Biographies CXXXVIII: The Shogunal Retainers, Part XXI

Yamana Tokiuji

¶Yamana Tokiuji was also called Yaya Kojirō. His ancestor eight generations earlier, Yoshinori, was a son of Nitta-no-Yoshishige and was called Yamana Saburō (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku and the Yamana genealogy). For his merit in following Minamoto-no-Yoritomo and destroying the Taira, he was appointed Izu-no-kami, Governor of Izu (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku and the Azuma Kagami). Tokiuji's father, Masauji, was called Yajirō. Tokiuji held in turn the offices of Izu-no-kami and Danjō-shōhitsu, Junior Assistant Minister of the Board of Censors, and rose to Sakyō-no-daibu, Master of the Left Capital Office (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku and the Yamana genealogy).

¶In the Genkō era (1331-1334) he followed Ashikaga Takauji together with Masauji and fought at Takenoshita, and he also accompanied Takauji in his flight to Kyushu. In the first year of Kōkoku (1340), together with his son Moroyoshi, he pursued Enya Takasada into Izumo and killed him (Note: following the Tenshō-bon Taiheiki). He became Samurai-dokoro Betto, Chief of the Board of Retainers, and served as shugo, military governor, of Inaba and Hōki (Note: following the Yamana genealogy).

¶In the sixth year of Kōkoku (1345), Ogino Tomotada held the castle of Kōzanji in Tamba, and Takauji had Tokiuji lead three thousand troops to attack and subdue it. In the second year of Shōhei (1347), Hosokawa Akiuji fought Kusunoki Masatsura in Kawachi and was defeated and withdrew. Takauji again dispatched Tokiuji and Akiuji, who with six thousand troops fought at Uryūno; Tokiuji suffered a great defeat and was himself wounded in seven places, and his men withdrew shielding Akiuji's army. His younger brother Kaneyoshi was killed in the battle.

¶In the seventh year of Shōhei (1352), together with Moroyoshi he raised troops in Hōki and advanced to Izumo, where he drove out Yoshida Gengaku, the deputy of Sasaki Takauji, and sent envoys hurrying to Yoshino to submit to the imperial court. In the following year (1353), Tokiuji and Moroyoshi advanced on Kyoto from Tamba with five thousand troops, while the Dainagon Fujiwara-no-Takatoshi, Kusunoki Masanori, and others advanced from Yodo, all making for the capital. Ashikaga Yoshiakira encamped at Kagura-ga-oka, but Tokiuji attacked and broke him, and Yoshiakira fled eastward. Tokiuji also defeated the army of Kō-no-Moroakira at Yoshimine. Here Tokiuji meant to wait until his forces had gathered in sufficient strength and then strike Yoshiakira in Mino, but his allies' troops did not assemble and many of his own kinsmen drifted away. The court, moreover, sent Fujiwara-no-Takatoshi to take charge of affairs. Things did not go as Tokiuji wished, and at last he withdrew his troops and returned to Hōki; the imperial forces likewise disbanded and went home, and Kyoto fell once more into the hands of the Ashikaga.

¶At that time Ashikaga Tadafuyu was wandering between Aki and Suō. Tokiuji reasoned, "The reason troops do not come over to our side is that the general we rely on lacks weight of reputation," and he petitioned the court and put Tadafuyu forward as commander-in-chief. In the ninth year of Shōhei (1354) he advanced at the head of his armies, and the troops of the San'in submitted as grass bends before the wind. Ashikaga Takatsune and Momonoi Tadatsune also raised troops in Hokuriku and responded, and when Takauji heard of it he fled to Ōmi. In the following year (1355) Tokiuji entered Kyoto together with Tadafuyu, and the imperial forces joined them there, but Takauji turned back with his troops and attacked. Tokiuji, Tadafuyu, and the others divided their forces and tried to hold him at Kannami, but could not prevail and gathered their troops and withdrew westward.

¶When he heard that Yoshiakira had invaded Yoshino, he feared that the blow would next be turned on himself, and so he gathered troops and repaired his castles in preparation. Before long he attacked Mimasaka and took nine castles, including Nagi, Nosen, Shinomuki, and Ōmitake; only the castle of Kurakake was held firmly and could not be taken. Akamatsu Sadanori marched to the border to relieve Kurakake, so Tokiuji sent Kobayashi Shigenaga to camp at Hoshimatsuridake and block him, and quickly assaulted and took Kurakake.

