Biographies CXXXII: The Shogunal Retainers, Part XV: Ashikaga Takatsune, Ashikaga Yoshiyuki, Ishibashi Kazuyoshi, Uesugi Noriaki, Uesugi Shigeyoshi, and the Imagawa Family

Ashikaga Takatsune

¶Ashikaga Takatsune, also called Shiba, belonged to the same clan as Takauji. His great-grandfather Ieuji was Kunai-shōyū, Junior Assistant Minister of the Palace Household; he was the eldest son of Yasuuji and a grandson, through his mother, of Hōjō Tomotoki, and he served as Nakatsukasa Gon-no-taifu, Provisional Senior Assistant Minister of Central Affairs, and Owari-no-kami, Governor of Owari. His grandfather Muneie was Sakonoe-no-shōgen, Lieutenant of the Left Palace Guards. His father Iesada was called Owari Jirō; all of them were of Hōjō blood. Takatsune's childhood name was Sentsurumaro, and he was called Owari Magosaburō. He held in turn the post of Uma-no-kami, Director of the Bureau of Horses, was granted Junior Fourth Rank Lower, and was appointed Shuri-no-daibu, Master of Palace Repairs, concurrently Governor of Owari (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku), and became shugo, military governor, of Echizen (Note: following the Taiheiki and the Shiba genealogy).

¶In the second year of Kenmu (1335) he raised the standard of revolt together with Takauji; when the imperial army came to subdue them, Takauji was for a time defeated. Takatsune, together with Toki Yoritō and others, defeated the imperial army at Takenoshita, and pressed on to take Kyoto. In the first year of Engen (1336), when Takauji again bore down upon the emperor's carriage on Mount Hiei (Enryaku-ji), Takatsune, who was in Echizen, held the grain routes by which the imperial army was supplied along the Hokuriku road. When the emperor returned to Kyoto, Nitta Yoshisada took the Crown Prince and moved to Kanegasaki. Wakiya Yoshisuke and Nitta Yoshiaki took refuge at Somayama Castle, relying on Uryū Tamotsu. Acting on Takauji's wishes, Takatsune urged Tamotsu to surrender, and Tamotsu complied, whereupon Yoshisuke and Yoshiaki fled to Kanegasaki. Takatsune brought Tamotsu over to his side and, together with Kō-no-Moroyasu, laid siege to Kanegasaki. But Tamotsu's younger brother Shigeie and others raised troops again at Somayama, backing Wakiya Yoshiharu; Tamotsu regretted having submitted to Takauji, broke camp, and fled back to Somayama. Takatsune pursued him but was defeated by Tamotsu and withdrew, and once more, together with Moroyasu, he besieged Kanegasaki.

¶In the following year the castle fell, and Takatsune set fire to it and burned it (Note: that the castle was burned is according to the Shimazu documents). His subordinate Shimazu Tadaharu seized the Crown Prince at Kaburagiura and escorted him to Kyoto. Because the armies of Nitta Yoshisada and Yoshisuke rose again behind him, Takatsune brought his troops back to the provincial capital of Echizen and strengthened his defenses with more than thirty linked forts. It happened to be the depth of winter and the Hokuriku was bitterly cold; the soldiers' hands were so numb that they could not bear a great battle, and the two armies faced each other for a long time without a decision.

¶In the second month of the third year (1338), when the snow had melted and the roads in all directions began to open, Yoshisuke led light cavalry to inspect the strategic points. Takatsune learned of this through spies and sent a certain Dewa-no-kami and others to surround him (Note: the Kinshōin text gives him as Hosokawa Takamoto, while the passage on Yoshisada's death gives Yoshitsugu; since the sources contradict one another, neither is adopted here). Yoshisuke fought desperately, and Hosokawa and the others were beaten back. Yoshisuke's men set fire to the houses of the people of Sabae. Yoshisada saw this from afar and sent out troops to hasten there; Takatsune, together with his younger brother Iekane (Note: the name follows the Sonpi Bunmyaku), led three thousand men against them and drew up his line across the river. When Yoshisada's army crossed the river and advanced, Takatsune met it with every one of his picked troops. As the fighting grew fierce, a detached force of Yoshisada's got around behind Takatsune and burned every building of the provincial capital. Takatsune, alarmed, fled; he meant to hold Shinzenkōji Castle, but the pursuing cavalry pressed upon him so suddenly that he could not enter it, and he ran on to Asuwa and took up position in Kuromaru Castle. Iekane fled to Wakasa, and when the neighboring castles saw this, they surrendered one after another.

¶Yoshisada, pressing his advantage, attacked Asuwa, but Takatsune defended it and won repeated victories. Yoshisada and Yoshisuke sent out yet greater forces and fixed a day by which they swore to take the castle. At that time the castle's garrison numbered only three hundred, and Takatsune said, "The few cannot match the many, and the roads in every direction are already cut; we cannot abandon the castle and flee. Now there is nothing for it but to hold to the death." The lord of the castle, Asakura Hirokage, said with spirit, "It is as you say. Whether to fight or to hold depends on strategy, and the smallness of our numbers is not worth worrying about" (Note: following the Tenshō text of the Taiheiki; Hirokage's name follows the Asakura genealogy). They therefore built seven forts between Asuwa and Fujishima and made their defenses stronger still.

¶Before this, the monks of Heisen-ji had been in Yoshisuke's service and guarding Mitsumine Castle; at this time they sent a messenger to say, "For many years we have been in dispute with Enryaku-ji over the manor of Fujishima. If you will now return this land to us, we shall send out troops to serve as your reinforcements." Takatsune was delighted and sent a reply granting the request, adding, "When the affair is accomplished, I shall reward you separately and generously." The monks, finding this to their advantage, chose five hundred stout fighting men to guard Fujishima. Yoshisada divided his forces and attacked them without success, and he himself led light cavalry to their relief. Since the day was already drawing to a close, Takatsune sent a certain Hosokawa and a certain Kakusa with three hundred men to relieve Fujishima. On the way they met Yoshisada's army; they had their archers shoot from behind shields, and an arrow struck Yoshisada in the forehead. Yoshisada took his own life. Ujiie Shigekuni of Etchū (Note: variant texts give his name as Mitsunori) searched for the head in the mud, and obtained together with it the pair of swords Yoshisada had worn and a small brocade bag, and carried them back to Takatsune. Takatsune said, "It closely resembles Yoshisada's face. I remember that there used to be the scar of an arrow above his left eyebrow," and when he brushed away the blood to look, it was exactly so. Moreover, inside the bag was an imperial rescript in the emperor's own hand. He therefore had Shigekuni place the head in a box and send it to Kyoto, and the body was buried at a temple.

¶In the following year Wakiya Yoshisuke sent Hata Tokiyoshi as commander to attack the forts, and under cover of night he reached Kuromaru Castle, occupied the high ground so that his men could shoot down on the defenders, and waited for the troops behind him to arrive so that he could take the castle. Uwagi Ienmitsu advised Takatsune: "It was only because they were ignorant of the lay of the land that the Lieutenant General (Yoshisada) was defeated and killed. Now many of our own men have gone over to them and serve as their guides, and Tokiyoshi, moreover, is a warrior without equal; which of our subordinates could stand against him? The castle is isolated and without relief, and it is not wise to engage them. It is best to withdraw for a time and avoid their keen edge." All agreed that this was right. That very night they burned five castles, fled to Kaga, relied on the Togashi-no-suke (Note: his name is not recorded in this book), and took up position at Natadani Castle (Note: following the Tenshō text). Before long, together with Kō-no-Moroharu, Takatsune led more than seven thousand men and besieged Tokiyoshi in Takanosu Castle. After dozens of battles by day and night, Tokiyoshi was struck by an arrow and died. Thus the imperial army at last was exhausted, and the whole Hokuriku region passed entirely into Takauji's hands. This was truly due to Takatsune's merit.

