Biographies CXXXIII: The Shogunal Retainers, Part XVI

Hosokawa Kazuuji

¶Hosokawa Kazuuji was styled Hachirō (Note: following the Taiheiki). His ancestors descended from Ashikaga Yoshiyasu. Yoshiyasu's eldest son Yoshikiyo lived in Shinano and was called Yata Hōgandai (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku; that he lived in Shinano follows the Genpei Jōsuiki). When Minamoto-no-Yoshinaka raised troops, Yoshikiyo led his men to Tanba, but Taira-no-Tadanori withdrew without giving battle (Note: following the Gyokuyō). When the Taira made their stronghold at Yashima, Yoshikiyo, together with Unno Yukihiro and others, led seven thousand troops (Note: the Genpei Jōsuiki gives five thousand) and encamped at Mizushima in Bitchū, intending to attack Yashima. But he was defeated by Taira-no-Shigehira and others, and he died fighting hard together with his younger brother Yoshinaga and others (Note: following the Genpei Jōsuiki and the Heike Monogatari. The Jōsuiki also says that Yoshikiyo followed Minamoto-no-Yorimasa and fell in battle in the Jishō disturbance, but this is mistaken). Yoshikiyo begot Yoshizane, and Yoshizane begot Yoshisue. Yoshisue lived at Hosokawa in Mikawa and was called Hosokawa Jirō. Yoshisue's great-grandson was named Kimiyori, who begot Kazuuji and Yoriharu (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku).

¶Kazuuji became Awa-no-kami, Governor of Awa (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku). At the time of the Genkō Disturbance (1331), when Ashikaga Takauji secretly planned to submit to the imperial court, Kazuuji, together with Uesugi Shigeyoshi, approved the plan. In attacking Rokuhara, Takauji meant to surround it on all sides. Kazuuji said, "When troops are cornered, they only hold their ground the harder. It is better to leave them a way to flee." Takauji thought this good and loosened one side of the encirclement, and, just as predicted, the enemy troops scrambled over one another to surrender. Takauji had Kazuuji and his younger brother Yoriharu and others lead troops to strike Hōjō Takatoki at Kamakura. On the way they heard that Nitta Yoshisada had already put Takatoki to death and taken Kamakura, so they went to Shimotsuke and, escorting Ashikaga Yoshiakira, entered Kamakura. Kazuuji was ashamed that they had lagged behind and had no merit to show, and wished to attack Yoshisada (Note: following the Baishōron).

¶Now, when Yoshisada took Kamakura, he inspected the heads of the slain at the Tsurugaoka shrine, and while there he opened the shrine storehouse to examine its treasures, and found a banner with the two-bar crest. The two-bar crest was the banner emblem of the Ashikaga house, and was said to be a relic of Minamoto-no-Yoshiie. When Kazuuji and the others heard of this, they asked for it on Yoshiakira's behalf. Yoshisada refused and would not give it up, so Kazuuji and the others sought to make this a pretext for stirring up trouble. But at that time the Kantō had only just been pacified, and warriors who submitted to Yoshisada did not cease coming, so it was not easy to start anything. They therefore loudly spread word of how Takauji stood high in the court's favor, and by this they agitated and disturbed men's minds. In this way commanders and soldiers gradually drifted from Yoshisada and submitted to Yoshiakira. Kazuuji and the others devoted all their effort to winning over men's hearts, and remained to assist Yoshiakira and kept him at Kamakura. Yoshisada was furious at this, and from this time the first rift arose between the Nitta and the Ashikaga.

¶Kazuuji followed Takauji in attacking Hōjō Tokiyuki and won distinction. When Takauji raised the standard of revolt at Kamakura, Kazuuji, again together with Uesugi Shigeyoshi, was one of the chief planners (Note: following the Taiheiki), and followed him in attacking the capital, Keishi (Kyoto). When Takauji fled in defeat to Tsukushi, he left Kazuuji at Sanuki with the men of his clan (Note: the mention of Sanuki follows various variant texts of the Taiheiki), and had him subdue Shikoku. A few months later Takauji attacked the capital again. Kazuuji led the navy and followed him, fought at Hyōgo and fought again in the capital, winning distinction in both. Afterwards, together with Yoriharu and Morouji, he again assisted Yoshiakira and kept him at Kamakura (Note: following the Baishōron).