¶In the seventeenth year of Shōhei (1362), he reached Mimasaka with five thousand troops, had his son Moroyoshi and others lead troops to subdue Bizen and Bitchū, and sent Tomita Naosada to subdue Bingo. Naosada was defeated, and Moroyoshi, after pacifying Tajima and Tamba, turned his troops back.

¶In the nineteenth year of Shōhei (1364), Tokiuji sent a man to Yoshiakira with this message: "Between the Shogun and myself there has never been the slightest grudge. I raised troops this time only to strike down Sasaki Takauji as a warning for the future. If the Shogun will pardon the offense of my having raised troops on my own, and grant me the provinces I have conquered and pacified, I will serve you loyally as before." Yoshiakira was pleased and said, "If Yamana submits, the Chūgoku region will be pacified and the imperial forces will decline," and he pardoned him (Note: following the Taiheiki). Tokiuji was thus appointed shugo of the five provinces of Inaba, Hōki, Tamba, Tango, and Mimasaka (Note: following the Taiheiki and the Yamana genealogy).

¶Afterwards he shaved his head and took the name Dōsei (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku and the Yamana genealogy). He died in the second year of Kentoku (1371) (Note: following the Yamana genealogy, the Kaei Sandaiki, and the Jōrakki).

¶His sons were Moroyoshi, Yoshimasa, Ujifuyu, Ujikiyo, Tokiyoshi, Yoshikazu, Yoshitsugu, Ujishige, Takayoshi, Yoshiharu, and Ujiyori. Yoshimasa became Shuri-gon-no-daibu, Provisional Master of the Office of Palace Repairs (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku and the Yamana genealogy) and Danjō-shōhitsu (Note: following the Yamana genealogy and the Kaei Sandaiki), and together with his younger brother Ujikiyo he attacked Izumi and Kii with distinction (Note: following the Kaei Sandaiki). For this the shugoship of Kii was added to his holdings (Note: following the Yamana genealogy). Later he rebelled together with Ujikiyo and attacked Ashikaga Yoshimitsu; but while Yoshimasa was still gathering troops in Kii, before he could sally forth, Ujikiyo was defeated and killed, and he asked to submit. Yoshimitsu would not hear it and ordered Ōuchi Yoshihiro to destroy him. Yoshimasa's army broke and fled, and he escaped and became a monk; what became of him afterwards is not known. Ujifuyu became Nakatsukasa-no-taifu, Senior Assistant Minister of Central Affairs, and shugo of Inaba, and raised troops together with Ujikiyo, but before long submitted again (Note: following the Meitokuki). Tokiyoshi became the adopted son of his elder brother Moroyoshi (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku and the Yamana genealogy), and together with his elder brother Yoshimasa and others attacked Izumi and Kii (Note: following the Kaei Sandaiki). Yoshikazu became Kazusa-no-suke, Assistant Governor of Kazusa, and died in defeat together with Ujikiyo (Note: following the Yamana genealogy and the Meitokuki). Yoshitsugu became Shinano-no-kami, and Ujishige became Uma-no-suke, Assistant of the Right Bureau of Horses (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku and the Yamana genealogy); they followed Yoshimasa in the attack on Izumi and were killed in battle (Note: following the Meitokuki). Takayoshi became Shuri-no-suke and Yoshiharu became Suruga-no-kami (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku and the Yamana genealogy. The deeds of Ujiyori are missing).

Yamana Moroyoshi

¶Yamana Moroyoshi at first took the name Morouji and became Emon-no-suke, Assistant of the Right Gate Guards (Note: following the Taiheiki and the Yamana genealogy).

¶At only fourteen years of age he followed his father Tokiuji in pursuit of Enya Takasada and rode hard as far as Minatogawa, where, as night fell, they halted. Moroyoshi said to his followers, "The enemy flees day and night without rest. Once we have caught up with him, there will be no leisure to wait for dawn. I wish to strike him in the night. Let those with sturdy horses come with me," and he set out without telling Tokiuji. Kobayashi Shigenaga and eleven other riders followed him. They rode sixteen ri and at daybreak reached the Kako River, where Takasada's younger brother Rokurō and six others shot arrows from the far bank to hold them off. Moroyoshi advanced straight on, cut down Rokurō with his own hands, killed all the rest of the troops, and exposed their heads by the roadside. Takasada used the interval to escape as far as Koshioyama, but Moroyoshi caught up with him again and cut down three of his followers. Takasada fled once more; Moroyoshi's horse had tired and he could no longer give chase, so he waited for Tokiuji to arrive and entered Izumo with him, and Takasada took his own life.

