami. In the early years of Genkō (1331-1334), Hōjō Takatoki appointed him Nagato Tandai, Commissioner of Nagato. Soon after he took up his post, Kōtō Sōsai, Kōjō Dōshō, and others attacked, and Tokinao took to ship with his own followers and fled eastward (Note: from the words "took up his post" onward, the account follows the Tenshō text of the Taiheiki). On the way he heard that Takatoki had been put to death and meant to make for Tsukushi; but as it happened the Tsukushi Tandai, Hōjō Hidetoki, had also been destroyed by Shōni Sadatsune, and Tokinao, in dire straits, surrendered to Sadatsune. Shimazu Sadahisa, acting on a petition from the monk Shunga, spared Tokinao's life. Shunga was called the Mine Sōjō, and was a maternal relative of the emperor. When Kasagi fell, Takatoki had seized Shunga and exiled him to Nagato; but when the emperor returned to the capital, Shunga was charged with administering affairs in Kyushu, and he said to Tokinao: "Fortune and misfortune are two sides of one coin; good and ill have no fixed course. In the days when I was in exile, I was humiliated by you, and I never imagined that a day like this would come. I will repay you with kindness and save your life." He thereupon sent an envoy to report to the throne, and the emperor, for Shunga's sake, made a special exception of pardoning Tokinao and restored his fief (Note: following the Taiheiki). Tokinao's grandson Tokitoshi was Aki-no-kami and likewise served as one of Takatoki's generals in resisting the imperial army. When Takatoki was put to death, Tokitoshi, together with his son Sakyō-no-suke Sadatoshi, at first surrendered, but was soon put to death (Note: following the Taiheiki and the Keizu).

Hōjō Tomotoki

¶Hōjō Tomotoki was a younger brother of Yasutoki and was called the Nagoe clan (Note: following the Hōjō Keizu). He had a gift for stratagem and surpassed others in physical strength, but once he abducted a lady-in-waiting of the wife of Minamoto no Sanetomo and fled to Suruga. After more than a year Sanetomo pardoned his offense and summoned him back to Kamakura. At the time of the rebellion of Wada Yoshimori, Tomotoki led troops and engaged Asahina Yoshihide (Note: following the Azuma Kagami). Soon afterward he was appointed Shikibu-no-jō (Note: following the Kantō Hyōjōden). In the Jōkyū campaign, together with Yūki Tomohiro and Sasaki Nobuzane, he led forty thousand troops by the Hokurikudō and reached Echigo. Miyazaki Sadanori of the imperial army held the strong position of Kambara and had set up deer-horn palisades along the seashore, waiting in ambush with concealed crossbows. Tomotoki gathered seventy or eighty oxen, bound torches to their horns, released them under cover of night, and had his soldiers shout and raise an uproar behind the oxen. The oxen charged in fury; the imperial army, greatly alarmed and thinking the enemy was upon them, discharged all their hidden crossbows. Many oxen were killed or wounded, and the crossbow bolts could no longer keep up, so Tomotoki's army took the opportunity to pass through and advance westward. Tomotoki urged his troops further forward, attacked the stockades of Shiho and Kurosaka and took them both, and fighting from one position to the next, pressed in upon Kyoto (Note: recorded with reference to the Azuma Kagami and the Jōkyūki). There he joined forces with Yasutoki's army. He served successively as Suō-no-kami, Echigo-no-kami, and Tōtōmi-no-kami, was granted Junior Fourth Rank Lower (Note: following the Azuma Kagami and the Kantō Hyōjōden), and became a member of the Hyōjōshū. Before long he resigned his post (Note: following the Kantō Hyōjōden), shaved his head, and took the Buddhist name Shōsai. In the third year of Kangen (1245) he died (Note: following the Azuma Kagami and the Kantō Hyōjōden). He had seven sons: Mitsutoki, Tokiakira, Tokinaga, Tokiyuki, Tokikane, Noritoki, and Tokimoto. Mitsutoki became Echigo-no-kami (Note: following the Keizu), and, being favored by the shogun Fujiwara no Yoritsune, gradually grew proud. When Hōjō Tokiyori became Regent, Mitsutoki was dissatisfied and thought: "Tokiyori is a great-grandson of my grandfather Yoshitoki, and his blood tie is remote; he ought not to occupy the seat of power." He secretly plotted to remove Tokiyori (Note: following the Hōreki Kanki), but the matter was discovered. When Tokiyori was about to send troops to put him to death, Mitsutoki happened to be at the shogunate. Realizing that he could not escape, he cut off his hair and sent it to Tokiyori in apology, and was finally exiled to Izu (Note: following the Azuma Kagami and the Hōreki Kanki). Tokiakira was appointed Owari-no-kami and became a member of the Hikitsukeshū (Note: following the Hyōjōden). He shaved his head and took the Buddhist name Kensai. In the ninth year of Bun'ei (1272), Tokisuke, an elder brother of Hōjō Tokimune, raised a rebellion and was put to death in Kyoto. Noritoki had conspired with him, so Tokimune sent soldiers to kill Noritoki, but they mistakenly killed Tokiakira as well. Tokimune, pitying that Tokiakira had died through an unjust charge, seized five of those soldiers and had them put to death (Note: following the Hōreki Kanki). Tokiyuki became Shuri-no-suke, and when Mitsutoki fell into guilt he killed himself (Note: following the Yōkōki).

Hōjō Shigetoki

¶Hōjō Shigetoki was a younger brother of Tomotoki (Note: following the Heishi Keizu). He became Shuri-no-gon-no-suke and Suruga-no-kami. In the Kangi era (1229-1232) he succeeded Hōjō Tokiuji at Rokuhara North, was transferred to Sagami-no-kami, and rose in rank to Junior Fourth Rank Upper (Note: following the Azuma Kagami). In the first year of Hōji (1247) he returned to Kamakura and became Rensho to the Regent. He was transferred to Mutsu-no-kami and before long resigned, shaved his head, and took the Buddhist name Kankaku. He founded Gokuraku-ji and retired there. In the first year of Kōchō (1261) he died, at the age of sixty-four. His sons were Nagatoki, Tokishige, Yoshimasa, Narito, and Tadatoki (Note: following the Hōjō Keizu).

¶Nagatoki became Sakonoe-no-shōgen and served at Rokuhara North. In the first year of Kōgen (1256) he returned to Kamakura and became Musashi-no-kami (Note: following the Shōgun Shikken Shidai, the Teiō Hennenki, and the Azuma Kagami), and was advanced to Junior Fifth Rank Upper (Note: following the Shōgun Shikken Shidai). When Hōjō Tokiyori resigned his post, Tokimune being still a child, Nagatoki acted on his behalf in the affairs of the Regency (Note: following the Shōgun Shikken Shidai and the Azuma Kagami) and concurrently held the post of Samurai-dokoro Bettō (Note: following the Azuma Kagami). In the first year of Bun'ei (1264) he died (Note: following the Kantō Hyōjōden and the Shōgun Shikken Shidai). His son Yoshimune became Suruga-no-kami and served at Rokuhara North (Note: following the Heishi Keizu). In the Bun'ei era (1264-1275), on Tokimune's orders, he killed Hōjō Tokisuke (Note: following the Teiō Hennenki). Yoshimune's son Hisatoki took the name Akahashi, became Musashi-no-kami, and served at Rokuhara North. Hisatoki's son was Moritoki (Note: following the Heishi Keizu).

¶Tokishige was called the Tokiwa clan (Note: following the Hōjō Keizu). He became Mutsu-no-kami. In the first year of Kōgen (1256) he succeeded his elder brother Nagatoki at Rokuhara North (Note: following the Shōgun Shikken Shidai), and died while still holding that office (Note: following the Ichidai Yōki).

¶Yoshimasa was first named Tokikazu, and took Shiota in Shinano as his fief and made it his clan name (Note: following the Hōjō Keizu). In the Bun'ei era (1264-1275) he became a member of the Hikitsukeshū and then of the Hyōjōshū, served as Rensho to the Regent as Suruga-no-kami, and was transferred to Musashi-no-kami. Because of illness he resigned his post, shaved his head, changed his name to Masayoshi, and retired to Zenkō-ji in Shinano (Note: following the Kantō Hyōjōden).

¶Narito served successively as Echigo-no-kami, Suruga-no-kami, and Musashi-no-kami and became a member of the Hyōjōshū. In the Kōan era (1278-1288) he served as Rensho to the Regent and was transferred to Mutsu-no-kami (Note: following the Kantō Hyōjōden). His grandson Mototoki, in the Shōwa era (1312-1317), acted on behalf of the Regent in the affairs of the Regency (Note: following the Heishi Keizu), and killed himself together with Takatoki (Note: following the Hōjō Keizu). His son Nakatoki has a separate biography.

¶Tadatoki was Sakonoe-no-shōgen (Note: following the Kantō Hyōjōden).

Akahashi Moritoki

¶Akahashi Moritoki, in the Kakyaku era (1326-1329), succeeded Hōjō Takatoki as Regent and became Sagami-no-kami (Note: following the Shōgun Shikken Shidai and the Hōreki Kanki. The various texts of the Taiheiki give the name as Moritoki in a different writing, but the present text follows this book's account). He gave his younger sister in marriage to Ashikaga Takauji. In the third year of Genkō (1333), when Nitta Yoshisada attacked Kamakura, Moritoki led sixty thousand troops out to Kobukuro-zaka and defended it (Note: Kobukuro-zaka follows various variant texts). He fought dozens of battles, and his officers and men were nearly all killed. He said to the survivors: "In war, one may lose a hundred times and still win once. Though our army is now defeated, it is not certain that the fortunes of the Hōjō must end here. But I am a kinsman of Takauji by marriage, and I fear being suspected by the Lord of Sagami (Hōjō Takatoki). It is only right that I die at once and show that I harbor no divided loyalty." So saying, he killed himself. Those who followed him in death numbered more than ninety (Note: following the Taiheiki. The Mōri-ke text, the Hōjō-ke text, the Konshōin text, and the Nanto text give "more than eighty," and the Saigen'in text gives "more than three hundred and eighty").

Hōjō Masamura

¶Hōjō Masamura was styled Shirō (Note: following the Azuma Kagami) and was a younger brother of Shigetoki. In the Kangi era (1229-1232) he became Shikibu-no-shōjō, rose in rank, served successively as Uma-no-gon-no-kami, was granted Senior Fifth Rank Lower, and became a member of the Hyōjōshū (Note: following the Azuma Kagami and the Kantō Hyōjōden). In the first year of Kōgen (1256) he became Rensho to the Regent, administered the affairs of Echigo as Mutsu-no-kami, and was transferred to Sagami-no-kami. In the Bun'ei era (1264-1275) he acted on behalf of Hōjō Nagatoki in the affairs of the Regency, was appointed Sakyō-no-gon-no-daibu, and advanced to Senior Fourth Rank Lower. When Hōjō Tokimune became Regent, he again served as Rensho. In the tenth year of Bun'ei (1273) he died, at the age of sixty-nine (Note: recorded with reference to the Masukagami, the Shōgun Shikken Shidai, the Kantō Hyōjōden, and the Teiō Hennenki). He was quiet and gentle in character and skilled in waka poetry, and the court nobles esteemed him and called him "the old survivor of the East." When he died, Emperor Kameyama sent an envoy to condole on his death (Note: following the Yoshitsugi-ki). His sons were Tokimura, Munefusa, and Masanaga. Tokimura was first named Tokitō and became Sakonoe-no-shōgen. In the Bun'ei era (1264-1275) he became a member of the Hyōjōshū and was transferred to Mutsu-no-kami. In the third year of Kenji (1277) he entered Kyoto, served at Rokuhara North, and became Musashi-no-kami. Several years later he returned to Kamakura and was advanced to Junior Fourth Rank Lower (Note: following the Kantō Hyōjōden and the Shōgun Shikken Shidai). In the third year of Shōan (1301) he became Rensho to the Regent (Note: following the Heishi Keizu, the Shōgun Shikken Shidai, and the Teiō Hennenki). When Hōjō Munekata rebelled, Tokimura intended to put Munekata to death and at the same time to remove Morotoki and others and monopolize power, but before he could act he was attacked and killed by Munekata (Note: following the Heishi Keizu, the Hōreki Kanki, and the Ichidai Yōki). Tokimura's grandson Hirotoki and great-grandson Mochitoki both served as Rensho to the Regent. When Takatoki was defeated, Mochitoki killed himself (Note: recorded with reference to the Shōgun Shikken Shidai and the Heishi Keizu). Munefusa was styled Shirō and became Tosa-no-kami. Masanaga became Shikibu-no-taifu and Settsu-no-kami. Both became members of the Hyōjōshū (Note: following the Heishi Keizu and the Kantō Hyōjōden).

Nagoe Takaie

¶Nagoe Takaie was a descendant in the fifth generation of Tōtōmi-no-kami Tomotoki and a son of Tōtōmi-no-kami Sadaie. Takaie became Owari-no-kami (Note: following the Hōjō Keizu). In the Genkō campaign (1331-1334), Hōjō Takatoki ordered Takaie, Ashikaga Takauji, and others to go to Kyoto and resist the imperial forces. Takaie led a detached force toward Yamazaki and fought Akamatsu Norimura at Koga-nawate. Takaie was young, and with his armor and equipment gaily adorned he advanced at the head of the host. Norimura's men saw him and recognized him as the commander, and vied with one another to charge him. Takaie cut down several men with his own hand, then dismounted, wiped the blood from his sword, and was resting when Norimura's men secretly took aim and shot at him; an arrow struck his forehead and he died. The soldiers who followed him all perished as well (Note: following the Taiheiki). His son Takakuni became Sakonoe-no-shōgen. When Ashikaga Takauji submitted to the court and attacked Rokuhara, Takakuni led troops to defend the Jingikan, but was defeated in battle and withdrew (Note: following the Tenshō text of the Taiheiki; the Jingikan appears in the current texts). His subsequent fate is unknown.