¶Now when Yoshisada died, Takatsune obtained his sword. It was known in the world as Onikiri or Onimaru, a famous blade handed down in the main line of the Minamoto. Takauji sent a messenger to demand it, but Takatsune, unwilling to part with it, handed over another sword that he had had scorched and burned, saying, "Earlier I deposited the sword in a temple at Nagasaki, but the temple caught fire and it was burned. Someone must have told you of it." Takauji was greatly angered, and for that reason he gave Takatsune no reward for his merit. Takatsune was discontented and unhappy in his daily life.

¶Before long discord arose between Takauji and his younger brother Tadayoshi, and when Ashikaga Tadafuyu raised troops, Takatsune joined him and fought in the battles of Jinnan and Tō-ji. Soon Tadafuyu's army was defeated and fled west (Note: following the Taiheiki), and Takatsune returned to Echizen (Note: following the Entairyaku) and planned to rise again. Before long he shaved his head and took the name Dōchō (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku and the Taiheiki).

¶In the sixteenth year of Shōhei (1361), the shitsuji, steward, Hosokawa Kiyouji went over to the imperial court and attacked Ashikaga Yoshiakira, but he met with no success and was defeated. Before this, Yoshiakira had repeatedly sent messengers and invited Takatsune with generous courtesy. At last Takatsune led his sons Ujiyori, Yoshiyuki and others and surrendered (Note: following the Taiheiki. The Entairyaku says he came out and submitted in the first year of Engen, but this is an error). Since Kiyouji had gone over to the imperial side, Yoshiakira sought someone to replace him, but there was no one suitable.

¶Before this, Ujiyori had married a daughter of Sasaki Takauji (Dōyo); at that time Takauji was held in esteem by Yoshiakira and his power and authority were unrivaled, and everyone, attentive to his wishes, recommended Ujiyori as shitsuji. Yoshiakira's own inclination leaned that way, but Yoshiyuki was the son of Takatsune's second wife and was Takatsune's darling, and Takatsune wished him to obtain the post. He secretly pointed out Ujiyori's shortcomings in order to set him aside and praised Yoshiyuki's character at every turn. Yoshiakira was by nature lacking in resolve and easily swayed by what others said, and in the end he made Yoshiyuki shitsuji. Since Yoshiyuki was still young at that time, Takatsune performed the duties of the post in his stead. The people of the world regarded Takatsune as a seasoned and weighty elder and looked up to his majesty. But his government was harsh and severe, and he held nothing back.

¶Takauji had made the shugo of the provinces pay each year one fiftieth of a gunpu (Note: a levy imposed as military service); Takatsune further issued an order raising this to one twentieth, and so he lost the confidence of the generals. At that time the Gojō Bridge (Note: the Kanagawa-ke text gives Shijō) happened to need repair, and Sasaki Takauji was put in charge of the work, and a levy of cash was imposed on every household in Kyoto to defray its cost, but the bridge was not finished by the appointed time. Takatsune deliberately paid out of his own purse and had it built in Takauji's stead, and it was soon completed. Takauji was deeply ashamed and was always thinking of a way to repay this favor.

¶In the twenty-first year (1366) Takatsune held a drinking party at Yoshiakira's residence and invited the generals beforehand, and Takauji was one of them. But when the day came Takauji did not go; instead he took a large company of courtesans and musicians and went out to enjoy himself at Ōharano, with food and furnishings of the utmost extravagance, and in the capital this was told as a famous affair. Hearing of it, Takatsune resented it and meant to entrap him by means of the law, but found no opportunity. At that time Takauji had not paid his gunpu for two years, so Takatsune dismissed him from the post of shugo of Settsu and cut away the Tada manor from his holdings. Yoshiakira built a separate residence in Madenokōji and had the generals help in its construction, and Akamatsu Sokuyū, Takauji's son-in-law, took part in it as well. Takatsune further blamed him for delay in the work and punished him by confiscating one of his estates. Takauji could no longer contain his accumulated grievances; he plotted with Sokuyū to remove Takatsune, secretly allied himself with the generals, and repeatedly slandered Takatsune to Yoshiakira.

¶Yoshiakira accepted his words and at once sent Sasaki Ujiyori to Ōmi to levy troops. Takatsune came to Yoshiakira and said, "Though I am a man of mediocre ability, I have long held a post of heavy responsibility, and for that reason I have suffered much slander and calumny. If you consider me guilty and mean to grant me death, one messenger would be enough; why should you suddenly go so far as to levy troops from the provinces? I am old and worn out and do not cling to my own life. I only beg that the Shogun will for a little while show me his compassionate understanding," and his voice trembled and tears flowed. Yoshiakira, too, wept for a long time. As Takatsune rose to withdraw, Yoshiakira edged forward on his knees and said, "I understand well what you say. I, too, was pushed by those about me until matters came to this, and there is nothing I can do. Go down for a while to your own province and avoid the anger of the generals." Takatsune then withdrew.

¶Before long Sasaki Ujiyori entered Kyoto at the head of his troops, and Takatsune likewise gathered his kinsmen intending to give battle. Yoshiakira sent the monk Kakusai (Note: the Hōjō-ke, Nanto and Tenshō texts write the first character of his name differently and record the monk Mokuan of Tōji-ji) to admonish him again and again. That very night Takatsune, together with his sons and younger kinsmen, rode with three hundred cavalry back to Echizen in haste. Yoshiakira had no choice but to have his troops strictly on guard. Takatsune left behind his retainer Ninomiya Sadaie (Note: Sadaie's name follows various variant texts) and had him lead five hundred men and make a show of readiness to fight. While Yoshiakira's soldiers were thrown into alarm and confusion, Sadaie, judging that Takatsune had already gone far, set fire to the place and fled (Note: the arson follows the Mōri-ke and Tenshō texts). At daybreak he reached Nagasaka, where the pursuing cavalry had already come to the foot of the slope. Sadaie fed his horses fodder to show an air of leisure, and the enemy, concluding that he was prepared, turned back.

¶When Takatsune reached Echizen he took up position at Somayama Castle and meant to bring the Hokuriku under his control. Yoshiakira sent Hatakeyama Yoshifuka and others with more than seven thousand men to besiege him. Takatsune held out in the castle for over a year, and in the autumn of the twenty-first year he fell suddenly ill and died while still under siege.