¶In the seventh year of Shōhei (1352) he followed Ashikaga Yoshiakira in the attack on Otokoyama. The imperial forces had cut down the Yodo bridge and were holding the river, and the water had risen with rain, but Moroyoshi led his troops across a ford, drove them back, and together with the other commanders advanced and took Otokoyama.

¶Earlier, Ashikaga Takauji had promised to give Moroyoshi the estate of Imazumi in Wakasa, but Takauji died without fulfilling the promise. Moroyoshi now sought to obtain the land in return for his merit at Otokoyama. At that time Sasaki Takauji was held in high favor by Yoshiakira, and there was nothing he said that Yoshiakira did not follow. Moroyoshi visited Takauji repeatedly to make his plea, but Takauji, jealous of Moroyoshi's merit, refused to see him each time. Left standing a long while, Moroyoshi flew into a great rage and said, "I am of the Shogun's own kin, and when I came to you with a request, I am treated with such discourtesy. Now I will raise troops, destroy you all, and have my satisfaction." He galloped back to Hōki, told Tokiuji everything, and together they planned and resolved to submit to the imperial court.

¶In the following year (1353) he followed Tokiuji, joined the imperial forces, and attacked Yoshiakira in Kyoto and put him to flight. In the tenth year of Shōhei (1355) he again entered Kyoto with Tokiuji. Yoshiakira led Takauji and others to a position on Mount Kannami. Moroyoshi, leading his own men and several thousand of the imperial troops, pressed forward over difficult ground and closed with Yoshiakira's army in hand-to-hand fighting. Catching sight of Takauji's banner, he was overjoyed and said to his men, "In raising troops I never intended treason. I wish only to cut down that old man and wipe away my earlier shame. Hurry, bring me his head!" and all of them fell on the enemy, each eager to be first. Yoshiakira sent several riders to attack downhill from higher ground, and Moroyoshi's army was in the end utterly defeated, its dead beyond counting.

¶Kobayashi Shigenaga was standing and fighting alone, so Moroyoshi turned back with his followers to rescue him, but the enemy shot arrows like rain, and an arrow struck his left eye and passed through to behind his ear; his horse too was wounded and fell, and Moroyoshi tried to take his own life. Kawamura Yorihide rushed up and lifted Moroyoshi onto his own horse, had Fukuma Saburō lead it by the reins to bring him away, and himself stayed behind and died fighting. Blood ran into Moroyoshi's eyes so that he could not tell direction, and he kept calling, "Kawamura, Kawamura!" When Fukuma answered, "Kawamura is dead" (Note: from "kept calling" onward follows the Saigen'in text), Moroyoshi said, "Who is holding the reins? Let me ride into the midst of the enemy. I want to die as Kawamura did." Fukuma answered falsely, "The horse is heading straight for the enemy," and galloped back all the way to the main army.

¶Moroyoshi sent an envoy to Yoshiakira asking that Yorihide's head be buried with due ceremony, and he also had all the soldiers who had fallen recorded by name and had memorial services held for them at a Buddhist temple in Inaba.

¶In the sixteenth year of Shōhei (1361) he subdued Mimasaka and took several castles. In the following year (1362) he led more than two thousand riders to subdue Bizen. Matsuda and others held their castles and would not sally out, so he sent Tajime and others to attack Matsuyama castle in Bitchū, and Akiba turned traitor from within. Kō-no-Morohide abandoned the castle and fled, and the soldiers of the whole province submitted one after another. Moroyoshi meant to advance further and pacify Harima. Because Nikki Yorikatsu held Tajima, he joined forces with Chōbō and Abo Shinzen of Tajima and others and attacked him. He sent Kobayashi Shigenaga with seven hundred troops to subdue Tamba and to face Nikki Yoshitada and others, but supplies ran out and he turned back.