¶When Minamoto-no-Akiie, Chinjufu Daishōgun, Commander-in-Chief of the Defense of the North, came to attack, Kazuuji and his men went out to the Tone River to block him, but were defeated in battle and withdrew (Note: following the Taiheiki). He died in the third year of Kōkoku (1342), at the age of forty-seven (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku). Kazuuji once wrote a Musōki, "Record of Dreams," setting down the events of his time (Note: following the Nan-Taiheiki. It seems that the way the Baishōron records the merits of the Hosokawa house is rather exaggerated. That book attributes its account to what was heard while lodging at the Kan shrine, a shrine of Sugawara-no-Michizane, but this is probably the Musōki). His sons were Kiyouji and Yorinatsu. Kiyouji has a separate biography. Yorinatsu was adopted out to Nikki Yoriakira (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku). Kazuuji's younger brother was Yoriharu.

Hosokawa Yoriharu

¶Hosokawa Yoriharu was styled Genkurō, became Gyōbu-taifu, Senior Assistant Minister of Justice, and was appointed Sanuki-no-kami, Governor of Sanuki (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku and the Hosokawa Keizu). When Ashikaga Takauji raised the standard of revolt against the court, Yoriharu followed him together with his elder brother Kazuuji and the others. When Takauji's army was defeated and fled to Hyōgo, troops from Suō and Nagato happened to arrive, and these were placed under Yoriharu and the others, who were made to hold off the imperial army at the Se River. Yoriharu fought with resolve to die, but was defeated again and wounded. Takauji thereupon fled to Tsukushi. Yoriharu followed Kazuuji and remained in Sanuki. When Takauji again attacked the capital, Yoriharu, together with the other commanders, repeatedly fended off the court's army (Note: following the Baishōron). Soon afterwards he attacked Nakatsukasa-kyō, Master of the Palace Ministry, Imperial Prince Takayoshi at Kanasaki Castle and took it.

¶Early in Kōkoku (1340), Wakiya Yoshisuke led the imperial army, pacified Iyo, entered the provincial office, the kokufu, and held it. Soon afterward Yoshisuke fell ill and died. Hearing this, Yoriharu judged that the opportunity must not be lost, and at once led more than seven thousand troops, broke Kawae Castle, and advanced on Seta Castle. Kanaya Tsuneuji, a separate commander of the imperial army, met him at Senchōhara with some three hundred troops. Yoriharu looked at them from afar and said, "These are all picked men, and they must intend to force us into a fight to the death. It is best to tire them out and then take them." So he cautioned and instructed his men, divided the army into three divisions, and himself led the van. When Tsuneuji's troops came charging, Yoriharu feigned disorder and fell back. Tsuneuji broke another division, and then the troops of the rear division joined battle, and at last they utterly routed him and cut off more than two hundred heads. Tsuneuji barely escaped with a little over a thousand horsemen, and Yoriharu advanced and took Seta Castle. The defending commander, Ōdate Ujiakira, died there.

¶In the third year of Shōhei (1348), he followed Kō-no-Moronao and fought Kusunoki Masatsura and defeated him. Yoriharu had at first belonged to Ashikaga Tadayoshi, but later followed Takauji and attacked Tadayoshi (Note: following the Taiheiki; what follows concerning his following Takauji is from the Tenshō text of the Taiheiki). Takauji appointed Yoriharu head of the Samurai-dokoro, the Board of Retainers. In the seventh year (1352), when Ashikaga Yoshiakira held Tōji temple and the court's army came in attack, Yoriharu led more than three hundred troops to the rescue (Note: this book in one place gives five hundred). On the way he fought Wada Masatada and Kusunoki Masanori, and his horse took fright and threw him. Three men pressed in to cut him down, but Yoriharu, lying where he had fallen, killed two of them. Just as he managed to rise, a single common soldier caught up with him and thrust with a spear, striking him in the throat, and he died (Note: following the Taiheiki). He was fifty-four years old at the time (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku; the Hosokawa Kafu says forty-nine). Yoriharu was a master archer. When Emperor Go-Daigo was assessing archery at the Ibaba Hall, he summoned Yoriharu to serve as his opponent, and Yoriharu pierced the target with all ten arrows. Then he was ordered to shoot from horseback, and he hit the mark again. He was granted garments as a reward. Yoriharu offered a waka in thanks, and the emperor praised him all the more (Note: following the Hosokawa Kafu). His sons were Yoriyuki, Yoriari, Yorimoto, Akiharu, and Mitsuyuki. Yoriyuki has a separate biography. Yoriari was Uma-no-kami, Director of the Right Bureau of Horses. Yorimoto was adopted by his elder brother Yoriyuki. Akiharu was Sanuki-no-kami and Sakonoe-no-shōgen, Lieutenant of the Left Palace Guards. Mitsuyuki was Hyōbu-shōyū, Junior Assistant Minister of War, and Shugo, Military Governor, of Bitchū. Yoriharu's younger brother was Morouji, who became Kamon-no-suke, Assistant of the Bureau of Housekeeping. His cousin was Akiuji.

Hosokawa Akiuji

¶Hosokawa Akiuji was styled Koshirō (Note: this book in one place writes the name as Yoriuji). His father was named Yorisada (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku). In the Kenmu era (1334-1338) he was at Kamakura in the service of Ashikaga Tadayoshi. When Hōjō Tokiyuki rose in revolt and reached Onakagahara in Musashi, Yorisada went into battle despite illness and died there (Note: following the Tenshō text of the Taiheiki. The Baishōron says that Yorisada was at that time ill and bathing at a hot spring in Sagami; that Akiuji fled with Tadayoshi as far as Mikawa and sent a man running to report what had happened; that Yorisada said, "I have been unfortunate enough to fall ill, and even hearing that rebels have arisen I cannot exert my strength. How could I, for the sake of what little life remains to me, burden your resolve to die with honor?"; and that when he had finished speaking he fell on his blade in front of the messenger. Which of the two is correct cannot be known).

¶Akiuji was appointed Mutsu-no-kami, Governor of Mutsu, and Hyōbu-taifu, Senior Assistant Minister of War (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku, the Entairyaku, and the Taiheiki; the Bunmyaku gives shōyū, Junior Assistant), and became Hikitsuke-no-tō, Head of the Court of Appeals (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku). He followed Ashikaga Takauji in taking the capital, and followed him again in fleeing to Tsukushi, and fought at Tatarahama (Note: following the Taiheiki. The Baishōron says Akiuji remained in Sanuki, but which is correct cannot be known). Soon afterwards, together with his younger brother Jōzen, he reached the capital, fought Nitta Yoshisada and others, and won distinction (Note: following the Baishōron).

¶In the second year of Shōhei (1347), he led troops against Kusunoki Masatsura in Kawachi. On reaching Konda he met an ambush and was heavily defeated, and withdrew to hold Tennōji (Note: the Entairyaku says that Akiuji fought Masatsura at Kyōkōji, was attacked by Masatsura at night, was defeated and returned to the capital, but which is correct cannot be known). Takauji sent Yamana Tokiuji to help him, but both were routed and came back (Note: following the Tenshō text of the Taiheiki). Akiuji kept a residence at Nishikikōji in the capital, and when Tadayoshi was accused by Kō-no-Moronao and suspended from his post, Tadayoshi took up residence there (Note: following the Taiheiki and the Sonpi Bunmyaku). When Tadayoshi submitted to the court, Akiuji followed him and attacked Takauji together with him. When peace was made he returned to the capital with Tadayoshi, but Tadayoshi fled to Echizen (Note: following the Taiheiki).

¶At Takauji's behest, Akiuji went to Tadayoshi and urged him to disband his troops (Note: following the Entairyaku). But Tadayoshi detained Akiuji and would not let him return, and had him, together with Hatakeyama Kunikiyo and Momoi Naotsune, hold off Takauji at Hassōzan, but it did not go well. Akiuji and Kunikiyo again remonstrated with Tadayoshi, urging him to make peace with Takauji and leave the conduct of government to Yoshiakira. Tadayoshi thought this very sound and went out to meet Takauji. But Naotsune opposed it stubbornly, and the peace failed once more (Note: following the Tenshō text of the Taiheiki). Akiuji was ashamed that matters had not gone well and meant to shave his head and become a monk, but Takauji heard of it and stopped him, so he followed Takauji back to the capital (Note: following the Entairyaku).

¶In the seventh year (1352), when Yoshiakira held Tōji temple against the imperial army, Wada Masatada and Kusunoki Masanori set fire to the streets and markets of Shichijō and pressed their attack. Akiuji went against them with over a hundred troops, fought and was defeated, and with only seven horsemen returned to Sanuki, where he gathered three thousand troops (Note: the present text of the Taiheiki in one place gives six thousand). He came again to the capital, and together with the other commanders attacked Otokoyama. The commanders were just then fighting at Sonodoguchi and Sarashina (Note: following the Taiheiki). Akiuji set fire to the houses of the common people and attacked from both sides, and the imperial army withdrew without fighting. He then advanced his camp together with Hosokawa Kiyouji to Nyohōkyōzuka. Yukawa Shōji and some two hundred men surrendered together, Otokoyama fell, and Akiuji returned (Note: following the Entairyaku and the Taiheiki).

¶In the seventh month he took the tonsure. The next day he died (Note: following the Entairyaku and the Jōrakuki). Akiuji was skilled in waka (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku) and fond of Zen; it is said that when he once went to Kai on military business, he visited the priest Soseki (Musō Soseki) of Erinji temple, took deep refuge in him, and in the end recommended him to Takauji (Note: following the Baishōron). He had four sons, named Shigeuji, Nariuji, Ujiyuki, and Masauji. Shigeuji became Shikibu-no-jō, Third Secretary of the Ministry of Ceremonial. In the Shōhei era he became Iyo-no-kami, Governor of Iyo. Ashikaga Yoshiakira ordered him to pacify the nine provinces of Kyūshū, and first had him go to Sanuki to prepare warships, and also levied military provisions on the lands of the hall of the Sutoku-in. Before he could depart he died of a sudden illness, and people said it was the curse of the Sutoku-in (Note: following the Taiheiki; the matter of the hall lands follows the Entairyaku). Nariuji was a son of Kazuuji, adopted by Akiuji, and became Hyōbu-taifu and Mutsu-no-kami. Ujiyuki was the youngest son of Yorisada, likewise adopted by Akiuji, and became Iyo-no-kami. Masauji became Sakonoe-no-shōgen (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku). Akiuji's younger brother was Jōzen.

Hosokawa Jōzen

¶Hosokawa Jōzen shaved his head while young, became Bettō, Superintendent, of the Wakamiya at Kamakura, was appointed Risshi, Master of the Precepts, and was called Kyō-risshi (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku and the Taiheiki). At the time of Hōjō Tokiyuki's rising, Jōzen, together with his elder brother Akiuji, followed Ashikaga Tadayoshi in flight as far as Inuniwagahara in Musashi, where troops of the neighboring districts, responding to Tokiyuki, attacked, and their momentum was very fierce. Jōzen urged on his men, fought to the death, and defeated them (Note: following the Kinshōin text of the Taiheiki). Afterwards he went to Sanuki and settled there.

¶When Ashikaga Takauji raised the standard of revolt and moved to attack the capital, he sent a letter summoning Jōzen. Jōzen at once raised troops in answer and encamped at Sagita-no-shō. Tamotsu of Takamatsu came to attack with Funaki Yorishige as his commander (Note: the family name of Yorishige follows the Funaki Keizu). Then, when the enemy came to Yashima, Jōzen attacked at night and utterly defeated them. By this the people of Shikoku all submitted to Jōzen. Akuura Nobutane and Tai Nobutaka of Bizen also raised troops in answer to Jōzen and held Fukuyama Castle in Bitchū, and Jōzen's strength grew ever greater.

¶In the first year of Engen (1336), he led his troops east, and on the way met Akamatsu Norisuke, and they advanced together. By this time Takauji had already reached Ōwatari and was facing Nitta Yoshisada. Wakiya Yoshisuke had also made camp at Yamazaki to hold off Takauji. Jōzen and Norisuke attacked Yoshisuke first and sent him fleeing. Yoshisada at last abandoned Ōwatari and withdrew. Jōzen pursued him and defeated Nitta Yoshiaki, and then advanced a long way and entered the capital. The imperial carriage, the shaga, had already gone to Enryakuji temple, but Jōzen and his men at once set fire to the palace, the kyūketsu (Note: following the Taiheiki; the Baishōron has also been consulted).

¶Takauji ordered Jōzen to go to Onjōji temple together with his elder brother Akiuji and others, in order to make a sudden attack on the imperial lodging, the anzaisho, with the warrior-monks. At that time Minamoto-no-Akiie, Chinjufu Daishōgun, had raised the troops of Mutsu and hastened to the imperial lodging, and his army was very strong and was about to attack Onjōji. Jōzen and the others were greatly alarmed and repeatedly sent messengers asking for reinforcements, but Takauji would not allow it. Jōzen and the others went out and made a stand at Karasaki, but were defeated; they withdrew and fought at Onjōji, and were defeated again, and at last withdrew and returned to the capital. Yoshisada and the others took advantage of this and pressed in, and Takauji's army was utterly defeated and abandoned the capital in flight.

¶Jōzen was deeply angered at this and said to his men, "That we could not hold the capital is our responsibility. Can we fail to wipe out this shame in one battle? I judge that Nitta's army is already exhausted and can fight no more. The other troops are all dazzled by gold, silver, and treasures, and are sure to scatter in all directions to plunder. If we strike them we will surely win." So at night he picked three hundred troops, set fire, and counterattacked. Yoshisada and the others fled, and in pursuit he cut down several of their officers, and Takauji entered the capital again (Note: following the Taiheiki). By this Jōzen's fame for valor resounded through the army. Afterwards he fought Yoshisada at Hyōgo and again defeated him utterly, and went on fighting under Takauji. In the battles at the capital, Jōzen's merit was greatest. Again he led troops to attack Amidagamine, defeated the imperial army, and returned (Note: following the Taiheiki and the Baishōron).

¶His younger brothers were the monks Kōkai and Naotoshi. Kōkai became Bettō of the Wakamiya (Note: the Baishōron and the Seiwa Genji Keizu have also been consulted) and was called Sanmibō (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku).

Hosokawa Naotoshi

¶Hosokawa Naotoshi became Minbu-shōyū, Junior Assistant Minister of Popular Affairs (Note: following the printed text of the Sonpi Bunmyaku). He was called Tachiwaki-senjō (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku and the Baishōron). In the Engen era (1336-1340), he followed Akiuji and Jōzen in fighting in the capital, and when Yoshisada fled, the men debated attacking Amidagamine. Naotoshi objected and proposed, "The enemy on Amidagamine are all merely a mixed force gathered from the neighboring provinces. To fight from within a fortress is exactly what they want. First strike the enemy at Takeda, and from there turn the troops about, pass through Kowata and Inari, and fall upon Amidagamine, catching them front and rear, and we will surely break them. The Lord Protector, Shuden (Tadayoshi), should send troops out to Shichijō and block their line of retreat." So together with Akiuji and the others he attacked Takeda. Naotoshi advanced first of all with two horsemen, broke through the gate and entered, and received a grave wound himself. His men followed and pressed in with a sudden assault, and the imperial army fell into the water and nearly all drowned. From there they turned back to Amidagamine and struck it from behind its lines. Tadayoshi also advanced his troops to meet it from the front, so the imperial army was thrown into confusion and fled without fighting (Note: following the Baishōron). Later he fought Ōtsuka Koremasa in Kawachi, was defeated, and died (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku and the Wada Keizu Uragaki Monjo).