¶Now over the many years in which he served as shugo, Takatsune took away half of the fuko, the households assigned to temples and shrines throughout the province (Note: households whose tax revenue was assigned to them), distributed them as fiefs among his retainers, and went so far as to seize the Kawaguchi manor, a fuko of Tōdai-ji. The monks were furious; they carried the sacred tree of Kasuga Shrine up to the capital, set it down before Takatsune's residence, and lodged their complaint. The Retired Emperor Gokōgon issued an edict that the sacred tree be placed in the Chōkōdō, but the courtiers, fearing Takatsune's power, said not a word, and the suit went undecided for three years. Presently portents appeared again and again, and the people of the world were afraid. Before long Takatsune's residence caught fire and his wealth was burned to nothing. Takatsune seemed not to care; each time it burned he rebuilt it, until it was twice its former size. Not long after this he met with disaster, and people said it was the punishment of the gods (Note: following the Taiheiki).

¶Takatsune had five sons, named Ienaga, Ujitsune, Ujiyori, Yoshiyuki and Yoshitane. Ienaga was called Magojirō (Note: the Taiheiki writes Jirō as Saburō), was granted Junior Fifth Rank Lower (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku), and became Mutsu-no-kami, Governor of Mutsu. In the second year of Engen (1337) he met Chūnagon Minamoto Akiie (Kitabatake Akiie) at Sugimoto in Kamakura and, unable to win, fell in battle (Note: consult the Sonpi Bunmyaku, the Taiheiki, the Jōrakuki and the Hōreki Kanki. One account in the Bunmyaku gives the third year of Engen, but this is an error).

¶Ujitsune became Minbu-shōyū, Junior Assistant Minister of Popular Affairs, and Sakyō-daibu, Master of the Left Capital Office (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku). In the seventh year of Shōhei (1352) he was appointed Tsukushi Tandai, Commissioner of Tsukushi, and on arriving in Bungo he was attacked by Kikuchi Takemitsu. Ujitsune sent his son Matsuōmaru with Shōni Yorihisa and others at the head of seven thousand men to meet the enemy at Chōjabaru, but they were defeated and withdrew. Ujitsune retreated to Takasaki Castle and held it, but Takemitsu besieged this as well, and the siege was not lifted for over a year. Ujitsune escaped and returned to Kyoto, shaved his head and became a monk, and nothing further is known of him. When Ujitsune set out for his post, it is said, and the ships were lined up at Hyōgo ready to depart, every ship carried courtesans, and those with discerning eyes who saw it knew that he was bound to be defeated (Note: following the Taiheiki).

¶Ujiyori was granted Junior Fifth Rank Lower and became Saemon-no-suke, Assistant Captain of the Left Gate Guards (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku). When his younger brother Yoshiyuki became shitsuji, Ujiyori was discontented and unhappy, shaved his head and entered the religious life (Note: following the Taiheiki), and took the name Shinki-anju (Note: following the Shiba genealogy). Yoshitane became Iyo-no-kami, Governor of Iyo (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku).

Ashikaga Yoshiyuki

¶Ashikaga Yoshiyuki was gifted at waka (Note: following the printed edition of the Sonpi Bunmyaku. Ashikaga Yoshiyuki is also written Shiba Yoshiyuki), and Takatsune loved him (Note: following the Taiheiki). In the seventeenth year of Shōhei (1362) he succeeded Hosokawa Kiyouji as shitsuji (Note: following the Taiheiki and the Sonpi Bunmyaku). Soon he fled to Echizen with Takatsune and took up position in Kuriya Castle. When Takatsune died, Yoshiyuki asked to submit, and Ashikaga Yoshiakira granted it. In that year Yoshiakira died and Yoshimitsu succeeded him (Note: following the Taiheiki), and the title of shitsuji was for the first time changed to kanrei. Yoshiyuki resigned as kanrei (Note: following the printed edition of the Sonpi Bunmyaku).

¶In the first year of Kentoku (1370), when Momonoi Naotsune sent his son Naokazu to raise troops at Nagasawa in Etchū, Yoshiyuki, as shugo of his home province, attacked them together with a certain Togashi and killed Naokazu (Note: following the Kaei Sandaiki). In the following year, when Naotsune again rose in Etchū, Yoshiyuki added the troops of Noto to his own and crushed him (Note: following the Kaei Sandaiki; consult the Taiheiki, but its statement that he became shugo as a reward for defeating Naotsune is mistaken).

¶In the fifth year of Tenju (1379) he became kanrei again (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku and the Kaei Sandaiki) and resigned in the eighth year of Genchū (1391) (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku and the Tōji Chōja Bunin). In the fourth year of Meitoku (1393) he became kanrei once more and resigned in the fifth year of Ōei (1398) (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku). He was constantly at Yoshimitsu's side, instructing and guiding him as occasion required, and brought him much benefit. Once Yoshimitsu, watching inuoumono, dog-chasing archery, said, "This martial art must never be allowed to die out, but I worry about some unforeseen accident, such as a horse's bit coming loose." Yoshiyuki replied, "If an ordinary man is hurt, the misfortune stops with him; if my lord is hurt, the misfortune reaches the whole realm."

¶On another occasion there was a criminal, and Yoshimitsu meant to have his house pulled down; Yoshiyuki said calmly, "From ancient times the residences of criminals have not been pulled down." Yoshimitsu asked, "How do you know this?" Yoshiyuki answered, "Long ago, when Taira-no-Yasuyori was recalled from the place of his exile, he composed a poem about his old home, where moss had grown over the gaps in the boards of the eaves. From this it appears that in ancient times a house was not torn down in the punishment of a crime." Yoshimitsu accepted both of these counsels (Note: following the Ungo Nikkenroku).

¶Yoshiyuki was appointed Saemon-no-suke and Jibu-no-taifu, Master of the Ministry of Civil Administration, and was granted permission to enter the imperial presence in the palace (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku and the Shiba genealogy). He became shugo of Echizen, Etchū, Noto, Shinano, Sado, Wakasa and other provinces. He shaved his head, changed his name to Dōshō, took the sobriquet Sekkei, and was known in the world as Kadenokōji (Note: following the Shiba genealogy).

¶In the fifteenth year of Ōei (1408) Yoshimitsu died, and an edict was issued to confer upon him posthumously the rank of Daijō Hōō, Retired Emperor; Yoshiyuki advised Yoshimochi to decline it, on the ground that there had never been a precedent since ancient times for a subject to be honored even to the rank of Retired Emperor (Note: following the Tōji Shugyō Nikki). In the seventeenth year (1410) Yoshiyuki died (Note: following the Shiba genealogy) and was known as Hokke-ji (Note: following the printed edition of the Sonpi Bunmyaku and the Ungo Nikkenroku).

¶His son Yoshishige was at first named Yoshinori (Note: the Bunmyaku writes the second character differently), and held in turn the posts of Jibu-no-taifu and Uhyōe-no-kami, Commander of the Right Palace Guards (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku and the Shiba genealogy). In the twelfth year of Ōei (1405) he succeeded to the office of kanrei (Note: following the printed edition of the Sonpi Bunmyaku). The world called the Shiba, Hosokawa and Hatakeyama the Sankanrei, the Three Kanrei (Note: consult the Bunroku Seidan and the Tosaki-ke Kikigaki).

Ishibashi Kazuyoshi

¶Ishibashi Kazuyoshi was at first named Ujiyoshi and was called Owari Saburō; he was a second cousin of Ashikaga Takatsune. His grandfather Yoshitoshi was called Hirosawa Tarō, and his father Yoshihiro was called Yoshida Saburō. Kazuyoshi held in turn the posts of Sakonoe-no-shōgen, Lieutenant of the Left Palace Guards, with Junior Fifth Rank Lower, Saemon-no-suke, and Mikawa-no-kami, Governor of Mikawa (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku).