¶Later he submitted to Yoshiakira together with Tokiuji (Note: following the Taiheiki), became Ko-samurai-dokoro, Deputy Chief of the Board of Retainers, shaved his head, and took the name Dōkō (Note: following Yamana Ujikiyo). He died in the second year of Tenju (1376) (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku, the Yamana genealogy, the Kaei Sandaiki, and the Jōrakki). He adopted his younger brother Tokiyo as his heir to succeed him, and Tokiyo became Iyo-no-kami (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku and the Yamana genealogy). In the sixth year of Genchū (1389), Tokiyo died (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku, the Yamana genealogy, and the Jōrakki). Moroyoshi's sons were Yoshiyuki, Ujiyuki, Yoshihiro, and Mitsuyuki (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku and the Yamana genealogy).

Yamana Ujikiyo

¶Yamana Ujikiyo became Minbu-no-shō, Junior Assistant Minister of Popular Affairs, was appointed Mutsu-no-kami, and became shugo of Tamba (Note: following the Yamana genealogy). Together with his elder brother Yoshimasa he attacked Yoshino, and for that merit the shugoship of Izumi was added to his holdings (Note: following the Kaei Sandaiki and the Meitokuki).

¶His younger brother Tokiyoshi, who was in Tajima, acted as his appetites dictated, and Yoshimitsu meant to destroy him, but just then Tokiyoshi died of illness. Tokiyoshi's sons Tokihiro, Ujiyuki, and the others grew still more overbearing, and Ujikiyo slandered them to Yoshimitsu. Yoshimitsu ordered Ujikiyo and Mitsuyuki to subdue them, but Tokihiro and Ujiyuki slipped secretly into Kyoto and appealed, "In truth we are guilty of nothing, and have merely suffered a calamity brought on by the slander of our own kin." Yoshimitsu pitied them, and as it happened Ujikiyo had prepared a banquet at Uji and invited Yoshimitsu, so Yoshimitsu meant to counsel Ujikiyo to choose reconciliation with Tokihiro and the others.

¶Hearing of this, Mitsuyuki said to Ujikiyo, "The Shogun is blaming us; we cannot refuse to listen. Let us simply plead illness and stay away," and Ujikiyo agreed. Mitsuyuki seized as he pleased the lands under the Retired Emperor's own estate, and although Yoshimitsu sent letters rebuking him, he would not listen. When the Retired Emperor's envoy arrived, Mitsuyuki sent men to turn him away. Yoshimitsu was enraged, and meaning to strip him of his shugo office, ordered him to return to his home province. Mitsuyuki held out in Tango, and in the end Yoshimitsu pardoned Tokihiro and the others.

¶Mitsuyuki was embittered. He came to Izumi and told Ujikiyo, "The Shogun first ordered me to destroy them, and now he has pardoned them again. Surely he will next attack us. Let us strike first," and Ujikiyo agreed. Hearing of this, Yoshimitsu was about to send out troops, but Ujikiyo falsely offered a written pledge and apology, and then went on to Kii and met Yoshimasa and told him the plan. Yoshimasa said it could not be done, but Ujikiyo pressed him strongly and at last won his consent.

¶Ujikiyo then sent out troops from Izumi, and Mitsuyuki from Tango. Ujikiyo advanced as far as Otokoyama and said to Kobayashi, one of his retainers, "In former days Nitta Sachūjō (Nitta Yoshisada) aided the Southern Court and his name resounded through the realm. I am of his kin. What reason is there to hesitate to take the realm? I once said that I had received the brocade banner from the Southern Court. Now is the time to raise that banner" (Note: the Sonpi Bunmyaku says that Ujikiyo claimed to have raised troops upon receiving an edict of the Southern Court, but that this was nothing more than a temporary stratagem).

¶Kobayashi wept and said, "I know that today's undertaking will surely fail. For how can anything succeed when one betrays a benefactor and slights one's lord? To flee would lack courage, and to fight would offend against righteousness. I would rather fight and die." Kobayashi, together with Yoshikazu, led the vanguard as far as Nijō Ōmiya and fought Ōuchi Yoshihiro, with casualties on both sides. Yoshikazu said to Kobayashi, "Why do we not strike the Shogun's own position?" and the two advanced together, but could not prevail and died in battle. Hearing this, Ujikiyo said, "I shall surely die where those two died," and advanced as far as Ōmiya, fought Tokihiro and the others, and defeated them. But Isshiki Akinori and others attacked, and Ujikiyo was at last killed in defeat. Mitsuyuki advanced from Uchino but was beaten and fled (Note: following the Meitokuki).