Ōgo Tokiharu

¶Ōgo Tokiharu was a grandson of Hōjō Tokifusa. His father Tokimori became Kamon-no-gon-no-suke and Echigo-no-kami (Note: following the Azuma Kagami and the Shōgun Shikken Shidai) and governed Rokuhara South (Note: following the Shōgun Shikken Shidai). Because his residence stood in Sasuke-ga-yatsu, he was called the Sasuke clan (Note: following the Azuma Kagami), but later changed it to the present clan name (Ōgo) (Note: following the Taiheiki). Tokiharu became Ukyō-no-shin (Note: following the Hōjō Keizu; the Taiheiki writes "shin" as "suke," the Assistant Director). When Emperor Go-Daigo moved against Hōjō Takatoki, Tokiharu happened to be the jitō of Ushigahara in Echizen, and had gathered troops to resist the imperial forces. When he heard that Rokuhara had fallen, most of his subordinates scattered. The warrior monks of Heisen-ji took advantage of this and attacked; Tokiharu, realizing that he could not withstand the situation, took leave of his wife, sank his two children in the water, and himself cut open his belly and died. His wife likewise threw herself into the water and died (Note: following the Taiheiki).

Osaragi Sadanao

¶Osaragi Sadanao was a grandson of Mutsu-no-kami Munenobu and a son of Mimbu-no-shō Muneyasu. He became Uma-no-suke and Mutsu-no-kami (Note: following the Hōjō Keizu). When Emperor Go-Daigo went in procession to Kasagi, Hōjō Nakatoki and others sent troops to attack but did not prevail. Hōjō Takatoki ordered Sadanao, Ashikaga Takauji, and others to lead troops to their relief, and in the end Kasagi was taken. Turning, they attacked Akasaka Castle, captured it, and returned (Note: recorded with reference to the Hōreki Kanki, the Genkō Nikki Uragaki, the Kōmyōji Zōsho Zanpen, and the Masukagami). When Nitta Yoshisada attacked Kamakura, Sadanao again led a great army and defended the Gokuraku-ji slope, but was beaten by Yoshisada's general Ōdachi Muneuji and withdrew into his camp. A retainer of Sadanao, a certain Honma, called Yamashiro-zaemon, had once been dismissed for a fault and was shut up in his house; hearing that Sadanao had raised troops and was fighting, he led more than a hundred men of his own, fought desperately, and in the end struck down Muneuji and impaled his head upon his blade. He presented himself before Sadanao and said in thanks: "I had hoped that by this small service you might forgive my earlier fault. If I am able to go to the Yellow Springs, no happiness could be greater." And he thereupon took his own life. Sadanao was greatly moved and stirred, and the next day sallied forth once more. When Yoshisada's army entered by way of Inamuragasaki, more than thirty of Sadanao's men, realizing that they could not withstand it, killed themselves one after another. Sadanao roused himself and said: "A brave warrior, if he is to die, should die in battle. Why should he kill himself?" Leading more than two hundred men, he charged into the enemy lines in every direction, and at length broke into the camp of Wakiya Yoshisuke and was killed in battle (Note: following the Taiheiki).

Osaragi Takanao

¶Osaragi Takanao was a son of Mutsu-no-kami Koresada and became Uma-no-suke (Note: following the Hōreki Kanki). In the Genkō campaign he led a great army against Kusunoki Masashige at Chihaya Castle (the source writes it with different characters; Note: i.e. Chihaya Castle). Aso Tokiharu and Nikaidō Sadafuji also came with troops in support. Masashige held the castle to the last, and Takanao and the others were defeated in every engagement, with casualties beyond counting. They therefore resolved to starve the castle out and drew their camps around it in a siege. For this they gathered many courtesans, held gambling and drinking parties, and composed poems to console the soldiers. An uncle and a nephew, two men under one commander, seized spears and quarreled over the road and stabbed each other to death. More than two hundred of their followers likewise killed one another in turn. As a result the army's morale declined all the more. Soon they sallied out, but were again heavily defeated. As it happened, the militia of neighboring districts answered the command of Prince Moriyoshi, appearing and disappearing and cutting the supply routes. The soldiers were in severe distress, and many secretly fled home. When Rokuhara fell, Takanao and the others lifted the siege and withdrew, but were caught between the imperial armies and took refuge and barricaded themselves in Hannya-ji in Nara. Just then, as the emperor was on his way back to the capital, Minamoto no Sadahira and Kusunoki Masashige came to attack them (Note: following the Taiheiki; recorded with reference to the Baishōron and the Hōreki Kanki). Takanao and the others all put on monks' robes and surrendered with their followers. Sadahira had them bound and sent to Kyoto, where they were put to death (Note: following the Taiheiki).