¶He raised troops with Ashikaga Takauji and attacked Kyoto. When Takauji fled to Tsukushi, fearing pursuit by the imperial army he left Kazuyoshi behind in Bizen (Note: some texts of this book give him as Owari Ujiyori). Kazuyoshi, together with the Tai, Akura, Matsuda, Naitō and Fukurinji families, took up position in Mitsuishi Castle, built forts on the Kaigawa, and blocked the narrow passes of Funasaka and Sugisaka, holding command of traffic by water and by land.

¶When Nitta Yoshisada led his troops west and reached Harima, he sent his younger brother Wakiya Yoshisuke to attack Funasaka, but could make no progress. Just then Kojima Takanori rose at Kumayama in answer to Yoshisada and made a pact: "Let us attack Funasaka from front and rear." Kazuyoshi was greatly alarmed that an enemy had risen inside the province, and detached three thousand of the garrisons of Mitsuishi and Funasaka to attack Kumayama. Wakiya Yoshisuke's army went by a byroad and came out west of the Mitsuishi post-station. The troops at Funasaka, seeing the enemy appear unexpectedly, supposed that their own men were returning from Kumayama, and had relaxed their guard. Yoshisuke's army set fires and raised a war cry, and the troops of Funasaka, unable to hold, threw away their arms and scattered over the mountains. Kazuyoshi could not go out to their relief. Yoshisuke, having already seized the stronghold of Funasaka, sent Eda Yukiyoshi to Mimasaka and Ōhida Ujitsune to Bitchū to attack the castles there, and himself remained to attack Mitsuishi Castle. Kazuyoshi and his men held out for more than ten days, but the imperial army too was short of provisions and its momentum waned, and it could not take the castles.

¶Akamatsu Sokuyū went to Tsukushi and urged Takauji to march out quickly. Takauji led his troops east, so Yoshisuke lifted the siege and left, and Kazuyoshi followed Takauji into Kyoto. When Kō-no-Moronao plotted to remove Ashikaga Tadayoshi, Kazuyoshi, together with his son Nobuyoshi and Ashikaga Takatsune and others, led troops to guard Tadayoshi's younger brother. When Takauji and Tadayoshi were presently reconciled, Kazuyoshi, fearing that he would be blamed by Takauji because he had earlier sided with Tadayoshi, shaved his head, changed his name to Shinshō, and sought to avert disaster himself (Note: following the Taiheiki).

¶In the sixteenth year of Shōhei (1361) Ashikaga Yoshiakira granted Kazuyoshi the post of shugo of Wakasa (Note: following the Wakashū Shugo Shidai). He gave him the Imatomi manor as a holding (Note: following the Imatomi-no-shō Shugo Ryōshu Shidai). In the following year, when Yamana Tokiuji sent his general Kobayashi Shigenaga to invade Tanba, the shugo Nikki Yoshitada took up position at Waku to hold him off. Yoshiakira sent Kazuyoshi, together with Imagawa Sadayo, shugo of Tōtōmi, and others, to march out and support him. Shigenaga's forces were quite strong, and Kazuyoshi and the others found him hard to deal with. Arriving at Shinomura they built palisades about their camp and did not advance lightly. Shigenaga ran out of provisions and withdrew of his own accord, and Kazuyoshi and the others likewise drew off their troops (Note: following the Taiheiki). What became of Kazuyoshi afterward has not been handed down.

¶His son Muneyoshi became Mutsu-no-kami, and Yoshiyuki became Kunai-shōyū (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku). Nobuyoshi became Jibu-no-taifu (Note: following the Taiheiki).

Uesugi Noriaki

¶Uesugi Noriaki was a descendant of Fujiwara-no-Takafuji, Naidaijin, Minister of the Interior. His great-great-grandfather Kiyofusa, at the time of the Jōkyū disturbance, shaved his head and served the Emperor Gotoba in Oki (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku and the Uesugi genealogy). His great-grandfather Shigefusa became Shuri-no-daibu, followed Prince Munetaka to live in Kamakura, and for the first time held the Uesugi manor in Tanba and took it as his surname (Note: following the Uesugi genealogy). His father Tadafusa was appointed Hyōgo-no-kami (Note: some texts give suke for kami), shaved his head, and took the name Dōkin (Note: some texts write the second character differently).

¶Ashikaga Takauji was of Uesugi blood and a nephew of Norifusa, and so was the most trusted and valued of them (Note: consult the Sonpi Bunmyaku, the Uesugi genealogy and the Nan-Taiheiki). When Takauji was to go over to the imperial court, he first drew Norifusa in and consulted him, and Norifusa approved and followed Takauji west. When they passed through Mikawa on the way, Takauji sent Norifusa again to consult Kira Sadayoshi. Sadayoshi, too, strongly urged the undertaking, and Takauji then for the first time summoned the generals and told them of the plan (Note: following the Nan-Taiheiki), and in the end they destroyed the Hōjō. Takauji greatly rewarded this service and gave Norifusa the post of shugo of Kōzuke (Note: following the Baishōron).

¶When the imperial army came down to the eastern provinces, Norifusa, together with Hosokawa Kazuuji and others, urged Ashikaga Tadayoshi to meet it, and then followed Takauji into Kyoto (Note: following the Taiheiki) and took part in the battle of Shijō-gawara. Because he had joined the secret council beforehand, he fought with all his strength and was killed in action (Note: following the Nan-Taiheiki; consult the Uesugi genealogy).

¶Noriaki was granted Junior Fifth Rank Upper and became Minbu-no-taifu, Senior Assistant Minister of Popular Affairs (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku). Together with his elder brother Shigeyoshi he followed Tadayoshi and held off the imperial army at Tegoshigawara, and then followed Takauji into Kyoto (Note: following the Taiheiki). When Takauji fled to Tsukushi he sent Noriaki on the way to Iwami (Note: following the variant text of the Taiheiki). Soon, when Takauji rose again and attacked Kyoto, Noriaki advanced with the troops of Iwami, joined him at Bingo, and followed him into Kyoto.

¶When Chinjufu Daishōgun, Commander-in-Chief of the Pacification Headquarters, Minamoto Akiie (Kitabatake Akiie) attacked Kamakura, Noriaki, together with Hosokawa Kazuuji and others, defended at the Tone River but was defeated and withdrew. Akiie then joined forces with Hōjō Tokiyuki and Nitta Yoshioki and pressed on. Noriaki and the others were defeated again and fled, escorting Yoshiakira. When Akiie, Yoshioki and the others went west, Noriaki lay hidden in Sagami, summoned troops of Musashi and Kōzuke, and pursued them with the other generals as far as Aonogahara in Mino, where he met Yoshioki and Utsunomiya Kintsuna and fought with all his might, but, outnumbered, was in the end routed (Note: following the Taiheiki).

¶In the fourth year of Shōhei (1349) Ashikaga Motouji became Tōgoku Kanrei, Kanrei of the Eastern Provinces, and Noriaki, together with Kō-no-Morofuyu, assisted him as shitsuji (Note: following the Taiheiki. The fourth year of Shōhei follows the Kitsuregawa genealogy). He was appointed shugo of Kōzuke, Echigo and Izu (Note: following the Uesugi genealogy).