¶Earlier, Tokiuji had constantly warned his sons: "Among my descendants there will surely be some who rebel. After the disturbances of the Genkō era, I lived at Yamaichi in Kōzuke, mixed among the farmers, and tasted every hardship. Now I live in ease, and the Shogun's favor is deep. Even so, there may be some who harbor arrogance. How much more so in the generation of my descendants, who will no longer know the favor of their lord and their forefathers, and who in pride and willfulness will do as they please, so that surely some will fall under suspicion from above." Later it came about exactly as he had said (Note: following the Nan-Taiheiki).

Toki Yoritō

¶Toki Yoritō was called Shichirō, and his ancestry goes back to Minamoto-no-Yorimitsu. Yorimitsu's son Yorikuni became Mino-no-kami, and his descendants lived in Mino (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku). Yoritō's ancestor six generations earlier, Mitsunobu, served the Retired Emperor Toba and was one of the so-called Four Heavenly Kings. He became Saemon-no-jō, Third-Rank Officer of the Left Gate Guards, concurrently Kebiishi, Police Commissioner, was appointed Dewa-no-kami, and rose to Junior Fifth Rank Upper. Because he first settled at Toki, he took it as his surname. Yoritō's father, Yorisada, was a maternal grandson of Hōjō Sadatoki, excelled at archery and horsemanship, was skilled in waka, and was appointed Hōki-no-kami. Later he shaved his head and took the name Zonkō.

¶Yoritō was appointed Danjō-shōhitsu and became shugo of Mino (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku and the Toki genealogy). In the second year of Kenmu (1335), when Ashikaga Takauji raised the standard of revolt at Kamakura, the imperial forces set out by separate roads to subdue him. Yoritō followed Ashikaga Tadayoshi and held the line at the Yahagi River but was defeated and withdrew. Hearing that the imperial forces were closing in, together with Ashikaga Takatsune, Sasaki Takauji, and others he galloped through the night to Takenoshita, but their strength was only about a hundred riders (Note: the number of troops follows the variant texts of the Taiheiki; the source reads "誅異本", presumably an error for "諸異本"). At dawn, when Takauji arrived, Yoritō and the others went on as the vanguard, attacked the army of Takayoshi, Prince Nakatsukasa-kyō, and put it to flight (Note: following the Taiheiki).

¶In the first year of Engen (1336) he again followed Takauji in his flight to Kyushu, followed Tadayoshi in holding off Kikuchi Taketoshi at Tatarahama, and distinguished himself (Note: following the variant texts of the Taiheiki). He then entered Kyoto and took up position at Tōji. When the imperial forces attacked, Takauji had Yoritō and others hold them off. Yoritō fought the Dainagon Fujiwara-no-Moromoto and the Saemon-no-kami Fujiwara-no-Saneyo at Gojō Ōmiya and defeated them. At that time Nitta Yoshisada was pressing on Tōji, but Yoritō turned back and, with the other armies, struck the rear of Yoshisada's position and surrounded him in many rings, so that Yoshisada barely escaped.

¶In the third year of Engen (1338), Minamoto-no-Akiie, Chinjufu Taishōgun, Commander-in-Chief of the Pacification Headquarters, marched west with a great army. Uesugi Noriaki and Momonoi Tadatsune pursued him as far as Mino, and Yoritō led troops out to Sunomata to join them. The commanders debated, "By the time Akiie's army reaches Uji and Seta, the Shogun (Takauji) will surely have cut the bridges to hold them. If we strike them from behind and pinch them between us, how can we fail to win?" Yoritō said, "With the enemy troops right before our eyes, to let them pass and then fall on their rear, are you gentlemen thinking only of your own convenience? What will people say of us? I shall simply fight and die." Tadatsune said, "Very well," and so the commanders' deliberation was settled.

¶Yoritō and Tadatsune joined forces and drew up at Aonogahara and fought a great battle with Akiie, but were defeated. They gathered their scattered troops again and charged the position of the Shōshō Minamoto-no-Akinobu. After hard fighting Yoritō and Tadatsune were both wounded and almost all their followers were lost. Yoritō withdrew and held Nagamori castle. Takauji sent troops to meet Akiie at the Kurochi River (Note: following the Taiheiki). Yoritō struck at his rear, so that Akiie could not advance, and at last he departed by way of the Ise road (Note: following the Nan-Taiheiki).

¶In the following year (1339), Wakiya Yoshisuke, in Echizen, recovered several tens of castles in Hokuriku. Ashikaga Takatsune abandoned Kuromaru castle and fled, so Takauji sent his commanders forward in three directions to relieve him. Yoritō led the troops of Mino and Owari and advanced from Ōno district, and together with Takatsune and others attacked Somayama castle and took it. Yoshisuke fled to Mino and shut himself up in Neo castle. Yoritō, together with his nephew Yoriyasu, took this too.

¶Because of the great deeds Yoritō had repeatedly performed, he came to rely on his power and grew arrogant. In the third year of Kōkoku (1342), together with Nikaidō Yukiharu he held an archery contest at the riding ground of Imahiei, drank the whole day through, and as night fell they rode back in a line. On the road they met the Kōgon-in (the Retired Emperor Kōgon), who was returning from Fushimi-dono. Yukiharu heard the outriders calling out the keihitsu, the cry that clears the road, dismounted, and prostrated himself at the roadside. Yoritō was very drunk and cursed, "Who is it that dares to make me give way these days?" The outriders said, "You country boor, how rude! Do you not know this is the Retired Emperor's procession?" Yoritō laughed and said, "In? Or inu (a dog)? (Note: a pun on the similar sounds of in and inu.) If it's a dog, I'll shoot it," and ordered his men to surround the ox-carriage and shoot arrows at it, breaking the yoke and tearing the carriage's hood, heaping on it every possible insult.

¶Tadayoshi heard of it and flew into a rage, saying, "This man must be put to the most extreme penalty, as a warning for the future." Yoritō and Yukiharu were afraid and each fled back to his home province. Tadayoshi sent troops to destroy them, but Yukiharu returned to Kyoto and gave himself up. Yoritō, realizing that as the ringleader he could not escape guilt, planned to raise troops and resist, but his kinsmen all obeyed Tadayoshi's orders and none answered him. Yoritō slipped secretly into Kyoto and begged for his life through the monk Soseki (Musō Soseki), but Tadayoshi would not listen and had him beheaded at the Rokujō riverbank.

¶At that time the warriors, relying on their merits, had grown utterly high-handed, and it had become their habit to treat the court nobles lightly. Those living in the provinces knew only that Takauji existed, and did not even know of the Retired Emperor or the Emperor. When they heard that Yoritō had been put to death, people warned one another and ceased to behave rudely, and gradually came to understand the distinction between high and low (Note: following the Taiheiki).

¶Yoritō's sons were Ujimitsu, Mitsuaki, Naoyori, and Mitsuyuki. Ujimitsu called himself of the Imamine family and was appointed Sama-no-kami, Director of the Left Bureau of Horses (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku; the Taiheiki writes "kami" as "suke"). He became the adopted son of Nikki Yoshinaga and, relying on his power, schemed to seize the lands of his cousin Yoriyasu, which caused discord between Yoshinaga and Yoriyasu (Note: following the Taiheiki). Mitsuaki called himself of the Toyama family and became Tōtōmi-no-kami. Naoyori also called himself of the Toyama family and became Ōmi-no-kami. Mitsuyuki called himself of the Imamine family and became Suruga-no-kami.

¶Yoritō's younger brother Yoriaki became Hyōgo-no-kami, Director of the Armory Bureau, and shaved his head and took the Buddhist name Shūsai (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku). When Yoritō was put to death, Yoriaki, having had no part in the affair, returned to Mino. In the second year of Shōhei (1347) he followed Yamana Tokiuji and Hosokawa Akiuji in the attack on Kusunoki Masatsura. Yoriaki, with Sasaki Ujiyori, took up a separate position at Abeno, but when Tokiuji was defeated by Masatsura and Kō-no-Moronao attacked Masatsura at Shijōnawate, Masatsura fought hard and all the armies broke. Yoriaki too fought with all his strength and was wounded, and in retreating was passing before Moronao. When Moronao said, "Does even a brave man retreat?" Yoriaki turned his horse, charged into the enemy ranks, and was killed in battle (Note: following the Taiheiki. The Tenshō-bon Taiheiki says that in the fifth year of Shōhei (1350) Shūsai raised troops in Mino and rebelled against Ashikaga Yoshiakira; Yoshiakira personally led troops to attack, Shūsai was defeated and submitted, and Yoshiakira had him bound and taken back to Kyoto and beheaded at the Rokujō riverbank, which differs from the present account. Examining the Enta Ryaku, we find that Shūsai is written there with the characters "周請", and the Gion Shigyō Nikki writes it "周清", and its note there says "son of the Hyōgo Nyūdō," so it is clear that he is a different man from Yoriaki, and that account is not adopted here).