¶Now Shigeyoshi had been killed by Kō-no-Moronao, and Noriaki and the others bore a deep grudge for it. When Ashikaga Tadayoshi went over to the imperial court and sought to destroy the brothers Moronao and Moroyasu, Noriaki's son Yoshinori was in Kōzuke in place of his father (Note: this book makes Yoshinori an adopted son of Noriaki, but here it is corrected according to the Uesugi genealogy and the Kitsuregawa genealogy), and from afar answered Tadayoshi and meant to attack Kamakura. Hearing of this, Noriaki gave out that he was going to attack Yoshinori, led his troops in haste to Kōzuke, and joined him there; they then turned into Musashi, and a great many warriors of the eastern provinces hastened to join them. Kō-no-Morofuyu, escorting Motouji, came out to meet them, but on the way an upheaval broke out within his army and Morofuyu was defeated and killed.

¶In the following year Noriaki entered Kyoto, went north following Tadayoshi, and then turned to Kamakura. Takauji came in person to attack and took up position on Mount Satta. Tadayoshi sent Noriaki together with Ishidō Yoshifusa and Ishidō Yorifusa, leading a great army in divided columns, to surround Mount Satta. At that time Takauji's strength was very weak, and Noriaki and the others, despising him, made the encirclement tight in many layers and waited for him to collapse of himself. Some officers and men asked to fight, but this was not permitted. Before long, however, relief forces for Takauji arrived one after another; Noriaki was terrified and fled to Shinano, and the other generals broke and ran, and so Tadayoshi was at last ruined.

¶Just then Nitta Yoshimune, escorting Prince Munenaga, took up position at Fuefuki Pass, so Noriaki led his troops to join him, followed him in fighting Takauji, and was defeated without success. Among Noriaki's valiant soldiers were two men, Nagao Danjō and Nezu Kojirō, who together plotted to stab Takauji to death. Danjō let down his hair and Kojirō wounded his own face, and each, holding aloft on the point of his sword a head he had taken, disguised himself as one of Takauji's soldiers and pushed deep into his army. When someone challenged them, they answered, "We have taken the heads of the Nitta and are about to present them to the Shogun," and came within a dozen or so paces of Takauji. When Takauji's men noticed and closed around them, the two saw that their purpose would not be accomplished, and swung their swords and cut about them, so that whatever they struck was shattered. At last they broke through the encirclement and withdrew.

¶Noriaki again returned to Shinano. At that time the emperor went out to Otokoyama, so Noriaki, receiving an edict, followed Nitta Yoshimune to go to the relief, but on the way he heard that Otokoyama had already fallen and turned back (Note: following the Taiheiki).

¶Ashikaga Motouji, deeply mindful of Noriaki's old services, pardoned his offenses and again granted him the post of shugo of Echigo (Note: the Kitsuregawa genealogy says that Noriaki himself went to Kamakura and submitted to punishment, shaved his head and changed his name, and that Motouji then again appointed him Echigo-no-kami). The former shugo, Haga Zenka, refused to give way to him and sent out troops to attack Noriaki. Noriaki fought him for several months and utterly defeated him, and Zenka barely escaped with his life. Before long Motouji appointed Noriaki shitsuji. Zenka again marched out and meant to meet him at Itahana, but when Motouji heard of it he attacked Zenka in person and destroyed him. Noriaki cleared the road and hastened to join Motouji's army, and together they returned to Kamakura (Note: following the Taiheiki; consult the Kitsuregawa genealogy).

¶When Motouji died, his son Ujimitsu became kanrei, and Noriaki served as shitsuji as before. At that time Ujimitsu was still young, and many warriors of the neighboring districts rebelled, but Noriaki escorted Ujimitsu, attacked them, and pacified them (Note: following the Kitsuregawa genealogy). In the twenty-third year of Shōhei (1368) Noriaki died, at the age of sixty-three. Because Noriaki had once founded Kokushō-ji in Izu, he was known in the world as Kokushō-ji (Note: Hatakeyama Kunikiyo was also a shitsuji of Motouji and held the post of shugo of Izu. If so, this temple may have been founded by Kunikiyo, and Noriaki, who was also buried there, may simply have taken over his Buddhist name. There is now no material for verifying this, so it is set down here for the time being).

¶Noriaki had seven sons, named Noriyuki, Norikata (Note: some texts write the second character differently), Yoshinori (Note: the Sonpi Bunmyaku makes him a son of Noriaki's younger brother Yukiko), Noriharu, Norihide, Norikata, and Noriyoshi. Noriyuki was appointed Hyōgo-no-suke. Norikata was called Echigo Jirō and died young. Yoshinori became the adopted son of his uncle Shigeyoshi.

¶Noriharu was appointed Gyōbu-no-taifu, Senior Assistant Minister of Justice (Note: following the Uesugi genealogy), and served Ashikaga Ujimitsu as shitsuji (Note: following the Uesugi genealogy and the Kitsuregawa genealogy). When Ujimitsu harbored thoughts of rebellion, he summoned Noriharu to consult him; Noriharu remonstrated strongly but was not heard, and returned home and wrote a letter of remonstrance. Its words were earnest in the extreme, and when it was finished he took his own life. Ujimitsu, seeing it, was shocked and filled with regret, and gave up his plan. But much of the matter had leaked out, so Ujimitsu sent a letter to Yoshimitsu declaring that he had no other intention, and the affair was settled in this way. This was Noriharu's achievement (Note: following the Kamakura Ōzōshi. The Uesugi genealogy and the Kitsuregawa genealogy say that Noriharu, secretly receiving Yoshimitsu's wishes, remonstrated and stopped him).

¶Norihide was at first named Norisada, held in turn the posts of Hyōbu-no-taifu and Kurōdo, Chamberlain, and became Mutsu-no-kami. Norikata became Ukyō-no-suke, Assistant Master of the Right Capital Office, and was appointed Awa-no-kami; when Noriharu died he became shitsuji. Noriyoshi's house was called Kuzumi; he became Ukonoe-no-shōgen, Lieutenant of the Right Palace Guards, succeeded his elder brother Norikata as Echigo-no-kami, served Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, and in the end became a monk and ended his days (Note: following the Uesugi genealogy; consult the Kitsuregawa genealogy).

Uesugi Shigeyoshi

¶Uesugi Shigeyoshi was by original surname of the Miyatsu family and was a nephew of Norifusa. His father was called Dōkō (Note: some texts write the second character differently) and served as betsutō, administrator, of Kanjuji. Shigeyoshi was adopted by Norifusa in childhood (Note: following the Uesugi genealogy) and was appointed Izu-no-kami (Note: following the Uesugi genealogy and the Taiheiki).

¶In the Genkō disturbance, when Hōjō Takatoki sent Ashikaga Takauji to attack Kyoto, Takauji was secretly planning to go over to the imperial court. When the army reached Kagami post-station, Shigeyoshi, together with Hosokawa Kazuuji, showed Takauji the imperial rescript they had received from the emperor and had him approve it. Later, when the court sent Nitta Yoshisada to attack Takauji and Takauji fled to Kenchō-ji intending to take the tonsure, Shigeyoshi secretly plotted with Ashikaga Tadayoshi and forged an imperial rescript ordering the destruction of Takauji, so as to inflame his rebellious spirit. The details of this are recorded in the "Biography of Takauji." In the end he followed Takauji into Kyoto, led troops to hold off the imperial army at Izumoji, was unsuccessful and withdrew, and went west with Takauji (Note: following the Taiheiki).

¶When Takauji was about to raise troops again and attack Kyoto, he reached Muro-no-tsu and waited there for a wind. Tadayoshi was already advancing by land, and the time set for the campaign was very pressing. One night a west wind came up with rain, and Takauji was glad of it as convenient. He meant to set sail, but all those about him were still reluctant. He therefore summoned the boatmen and questioned them, and all said, "When the moon rises, the wind will change." In Shigeyoshi's ship was a seasoned boatman named Magoshichi, who said, "This wind is truly welcome. When the moon rises the rain will stop and the force of the wind will be yet more favorable. Though it is somewhat strong and sharp, there is no need to worry. We ought to raise anchor." Takauji was greatly pleased by his words, granted him the title of Saemon-no-jō, Lieutenant of the Left Gate Guards, and had the hawsers cast off at once, and it turned out exactly as he had foreseen (Note: following the Baishōron).

¶When Takauji entered Kyoto and took up position at Tō-ji, Yoshisada attacked, called Takauji out, and demanded battle. When Takauji was about to go out to meet him, Shigeyoshi pulled at his sleeve and remonstrated: "Yoshisada has merely pushed deep into our territory with an isolated army and is only trying to win a moment's glory. Is it right that the commanding general should himself treat his person so lightly?" Takauji thought this right and did not go out.

¶Shigeyoshi was close to Hatakeyama Naomune, and, hating the brothers Kō-no-Moronao and Moroyasu for monopolizing power, planned to take over the conduct of affairs in their place; he secretly sent the monk Myōtetsu to urge Tadayoshi to remove Moronao. Tadayoshi accepted his words and in the end fixed upon a plan to put Moronao to death. But the affair ended in failure, and Takauji exiled Shigeyoshi and Naomune to Echizen in order to placate Moronao. Moronao sent a man named Yagi Mitsukatsu to lure Shigeyoshi out and had him killed (Note: following the Taiheiki).

¶Shigeyoshi had two sons, named Akiyoshi and Yoshinori. Akiyoshi held in turn the posts of Shuri-no-suke, Assistant Master of Palace Repairs, and Minbu-no-taifu (Note: following the Uesugi genealogy). When Takauji and Tadayoshi were reconciled, Moronao and Moroyasu followed them to return to Kyoto (Note: following the Entairyaku, the Taiheiki and the Kitsuregawa genealogy). Akiyoshi, regarding them as his father's enemies, lay in wait on the way and tried to kill them. Takauji was greatly angered and was about to put him to death, but because Tadayoshi pleaded for him he was spared the death penalty and sent into exile (Note: following the Entairyaku).

¶Yoshinori was a son of Noriaki (Note: following the Uesugi genealogy), but Shigeyoshi raised him and made him his son (Note: following the Uesugi genealogy. The Taiheiki makes him an adopted son of Noriaki, but that is not adopted here). His house was called Takuma (Note: following the Uesugi genealogy). He became Kurōdo and Saemon-no-jō (Note: following the Taiheiki) and Hyōbu-no-shōyū, Junior Assistant Minister of War (Note: following the Uesugi genealogy and the Kitsuregawa genealogy). When Shigeyoshi died, Yoshinori resolved on revenge (Note: following the Uesugi genealogy). When Ashikaga Tadayoshi went over to the imperial court, Yoshinori answered him. Kō-no-Morofuyu attacked and Yoshinori's army collapsed, but Suwa Takatane responded to Yoshinori and struck down and killed Morofuyu (Note: following the Taiheiki). When Noriaki died, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu made Yoshinori and Tomomasa both shitsuji, and their descendants all inherited the post, so that they were called the Ryō-Uesugi, the Two Uesugi (Note: following the Kitsuregawa genealogy, the Uesugi genealogy and the Kamakura Ōzōshi).

Imagawa Norikuni

¶Imagawa Norikuni (Note: the Sonpi Bunmyaku writes it Kuninori) was called Gorō and belonged to the clan of Ashikaga Takauji. His grandfather was called Kuniuji and was a nephew of Ashikaga Takauji (Note: consult the Sonpi Bunmyaku, the Imagawa genealogy and the Nan-Taiheiki; that he belonged to Takauji's clan follows the Bunmyaku). He held the Imagawa manor in Mikawa and took it as his surname (Note: following the Nan-Taiheiki). Kuniuji begot Motouji, who was Norikuni's father (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku and the Imagawa genealogy).

¶Motouji once said, "Of my children, the one who will be able to take charge of our house will surely be Matsumaru." Matsumaru was Norikuni's childhood name. His elder brother Yorikuni died early, so Norikuni succeeded. In the Karyaku era he shaved his head and took the Buddhist name Shinshō (Note: following the Nan-Taiheiki). Takauji made Norikuni shugo of Tōtōmi (Note: following the Jōrakuki).

¶In the autumn of the first year of Engen (1336), when Takauji took up position at Tō-ji, the imperial army cut off his grain routes and food in his camp grew scarcer by the day. Norikuni fought the imperial army at Amidagamine and defeated it. Then, together with Nikki Yoshinaga, he held off the imperial army at Shinomiya-gawara.

¶In the spring of the third year (1338), together with Momonoi Naotsune and others, he attacked Chinjufu Daishōgun Minamoto Akiie at Aonogahara. Following Naotsune's gallant fighting, Norikuni too pressed in further and attacked, cut down several men with his own hand, and withdrew to rest in a commoner's house at Kuise. It was a dark night of wind and rain, and Norikuni's men, fearing an attack by the imperial army, urged him to enter Kira Mitsuyoshi's camp at Kurojigawa, but Norikuni would not allow it. A certain Yonekura set fire to the houses and burned them, and Norikuni had no choice but to leave the place.

¶Takauji rewarded his service, made Norikuni shugo of Suruga, and gave him in addition several tens of holdings as fiefs. At that time Norikuni used a red bird as his kasajirushi, helmet-badge; because he had won victory in this battle, he took it to be the help of the gods, and afterward had his descendants use it as well (Note: following the Nan-Taiheiki).

¶In the Shōhei era he followed Kō-no-Moronao and defeated Kusunoki Masatsura at Shijōnawate, and again followed Takauji and attacked Ashikaga Tadayoshi at Mount Satta (Note: following the Taiheiki). In the first year of Genchū (1384) he died, at the age of ninety (Note: following the Jōrakuki).

¶Now when Ashikaga Tadayoshi was defeated at Tegoshigawara, Hosokawa Jōzen urged Tadayoshi to fall in battle, but Norikuni firmly remonstrated and made him avoid it (Note: following the Nan-Taiheiki). Later Tadayoshi fought the imperial army at Teshimagawara and was defeated (Note: following the Taiheiki), fled with Takauji to Hyōgo, and entered a Buddhist hall intending to kill himself. Norikuni remonstrated with him, and Jōzen also strongly opposed it, so Tadayoshi boarded a ship and set out for Tsukushi. Tadayoshi was grateful that Norikuni and Jōzen had saved him, but people found it suspicious that the testimony of the two differed from one account to the other (Note: following the Nan-Taiheiki).

¶Norikuni had four sons, named Noriuji, Sadayo, Ujikane and Nakaaki. Ujikane later changed his name to Naoyo and became Danjō-shōhitsu, Junior Assistant Director of the Board of Censors, and Echigo-no-kami (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku. The change of name to Naoyo follows the printed edition).

Imagawa Noriuji

¶Imagawa Noriuji held in turn the posts of Nakatsukasa-no-taifu and Kazusa-no-suke, Assistant Governor of Kazusa (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku). When Takauji attacked Tadayoshi, he served in the battles in Ōmi and at Mount Satta and achieved merit (Note: following the Tenshō text of the Taiheiki). Later he followed Ashikaga Yoshiakira in attacking Yoshino and, together with Sasaki Ujiyori and others, brought down Hiraishi Castle (Note: following the Taiheiki).

¶His son Yasunori became Kazusa-no-suke and held half of Suruga (Note: following the Nan-Taiheiki). When Yamana Ujikiyo rebelled against Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, Yoshimitsu sent Yasunori and Sasaki Mitsutaka to hold him off at Tō-ji (Note: following the Meitokuki).

Imagawa Sadayo

¶Imagawa Sadayo became Sakyō-no-suke, Assistant Master of the Left Capital Office, and Iyo-no-kami (Note: following the Kanagawa-ke genealogy, the Taiheiki, the Kaei Sandaiki and the Ōeiki), and was granted Senior Fourth Rank Lower (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku). He received from Ashikaga Yoshiakira the post of shugo of Tōtōmi, and in the fourteenth year of Shōhei (1359) followed Yoshiakira in attacking Yoshino (Note: following the Taiheiki).

¶Soon he followed Hosokawa Kiyouji and held off the imperial army at Tō-ji, and at each engagement defeated it. On this campaign Kiyouji had invited Sadayo to go with him, and Sadayo achieved merit. Kiyouji had promised to speak of Sadayo's reward after Sadayo returned to his province, and Sadayo was closely bound to Kiyouji. Later, when Sadayo asked for the two manors of Kasahara and Hamamatsu in Tōtōmi, Kiyouji would not consent and instead applied for them himself and took possession of them, so Sadayo, indignant, returned to Tōtōmi.

¶When Yoshiakira suspected Kiyouji of treason, since Sadayo had always been on close terms with Kiyouji, he took Sadayo too to be of his party. At that time Kiyouji repeatedly invited Sadayo's younger brother Naoyo, hoping to plead his innocence through him. Naoyo would not agree to go, and Kiyouji lamented, "If only Sadayo were here, he would not have let me bear such an unjust charge." Norikuni, hearing of this, said to Yoshiakira, "My son Sadayo is on intimate terms with him. If you summon Sadayo at once and send him to Kiyouji to discuss matters, and have him stab Kiyouji to death on that occasion, affairs will not come to a serious pass." Yoshiakira agreed and sent a messenger to summon Sadayo. On the way Sadayo heard that Kiyouji had already fled to Wakasa, and he went on directly to Kyoto. Yoshiakira was pleased (Note: following the Nan-Taiheiki).

¶In the sixteenth year (1361), Kiyouji went over to the imperial court and bore down on Kyoto together with Kusunoki Masanori and others. Sasaki Takahide led five hundred cavalry to meet him at Ninjōji. Sadayo led more than seven hundred troops of Mikawa and Tōtōmi and took up position at Yamazaki. When Kiyouji reached Ninjōji, Takahide broke and fled without a fight. Kiyouji and his men pressed on, taking advantage of the moment, and Sadayo, judging that he could not hold, withdrew to Akiyama at Toba, and the other forces, seeing this, fled as well. Kiyouji and the rest advanced into Kyoto, and Yoshiakira at last fled to Ōmi. Before long Sadayo again followed Yoshiakira in attacking Kyoto and recovered it (Note: following the Taiheiki). Later he shaved his head and took the name Ryōshun (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku and the Nan-Taiheiki).

¶In the second year of Kentoku (1371) Ashikaga Yoshimitsu made Sadayo Chinzei Tandai, Commissioner of Kyushu (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku and the Ōeiki; the second year of Kentoku follows the Kikkawa family history). He meant to attack Kikuchi Takemitsu, but his troops were few and he could not advance. Yoshimitsu ordered Ōuchi Yoshihiro and Kikkawa Tsunemi to support him (Note: consult the Ōeiki and the Kikkawa family history). Together they advanced as far as Higo and fought Takemasa at Mizushima without success, and then, together with Ōtomo Chikayo, Ōuchi Yoshihiro and others, they led several thousand men to attack Kikuchi Taketomo. They fought a great battle at Takumabaru, and the dead and wounded were very many. Just then the army of the Shōgun-no-miya (Note: his name is lacking) arrived unexpectedly, and Sadayo was defeated and withdrew (Note: following the petition of Kikuchi Taketomo).

¶In the first year of Tenju (1375) he fought Shōni Fuyusuke in Higo and killed him (Note: following the Kaei Sandaiki). At that time lawless people of the islands, taking advantage of the disorder in Chinzei, were repeatedly raiding Koryŏ. Koryŏ sent an envoy asking that the raiding be forbidden. Sadayo sent the monk Shinkō with the reply, "The runaways who have turned bandit mostly do not obey my orders. It is not easy to forbid it all at once."

¶Koryŏ then sent the Taesasŏng (Director of the Academy) Chŏng Mongju, and had him set out in the fullest detail the advantages and harms of relations between neighboring countries, past and present. Sadayo received him with generous hospitality and had the islanders send back several hundred people, among them Yun Myŏng and An Usei, who had been captured, and also forbade the raiding. Mongju further sent a letter asking that Koryŏ subjects who had been made slaves be redeemed, and his words were most earnest. Sadayo sent back over a hundred more (Note: following the Tongguk T'onggam).

¶He also drew up regulations for the convenient government of Chinzei and submitted them. Yoshimitsu replied in writing and permitted them to be put into effect.

¶Now when Ōuchi Yoshihiro was returning from Kyoto together with Sadayo, he secretly urged Sadayo: "As I look at the government of today, the weak are blamed when they stir even if they are guiltless, while the strong break the law and are left alone and not called to account. For one of your eminence and prosperity, this is truly a matter for caution. But once you stumble, you will surely become a laughingstock of the age. You should lay a good plan in advance. The Ōtomo of today are powerful lords of Kyushu and have long enjoyed your favor. If you were to act, they would certainly lend their strength. If afterward you bring the lands of Chūgoku and Kyushu under your sway and join them in a solid bloc, the Shogun will not be able to add troops and call you to account. For preserving yourself, there is no plan better than this." Sadayo did not follow it and instead replied: "My younger brother Nakaaki has already formed a bond of marriage with your elder brother. In times of hardship we need only help one another; there is no need to make agreements beforehand. To form a faction to feather one's own nest, or to turn against the lord and make one's own position, is not my purpose. You have been loyal and have kept the resolve to serve the public; there is no fear that you will lose your estates. I beg you, too, not to let your thoughts run on needlessly." Yoshihiro bitterly resented this, constantly plotted to bring Sadayo down and replace him as Tandai, and ingratiated himself with Yoshimitsu's attendants and fabricated slanders.

¶Moreover, even those of the measures Sadayo had submitted for the government of Chinzei that had already been put into effect were, for the most part, changed by Yoshimitsu. As a result the officers and men of Chinzei came to suspect that Sadayo was acting on private motives, and in the end hearts were estranged and obstructed.

¶It happened that Ashikaga Mitsukane rebelled against Yoshimitsu in Kamakura; Yoshihiro answered him from afar and sent Mitsukane's letter to Sadayo to entice him. Sadayo at once sealed it and presented it to Yoshimitsu. Soon Yoshihiro rebelled and led his troops to Izumi. Yoshimitsu hastily summoned Sadayo back to Kyoto and told him, "I have truly done you wrong. I have no face to show you." Sadayo was inwardly glad. He thought he would surely be able to explain how the measures for governing Chinzei had come to go awry. But Yoshimitsu in the end did not question him and let the matter lie.

¶Then someone slandered him: "Many of Sadayo's sons, younger kinsmen and followers who are in Tōtōmi side with Mitsukane. That is why, though summoned, he hesitated and delayed and has come only now." Yoshimitsu believed this as well, took back all the letters he had earlier given to Sadayo, and ordered him to return to Chinzei in haste. Sadayo, knowing that he was already under suspicion, did not go to his post but returned straight to Tōtōmi. From this time he gradually came to resent Yoshimitsu. He did not openly side with Mitsukane, but secretly communicated with him and watched how matters would change. Yoshimitsu was angry and meant to attack Sadayo first. But before long the affair of Mitsukane was settled by reconciliation, and his party escaped censure.

¶Sadayo was uneasy and withdrew to live at Fujisawa. Since Sadayo's residence was close to Kamakura, Yoshimitsu feared that he might once more urge Mitsukane to rebellion, and ordered him to live in Ōmi. After some time Yoshimitsu, mindful of Sadayo's earlier services, summoned him to Kyoto and pardoned his offenses. Sadayo was habitually gloomy and unhappy; he had long lamented that the Taiheiki contained many errors, and wrote a book refuting it, which he called the Nan-Taiheiki. He died in the last years of Ōei (Note: following the Nan-Taiheiki. The various books do not record the year and month of Sadayo's death, but since the end of this book says that he suffered a stroke, he probably died soon afterward).

¶Sadayo was skilled in waka and loved learning besides. His writings include the Rakusho-shō, the Rakusho Roken, the Imagawa Sōshi, and the Kyūshū Kassenki. At first, seeing that his younger brother Nakaaki's way of governing was not good, Sadayo drew up house precepts to admonish him; the words were to the point, and Nakaaki mended his conduct as a result. This text was handed down in the world and was called the Ryōshun Kabegaki (Note: following the Imagawa-ki. The statement in the now widely circulated "Imagawa-jō" that Ryōshun wrote it to admonish his foolish son Nakaaki is mistaken).

¶Now Norikuni had meant to give Suruga to Sadayo, but Sadayo firmly declined and would not accept it, saying that his elder brother Noriuji had once wished for it. When Noriuji died, Sadayo yielded it again to Noriuji's son Ujiie. Norikuni thought this most admirable and, in his dying instructions, ordered that Sadayo be put in charge of the affairs of the clan. Ujiie, too, was deeply moved by Sadayo's kindness, and on his deathbed ordered that his holdings be given to Sadayo's son Sadaomi. But Sadayo held firmly to his resolve and would not accept them.

¶It happened that Ujiie had no heir, and his younger brother Yasunori had become a monk and was living at Kenchō-ji, so Sadayo petitioned that he be returned to lay life and succeed to Ujiie's post. Ashikaga Yoshimitsu divided Suruga, giving half to Sadayo and half to Yasunori. The kanrei Hosokawa Yoriyuki marveled at Sadayo's integrity and modesty as something beyond reach. Yasunori, however, suspected that Sadayo had in fact sought Suruga for himself, and so in turn tried to take Tōtōmi, slandering Sadayo as being of two minds. Yoshimitsu ordered that Tōtōmi be given to Nakaaki (Note: following the Nan-Taiheiki).

¶Sadayo had four sons, named Sadaomi, Sadatsugu, Tokiyo and Sadakane (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku). Sadaomi became Iyo-no-kami of Junior Fourth Rank Lower (Note: following the Imagawa genealogy) and Sakyō-daibu. Sadatsugu also became Iyo-no-kami. Tokiyo became Sama-no-suke, Assistant Director of the Left Bureau of Horses. Sadakane became Sakyō-no-suke (Note: some texts write left as right).

¶Sadayo's younger brother Nakaaki, whose original name was Kuniyasu, later changed it to Yoriyasu, and then to his present name. He became Saemon-no-suke (Note: the Meitokuki writes left as right) and Nakatsukasa-shōyū (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku). In the Tenju era he went to Chinzei with Sadayo and attacked Kikuchi Takekuni, but suffered a great defeat (Note: following the petition of Kikuchi Taketomo). In the eighth year of Genchū (1391), when Yamana Ujikiyo rebelled against Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, Yoshimitsu led troops in person to attack him and had Nakaaki supervise military affairs (Note: following the Meitokuki). Later he shaved his head and changed his name to Chūkō (Note: following the printed edition of the Sonpi Bunmyaku and the Nan-Taiheiki).

Imagawa Norimitsu

¶Imagawa Norimitsu was a younger brother of Norikuni (Note: following the printed edition of the Sonpi Bunmyaku). He became Gyōbu-no-shōyū, Junior Assistant Minister of Justice. At the battle of Kodesashihara, Norimitsu happened to be ill and could not mount a horse; helped by others, he got into the saddle, bound both his feet to the reversed stirrup straps, rode out to battle, and was killed in action (Note: following the Nan-Taiheiki).

Imagawa Yorisada

¶Imagawa Yorisada was a son of Yorikuni, Norikuni's elder brother (Note: following the Imagawa genealogy and the printed edition of the Sonpi Bunmyaku; the Bunmyaku in one place writes Yorikuni as Yorimoto). Yorikuni became Shikibu-no-taifu, Senior Assistant Minister of Ceremonial (Note: following the Nan-Taiheiki). In the Kenmu era he followed the imperial army, attacked Hōjō Tokiyuki at the Sagami River, and was killed in action (Note: following the Nan-Taiheiki).

¶Yorisada held in turn the posts of Shikibu-no-jō, Junior Secretary of Ceremonial, with Junior Fifth Rank Lower (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku), and Gyōbu-no-taifu, and became Suruga-no-kami (Note: following the Nan-Taiheiki and the Imagawa genealogy). In the first year of Engen (1336), when Takauji again attacked Kyoto, Yorisada led the troops of Tango and Tajima and, together with Nikki Yoriaki, entered Kyoto ahead of the other generals and defeated the imperial army at Takeda (Note: following the Baishōron). Soon he led the troops of Tajima and Wakasa and besieged Kanegasaki Castle, but without success.

¶In the following year Kō-no-Moroyasu, hearing that Satomi Tokinari and others were about to relieve Kanegasaki from the rear, sent Yorisada in addition at the head of more than twenty thousand men to hold the key roads. When Utsunomiya Seitō came and fought, Yorisada shot at him and drove him off. When the armies of Uryū, Amano, Saitō and Onodera arrived one after another, Yorisada was defeated and withdrew. Later he followed Kō-no-Moronao and fought Momonoi Naotsune in Kyoto (Note: following the Taiheiki).