Toki Yorinao

¶Toki Yorinao was called Akugenta (Note: following the Taiheiki) and was Yoritō's elder brother. He became a kurōdo, chamberlain, and was appointed Saemon-no-jō (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku and the Toki genealogy).

¶With his father Yorisada he followed Ashikaga Takauji, held Tōji, and led troops to guard against the imperial forces at the Sanjō riverbank. Just then the Chūnagon Fujiwara-no-Takasuke attacked Tōji and, pressing the advantage, burned the watchtowers. At that time Takauji had sent his officers and men out in various directions, and the troops at hand were very few, so that he could hardly hold. Yorisada, standing nearby, lamented, "If my son were here, he would never have let the enemy come so close." Just then Yorinao arrived, and Yorisada welcomed him and said, "The matter is urgent. Go and drive the enemy back." Yorinao answered and dashed off, but Takauji called him back, unbuckled his own sword, and gave it to him. Yorinao went to the side of the Rashōmon gate, shot arrows, personally cut down several of the imperial troops, and the imperial forces retreated because of this (Note: following the Taiheiki).

Toki Yoriyasu

¶Toki Yoriyasu was a son of Yoritō's elder brother Yorikiyo (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku and the Toki genealogy). The Toki family had for generations taken the bellflower as its banner device, and the clan was powerful, so that each time they took the field they formed one unit, called the "Kikyō Ikki," the Bellflower Band (Note: following the Taiheiki). At first Yoritō, as head of the main line, commanded it, but when Yoritō was executed Yoriyasu took his place (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku and the Toki documents). He became shugo of Mino, Owari, and Ise, and was appointed Mino-no-kami (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku; the printed Sonpi Bunmyaku writes "Ise" as "Iyo").

¶At the beginning of the Shōhei era (c. 1346), when Ashikaga Takauji attacked his younger brother Tadayoshi at Kagami station, Yoriyasu followed him with two thousand troops. In the seventh year of Shōhei (1352), when the imperial forces recovered Kyoto, Ashikaga Yoshiakira fled to Ōmi (Note: following the Taiheiki). Yoriyasu joined him with the troops of Mino, Owari, and other provinces, and the army grew greatly strong (Note: following the Tenshō-bon Taiheiki). He then followed Yoshiakira into Kyoto and with the other commanders besieged Otokoyama and took it (Note: following the Taiheiki and the Enta Ryaku).

¶In the following year (1353), when Yamana Tokiuji, with the imperial forces, attacked Yoshiakira in Kyoto, Yoriyasu fought Yamana Moroyoshi at the Nijō riverbank (Note: "Nijō riverbank" follows the Tenshō-bon), was worsted, lost more than ninety of his kinsmen, and fled to Mino following Yoshiakira.

¶In the tenth year of Shōhei (1355), together with Nikki Yoshinaga he followed Takauji in the attack on Kyoto and fought Momonoi Tadatsune and Akamatsu Ujinori at the Shichijō riverbank, clashing dozens of times in a day and putting them to flight. He also followed him in fighting the imperial forces at Shichijō, and when Hosokawa Kiyouji fought hard and was wounded, Yoriyasu's five hundred riders advanced together with Sasaki Ujiyori to rescue him and greatly defeated the imperial forces. Pushing on to press upon Tōji, the imperial forces were cowed and would not fight again, but abandoned Tōji and withdrew (Note: following the Taiheiki).

¶When Takauji died, Yoriyasu shaved his head and took the name Zenchū (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku).

¶In the fourteenth year of Shōhei (1359), he followed Yoshiakira in the attack on Yoshino. Earlier, Nikki Yoshinaga had adopted Yoritō's son Ujimitsu, and Ujimitsu was secretly scheming to use Yoshinaga's power to seize Yoriyasu's lands, so Yoriyasu constantly resented him. When he heard that Hatakeyama Kuniyoshi was plotting to remove Yoshinaga, Yoriyasu approved and cooperated. Yoshinaga at last fled to Ise. Yoriyasu's kinsmen, the Azuma and Ikeda houses, together with Ogawa Nakatsukasa-no-jō, held Ogawa in Owari and responded to Yoshinaga. Yoriyasu had his younger brother Naoji lead troops to attack them and cut down Nakatsukasa-no-jō. Yoriyasu then, together with Sasaki Ujiyori, led seven thousand troops and besieged Yoshinaga in Nagano castle. After two years of confrontation Yoshinaga finally submitted (Note: following the Taiheiki).

¶Yoriyasu held in turn the offices of Gyōbu-no-shō, Junior Assistant Minister of Justice, and Daizen-no-daibu, Master of the Palace Table Office (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku, the Toki genealogy, and the Taiheiki), rose to Junior Fourth Rank Lower, was granted the privilege of access to the palace, and became kanrei (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku). In the fifth year of Tenju (1379), a certain Shimada slandered Yoriyasu to Ashikaga Yoshimitsu (Note: following the Kamakura Ōzōshi), and Yoshimitsu was about to send out troops to destroy him, but before long the suspicion was cleared (Note: following the Kaei Sandaiki). He died in the fourth year of Genchū (1387), at the age of seventy. He was called Kentokuji (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku and the Toki Kikigaki).

¶Yoriyasu had no son (Note: following the Toki Kikigaki; the Sonpi Bunmyaku makes Mitsusada a son of Yoriyuki, but according to the present work's view, the Toki genealogy, which makes Mitsusada a son of Yorio, is thought to be correct, so that account is not adopted), and he made Hiru (Yoriyuki, Hiru Yoriyuki) his adopted heir. Yoriyuki was called Gyōbu-no-taifu and became Daizen-no-daibu (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku and the Toki genealogy). Later he rebelled against Ashikaga Yoshimitsu and died in defeat (Note: following the Toki genealogy). His son Yasumasa was appointed Daizen-no-daibu and became shugo of Ise.

¶Yoriyasu's younger brothers were Yorio, Yoritada, Yasunao, and Naoji (Note: the names given in this work vary, and not all of the variants are noted here). Yorio took the name Ibi and became Dewa-no-kami. His son Yoriyuki succeeded Yoriyasu.

¶Yoritada at first took the name Yoriyo, took the name Ikeda, and became Mino-no-kami and Gyōbu-no-shō (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku and the Toki genealogy), and was skilled in archery and horsemanship (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku). When Yoriyuki rebelled, Yoritada, together with his son Yorimasu, destroyed him with distinction, and Yoshimitsu ordered Yoritada to take over the headship of the Toki house (Note: following the Toki Kikigaki). Yorimasu was appointed Sakyō-no-daibu and fought between Owari and Mino, repeatedly defeating the enemy (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku and the Toki genealogy; this work does not record when that fighting took place, but it was probably when he followed his father in destroying Yoriyuki), and for that merit became Mino-no-kami (Note: following the Toki genealogy). In this way the Toki house recovered its strength (Note: following the Toki Kikigaki).

¶Yasusada was a master archer, called "Aku Gorō" in the world (Note: following the Taiheiki and the Toki genealogy). In the seventh year of Shōhei (1352), when he followed Yoriyasu and fought the imperial forces at Arasaka, the mountain road was steep and the imperial troops shot arrows like rain, so that his own men could not advance. Yasusada threw himself forward at the very front and crossed swords with Wada Masatada, but was killed by Masatada (Note: following the Taiheiki).

¶Naoji became Iyo-no-kami and Kunai-no-shō, Junior Assistant Minister of the Palace Household (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku and the Taiheiki). When Ashikaga Yoshiakira attacked Yoshino, Naoji followed his elder brother Yoriyasu. With Hosokawa Kiyouji and others he went as a detached force to attack Ryūsen castle, but the commanders, fearing the steepness of the castle, hesitated to attack and had been facing it for several months. Naoji said to his subordinate Tokura Naomori, "Looking at Ryūsen castle, I see that many birds and ivy grow thickly over it. It must be an empty castle. This is just what the art of war means by 'if the flying birds are not startled, there is no baleful vapor above,' and I can tell that the enemy have set up dummy figures to deceive us. Let us try taking it with my men alone," and hurriedly broke camp and rushed forward. Hosokawa Kiyouji, Akamatsu Norizane, and others arrived one after another, and breaking the palisades together with Naoji's troops they went in; just as he had said, the defenders had already fled, and the hundred or so weak soldiers who remained scattered without fighting. They then set fire to the castle and withdrew (Note: following the Taiheiki; the name Tokura Naomori follows the Tenshō-bon). Later he shaved his head and took the name Shinkei (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku).