Declining aristocracy and emerging new power
Heishi (or Taira) Regime (1167 — 1185)
In 1156, dispute of family members of Emperor developed to the battle between Samurai armies of each family group (Hogen-no-ran (Hogen war)), which later developed to more decisive struggle of Heiji-no-ran (Heiji war) in 1159 where Taira-no-Kiyomori, leader of Heishi (Taira) forces, wiped out Genji forces of opposing family. It gave dominant power to Kiyomori, who eventually got promoted to Daijo Daijin (Grand Minister of State) in 1167. He was the first Samurai warrior who grabbed this highest position, which led to the historical power shift from palace politics to the governance by Samurai warriors.
Power-hungry Kiyomori didn’t stop there. Throwing his weight around, he arranged marriage of his daughter Tokuko and Emperor Takakura in 1171. Now, not surprisingly, most of the high-ranked positions are occupied by Kiyomori’s loyal cadres.
Minamoto-no-Yoritomo, 13 years old, banished in 1160 after the Heiji war
In the Heiji war, most of the leading warriors of Genji family were killed. 13-year-old Minamoto-no-Yoritomo, son of the leader, was thus sentenced to death. However, his life was narrowly saved by the plea of Ike-no-zenni, the stepmother of Taira-no-Kiyomori, and he was banished to the remote Izu Peninsula. (This ruling later proved a fatal mistake of Kiyomori.)
The Izu area was controlled by a local strongman, Hojo Tokimasa, who initially acted as the watchdog of Yoritomo. The banished Yoritomo seems treated with respect, however, probably because of his noble lineage (the Genji family was descended from Emperor Seiwa). While the Heike clan was wielding its power, Yoritomo spent about 20 years without standing out.
The history opened a new door, however, when Yoritomo married Hojo Masako, the eldest daughter of Tokimasa. By then, the high-handed and arbitrary rule of Taira-no-Kiyomori and his clan had already provoked frustration and resentment among imperial family members and many regional leaders suppressed by Heike power. Ironically, the anti-Kiyomori tumult drew even dissatisfied Heike families who were given cold shoulders by Kiyomori. A hidden storm was brewing.
The tide turns
–Mochihito-O’s counterattack —
On April 9th, 1180, Mochihito-O, a prince of Grand Emperor Goshirakawa, finally burst out in anger and issued an order to Genji family survivors and anti-Heike regional rulers to wipe out Taira-no-Kiyomori and his clan. Kiyomori had long delayed recognition of Mochihito-O’s official title for registered prince, or rather put it in mothballs to arrange his grandson’s accession to the throne of emperor (Emperor Antoku) in 1180. Kiyomori’s high-handed actions deteriorated even relations with Grand Emperor Goshirakawa. In the previous year, Kiyomori tentatively confined Goshirakawa to ignore his command and sacked his 40 courtiers. Mochihito-O couldn’t remain unscathed. He was deprived of some part of his fiefdom—the source of his power.
Mochihito-O’s directive was brought to Yoritomo, too. Yoritomo, though shut in remote place of Izu, was gradually gathering power there as a direct line of blue-blooded Genji family, a descendant of Seiwa Emperor, and also as the son-in-law of Hojo Tokimasa, lord of Izu area. The time has come. But, his hunch told him something, and he watched how Mochihito-O’s rising moves.
Things don’t always go as planned. Unfortunately for Mochihito-O, his uprising plan leaked out to Heike before he could mobilize enough force of anti-Heike parties. Kiyomori immediately took action to wipe out Mochihito-O and his supporters before the ripple turns into a huge wave. A fierce battle was waged at Uji river, and Mochihito-O ended his unappreciated life without beating Kiyomori.
Heike family sighed in relief — for a moment. However, the rallying cry of Mochihito-O started spreading like wildfire, igniting fuse of rebellion among ill-treated powerful local clans: such as Minamoto-no-Yoshinaka (known as Kiso Yoshinaka), Kai Genji, O-mi Genji, and Minamoto-no-Yoritomo. Yoritomo couldn’t wait and see, though. With mounting tension, he was facing possible attack by the troops of Heike which started smashing rebellious clans and less submissive ones as well. Regrettably for Kiyomori, however, it invited chain-reaction of anti-Heike uprisings in many places. All of a sudden, the country started boiling.
— Yoritomo’s battle cry–
The first target was the Izu district governor of imperial court — actually controlled by Heike family. On August 17th, 1180, Yoritomo attacked and killed the target — now, his long and arduous days of fight against Heike clan started. Next battle was harder, though. With some hoped-for local clans still sitting on the fence, he dared assault next Heike-affiliated fiefdom spreading at the foot of Mt. Fuji.
The day was August 23rd, 1180—seven days after the first battle. Yoritomo was facing off against Heike troops at Ishibashi-yama, the foot of Izu Peninsula. Alas, things didn’t turn out as planned, however. His 300-strong force was facing 3,000-strong enemy, since Yoritomo’s allied forces were blocked by swelling Sakaoi River before reaching the battlefield. It was a desperate fighting for him. Yoritomo’s troops were crushed down, and he was prepared to die.
Then, a miracle happened! A unit leader who probably joined Heike troops grudgingly showed him a hideaway trail leading to deep mountains. Yoritomo and a few guards were moving around in the mountains for a few days. When they were hiding in a cave, however, another unit leader came in to find them. Finished! Yoritomo drew his sword to kill himself. Then the man, Fujiwara Kagetoki, got out the cave and shouted, “Nobody is here, go to the next mountain to search.” (When Yoritomo has established his headquarters in Kamakura, Kagetoki is hired to become a leading member of the government and lead a punitive force against Heike clan.)
Narrowly survived, Yoritomo finally reached a small port of Manazuru peninsula, and got away by a ship to a safe place in Awa-no-kuni, the opposite side of a big bay (currently called Tokyo Bay). Yoritomo landed there on August 29th, and immediately began to rally powerful local clans again. They joined Yoritomo one after another including those sitting on the fence before. By the end of September, most clans in Kanto area (Chiba, Tokyo, Saitama and Kanagawa prefectures as we know it today) joined Yoritomo. On October 6th, with 25,000-strong forces, Yoritomo arrived at Kamakura, where his father and elder brother had wielded power as a leading clan. Now the base for Shogunate governance of Kamakura era is established.
–Battle at Fuji river–
Yoritomo’s uprising was immediately reported to Tairano-no-Kiyomori, leading minister of the imperial court and head of Heike clans. He wasted no time to dispatch punitive force. Now, however, Heike was facing emerging challengers nationwide. The enemy was not only Yoritomo. Mochihito-O’s order put fire on the hostile feeling of other Genji family survivors: notably Kai Genji led by Takeda Nobuyoshi (Kai: present-day Yamanashi prefecture behind Mt. Fuji) and Minamoto-no-Yoshinaka (known as Kiso Yoshinaka) ruling Kiso area (present-day Nagano prefecture). (Yoshinaka later kicked Heike families out of Kyoto, but provoked anger of the court aristocracy by his barbaric acts, and was eventually destroyed by Yoritomo.)
When the army corps of Heike arrived at Fuji river flowing down the foot of Mt. Fuji, they found a huge number of allied forces of Yoritomo and Kai Genji on the other side of the river. Heike also mobilized some 70 thousand soldiers before reaching the battle field. That said, Heike’s hastily mobilized army was a patchwork of various clans with limited motivation to fight. Thus, many clans broke off on the way, and the troops reduced to several thousands of soldiers when they arrived at the river. When they saw the vast wave of Genji troops on the other side, some other troops started turning around. On that night, Heike army suddenly pulled out without fighting any battle. An anecdote goes: When a troop of Kai Genji was quietly crossing the river for night raid, a cluster of waterfowls flew off beating their wings. Taking it as a sudden raid of Genji troops, stunned Heike army plunged into chaos, and ran away leaving their arms behind.
–Yoritomo and Yoshitsune: Reunion of brothers–
Successfully beating off the Heike troops, both Genji clans returned to their strongholds to further consolidate power by wiping out neighboring insubordinate clans. On the way back, Yoritomo had a young visitor: Minamoto-no-Yoshitsune, a half younger brother, who also spent young days hiding in Hiraizumi, the power center of Fujiwara clan dominating vast northern area of the country. This young brother soon becomes Yoritomo’s spearhead to completely wipe out Heike clans, and then, of all things, destroys himself by his overconfidence, involving Hiraizumi (continued to another chapter).
— February 4th, 1181–
The day came—doomsday for Heike clans. Taira-no-Kiyomori, the unchallenged heavyweight of the time, growling with high fever finally ended his life in the heat whirling around like flames—a chronicle of Heike & Genji paints the final moment. The invincible grip of Heike clans was facing the looming storm.
Failed Shogun-to-Be: Minamoto-no-Yoshinaka (Popularly known as “Kiso Yoshinaka”)
Mochihito-O’s order also stirred another descendant of a blue-blooded family, Minamoto-no-Yoshinaka (Kiso Yoshinaka), who was a cousin of Minamoto-no-Yoritomo. Though they shared the same family blood, their relationship was far from unified but rather cold and distant. Power struggles often tear down even a family. Kiso Yoshinaka’s father was killed by the elder brother Yoshitomo (Yoritomo’s father) before all the Minamoto (Genji) families were crushed down by Taira-no-Kiyomori (Heike). If there were any tentative go-between for Yoshinaka and Yoritomo, it could be none other than the devil or battle against Taira-no-Kiyomori.
Waiting for more than 20 years in the Kiso Mountains, Yoshinaka finally grabbed the golden opportunity to restore the family honor. Even Mochihito-O’s death on the battlefield didn’t stop him. Burning up with ambition, he rallied anti-Heike families in the Kiso area, and started battle against Heike-related families. Now, raging Taira-no-Kiyomori ordered Jo Nagamochi, Heike-vassal dominator of the Echigo area (today’s Niigata Prefecture), to crush Yoshinaka and his aligned forces. In June 1181, Nagamochi came down from Echigo 10,000-strong with troops, whereas Yoshinaka’s forces were merely 3000-strong. No one, except his camp fighters, bet on Yoshinaka.
Nonetheless, it happened. Yoshinaka blew them up eventually.
How?
A unit carrying the Heike’s red-colored flag came down along the river to join Nagamochi’s troops. When the unit reached the line of troops, its fighters suddenly flung the Heike flag away, and charged into the Nagamochi troops, triggering sudden, unexpected disruption. At that moment, Yoshinaka’s troops crossed the river to drive out the Nagamochi troops running around in confusion. Shrewd tactics turned the tables.
This victory brought massive power to Yoshinaka. Not only occupying Echigo, he now also controlled Hokurikudo, the main artery for carrying cargo along the seaside (including cargo for the Heike). In the next year, 1182, Yoshinaka offered shelter to Hokuroku-no-Miya, eldest son of the late Mochihito-O. Now, he gained the official banner to fight against the Heike clans. Just as Minamoto-no-Yoritomo was looming as a formidable power on the other side of the land (Pacific Ocean-side), Kiso Yoshinaka was now another menace to Heike domination. In April 1183, the Heike started a massive assault against Yoshinaka by mobilizing 100,000 troops. Contrarily, Yoshinaka’s troops were a mere 30,000-strong. It was a one-sided fight, and the Heike troops broke through Yoshinaka’s resistance lines in various places. Yoshinaka, however, narrowly fought back at the battle of Hannyano with surprise attacks, which forced the Heike troops back to a mountain area called Kurikara-tohge (Kurikara Path) to pull together their forces. For Yoshinaka, who grew up in the mountains and learned how to fight in the rough terrain, this deployment of the Heike troops was a perfect chance. Thus, he turned the tables again — by night raid this time. In the dark, Heike troops were thrown into confusion, and tumbled down the cliff or ran away from the battlefield. The Heike’s full-scale attack turned into a debacle.
Yoshinaka, now an unstoppable winner, started marching to the capital. Facing the imminent assault of Yoshinaka and other Genji families, Heike families deserted the capital for western territories. They took Emperor Antoku to insist on their legitimacy of authority. However, grand emperor Goshirakawa, who narrowly escaped from the hand of the Heike, took the command of governance in the capital. He immediately glorified leaders of Genji families who had pushed back the Heike’s sphere of influence. Number 1 was Minamoto-no-Yoritomo, and Minamoto-no-Yoshinaka (Kiso Yoshinaka) was also highly praised as the next contributor. Then, the grand emperor appointed Yoshinaka to the top of the police force of the capital to calm its confusion. Did it work? Regrettably not, or rather it backfired. Yoshinaka’s army group was a mixed bag, since some clans that were sitting on the fence joined Yoshinaka’s bandwagon after the battle of Kurikara Path. In fact, those undisciplined soldiers looted foods and forages for horses, and Yoshinaka didn’t stop it, or rather defended them.
Thus, the grand emperor was unexpectedly troubled by the rough, violent character of Yoshinaka, and started to remove him from the power center. In response, Yoshinaka put the imperial court under his control by force, and of all things confined the grand emperor to a house of a senior official. Then, he gained the title of supreme commander, and furthermore demanded the accession of Hokuroku-no-Miya, son of the late Mochihito-O, to the throne of emperor.
By then, however, war-proficient Minamoto-no-Yoshitsune, younger brother of Minamoto-no-Yoritomo, was approaching the capital. Boiling with rage, the grand emperor issued an order to Yoritomo to oust Kiso Yoshinaka. At that moment, Yoshinaka’s fate was sealed. By then, some clans disappointed with Yoshinaka broke away from him, and his two-month rule (and his life) was ended by Yoshitsune at the battle on Uji River.
For the Establishment of Shogunate Governance
–The final battle at the strait Danno-ura–
Immediately after wiping out Kiso Yoshinaka and his troops, Yoritomo’s younger brothers, Yoshitsune and Noriyori stormed the Heike’s troops next and drove them further west.
The final countdown for the Heike’s destruction started in August 1184, when Yoritomo’s corps—headed by Noriyori—departed from Kamakura for the all-out attack against the Heikes. They first tried to land on Kyushu, a southwestern island separated from the mainland by a strait, to attack the Heike forces from behind while blocking their retreat. However, Noriyori’s advance was stalled by the Heike’s naval forces. Stirred by this deadlock, Yoshitusne—stationed in Kyoto as the deputy of supreme commander Yoritomo in Kamakura—requested that grand emperor Goshirakawa (“not” Yoritomo) let him leave the capital to join the Genji forces on the battlefield. Yoshitsune’s target was the Heike’s provisional headquarters in Yashima, the northern part of big-island Shikoku, some 200km away from Kyoto.
Yoshitsune pounded Yashima on January 19, 1185, and drove the Heike forces off to the island-studded Seto Inland Sea. After taking shelter on some islands, the Heike clans and their naval forces finally arrived at Hikoshima, the westernmost point of the mainland. By that time, Noriyori reached Kyushu to attack the Heike from behind. Now, the battlefield moved onto the sea. The Heike mobilized 500 fighting boats, whereas the Genji lined up 840 boats of allied forces (according to Azuma-kagami—a record of the Kamakura shogunate). On April 25, 1185 (March 24 by the old calendar), the final battle broke off at the strait Danno-ura, some 10km away from Hikoshima.
The battle started with the Heike’s fierce bow salvo putting the Genji forces on the defensive. Unfortunately, this didn’t continue long due to a lack of logistic support. The return fire of the Genji forces from boats and land pushed back the Heike little by little, which was then followed by close combat between the boats. With the lapse of time, the Heike lost their forces, and some of them started surrendering to the Genji. Finally, the battle ended in several hours when a royal woman of the Taira-no-Kiyomori family jumped into the sea together with young emperor Antoku. Many other central figures also chose an honorable death in the sea.
–Pride goes before a fall–
On returning to Kyoto, Yoshitsune was honored by the grand emperor with a high position at the emperor’s office. This invited the rage of his elder brother Yoritomo, however, since he had in advance ordered all the Genji families not to accept rewards from the imperial court without his consent. What’s more, Yoritomo was already aware of Yoshitsune’s arbitrary behaviors on the battlefield from the reports of other leaders.
Thus, when Yoshitsune took captured Heike family members to the Genji capital Kamakura, he was not allowed to enter the capital. He sent a letter of apology to Yoritomo, but in vain. He was ostracized despite his overwhelming victories over Kiso Yoshinaka and the Heike clans. The relations between those brothers got worse day by day, and desperate Yoshitsune eventually decided to stand against Yoritomo. He somehow gained the official support of Machiavellian Goshirakawa, who probably overestimated the power of Yoshitsune trying to mobilize dissatisfied Genji clans. However, to his regret, few clans came into alignment. Now, facing the furious anger of Yoritomo, Goshirakawa winced and, of all things, issued an order to expel Yoshitsune. Yoritomo immediately started hunting down Yoshitsune. What will be his fate?
The Downfall of the Oshu Fujiwara Clan
–Yoritomo’s relentless chase of Yoshitsune–
Yoshitsune, having no asylum in central Japan, fled to Hiraizumi, the capital of Oshu—the Fujiwara realm in northern Japan. The Fujiwara family was controlling almost one-third of the mainland through the power of gold production. The shining metal helped them to build the northern kingdom and to keep stable relations with the imperial court for almost 100 years. During the Genji-Heike battle, this clan carefully stayed away from the duel.
<Hiraizumi was the second largest grand city after Kyoto with large temple complexes, including the Konjikido (gold pavilion) of Chusonji temple.>
When Taira-no-Kiyomori crushed the Genji families during the Heiji War, young Yoshitsune (childhood name Ushiwaka-maru) was spared by Taira-no-Kiyomori together with his elder half-brother Yoritomo, and found asylum in Hiraizumi. Now, the family head Fujiwara Hidehira accepted Yoshitsune again, which was a heaven-sent excuse for Yoritomo to mount greater pressure on the Fujiwara clan. Hidehira didn’t flinch, however, or rather braced himself for the soon-to-come confrontation with Yoritomo.
Most unfortunately, however, the family head Hidehira was ill in bed. In extremis, he told his son Yasuhira and war-proficient fighter Yoshitsune to get stronger and unite to repulse Yoritomo’s forces. Thus, they signed an oath. When Hidehira passed away, Yasuhira at first rejected Yoritomo’s demand for extradition of Yoshitsune.
Yoritomo then demanded the grand emperor issue a warrant for Yoshitsune’s arrest, and stepped up his pressure on Hiraizumi. The raging demand seemed to have jolted the Fujiwara family, and eventually Yasuhira couldn’t stand the confusion and decided to extradite Yoshitsune to Yoritomo. When Yoshitsune’s residence was surrounded by Yasuhira’s soldiers, Yoshitsune decided to finish his turbulent life by his own hand. The gear tooth of history made a clicking noise again.
As Yasuhira’s father predicted, Yoritomo didn’t stop there despite the grand emperor’s suggestion to lay down his arms with the death of Yoshitsune. For Yoritomo, the Fujiwara clan was a sleeping lion behind the door, and thus must be eliminated before governing the whole nation as the Shogun. He blamed Yasuhira for cornering Yoshitsune to self-termination—a pretext to invade that 100-year realm. Yoritomo mobilized soldiers from around the nation, eventually reaching some 270,000, and in July 1189 they started marching to the Fujuwara’s territory via three routes. In a month, they captured the strongholds of Fujiwara forces one by one. On August 22, 1189, they finally put Hiraizumi under their control, and Yasuhira ran away upcountry. Of all things, however, his follower betrayed and killed him on the way. The time-honored Fujiwara kingdom collapsed on September 3, 1189.
Kamakura Era (1180s – 1333)
–Stormy days of unprecedented Mongol invasions and infighting of two imperial family lines–
In 1192, Minamoto-no-Yoritomo became the supreme commander of the nation’s armed forces and won a high status in the court — one equivalent to the top minister. His commanding headquarters in Kamakura, some 400km away from the emperor’s Kyoto, became the center of power. This dual appointment structure continued some 700 years from then, while the supreme leaders controlling the country repeatedly changed. The name of Yoritomo was thereafter deified by all samurai warriors as the founder of samurai governance.
In 1199, the power balance of time clicked again. Suddenly Yoritomo died — tumbling from a horse according to one story — and Yoritomo’s son, 18-year-old Yoriie, immediately succeeded his father’s position with the support of thirteen samurai leaders, forming a governing board headed by Hojo Tokimasa, father of Yoritomo’s wife, Masako. Soon, however, a power struggle between those chief retainers broke out, and Tokimasa expelled the members opposing him one by one.
In 1203, Yoriie, who was suffering from an unexplained illness, was confined to a house in Shuzenji by Tokimasa. Yoriie died (or was killed) in the next year. Tokimasa installed Yoriie’s young brother Sanetomo as the successor. The power struggle between two factions carrying each brother came to an end, and the Hojo family’s heyday serving as regent for the shogun began.
It was not the end of unrest for them, however. In 1219, Shogun Minamoto-no-Sanetomo was assassinated, and the direct line of Minamoto-no-Yoritomo came to an end. The Kamakura government headed by the Hojo family adopted Fujiwara-no-Yoritsune, a child distantly related to Yoritomo’s family, as the successor of the shogun. Now, just like Taira-no-Kiyomori controlled the imperial family, the Hojo family became the mastermind behind the shogun.
What’s more, the direct bloodline of the Minamoto family, descendants of the 56th emperor Seiwa, came to an end. None of the rulers in Kamakura were succeeding the blue blood of the imperial family anymore.
Grand Emperor Gotoba saw this confusion as the heaven-sent opportunity to topple the power of Kamakura or the regent Hojo Yoshitoki (head of the leading family of Hojo called Tokushu or Tokuso).
Jokyu War: The Fatefully Broken Power Balance
In 1221 (May 14), Grand Emperor Gotoba issued an imperial command to eliminate Hojo Yoshitoki and his family to disempower the Kamakura governance. This command brought down a wave of confusion even to some ruling samurai in Kamakura. In a stormy dark night, seamen need a lighthouse to show their course. Who showed the course in this sudden storm? None other than Hojo Masako — the widow of the first Kamakura shogun, Minamoto-no-Yoritomo. Reminding them of their great success brought by the leadership of Yoritomo, she spurred all leaders to push back against Gotoba’s command and forces.
Kamakura moved with lightning speed. As early as May 22, the first batch of troops started to attack the emperor’s stronghold, Kyoto. Following this, Kamakura mobilized some 190,000 warriors in three days. The grand emperor and his followers, overvaluing the force and effect of imperial command, went into a panic. When the grand emperor dispatched his order to loyal warriors in the western territories (the east was under the control of Kamakura), Kamakura forces had already broken through several defense lines of the royal forces, and stormed into Kyoto. The grand emperor was placed under Kamakura’s on June 15.
Now, the power balance between the emperor and the shogun collapsed, and to crown it all, Grand Emperor Gotoba was exiled to the Oki Islands in the next month. Several other members of royalty were also banished to distant lands. The Kamakura government swiftly established watchdog bodies called Rokuhara (later named Rokuhara-Tandai) in the north and south of Kyoto to monitor the movements of the emperor and other imperial family members. Since then, the Kamakura government (or Hojo family) supervised even imperial succession. This lopsided power balance continued some 650 years until 1867 when the Tokugawa shogunate collapsed and Japan transformed into a modern society.
Mongol Invasion of Japan (Genko in Japanese)
After the Jokyu War in 1221, the Kamakura government (or Hojo family) had steadily solidified the overall control of the nation. By then, however, an ominous cloud was swelling over the horizon.
The horrible emperor of the Mongol Empire, Kublai Khan, was turning his gaze on an island country some 200 km off the Korean Peninsula—Japan.
As often happens, it started with a demand for tribute:
1266: First trial: Kublai Khan decided to dispatch his mission to Japan and ordered the king of his tributary, the Goryeo dynasty (present-day Korea), to attend him. Reluctant to follow the order, Goryeo men showed the rage ocean to the mission. It worked and the mission returned empty-handed. The enraged Khan ordered the Goryeo king to dispatch his men to Japan instead.
1268: Second trial: The Goryeo’s messenger arrived at Dazaifu, regional capital of Kyushu (a big island in western Japan). The message was forwarded to the emperor in Kyoto, who was governing foreign affairs. Whether from panic or tactical thinking, the imperial court kept the envoy waiting seven months in Dazaifu and eventually they officially returned no reply. By then, the irritated Kublai Khan had ordered Goryeo to build 1,000 warships.
1269(Feb.): Third trial: Kublai Khan sent a delegation of over 70 members to Japan. When they landed on Japan’s Tsushima Island, located between Japan and Korea, the local lord refused to allow them to go ahead. A scuffle broke out, and the delegation got away with two islanders captured as hostages.
1269(Sept.): Fourth trial: Kublai Khan sent another mission to Dazaifu under the pretext of sending the hostages back. Just as before, however, the imperial court, as suggested by the shogunate in Kamakura, ignored the demand for deference.
(1271: Kublai Khan established the Yuan dynasty of China, whose capital was built in the current location of Beijing.)
(Sept.): Fifth trial: The Kublai Khan-led Yuan dynasty deployed troops in a Korean city facing a seaway with access to Japan and dispatched a delegation of nearly 100 strong to Dazaifu, demanding Japan’s submission to the Yuan dynasty. An ultimatum! They demanded an immediate reply—by November. Strained with the risk, Dazaifu decided to send a mission of its own to gather information on the possible invasion.
In January 1272, the Dazaifu delegation arrived in Yuan to tentatively pay homage to Kublai Khan. After learning what was going on there, they returned to Dazaifu in April.
(While the demands of Kublai Khan were stalled, the Kamakura shogunate was building up its strength around Dazaifu to repel the expected invasion. Samurai warriors in Kyushu and mainland Japan were in wait.)
1272: Final trial: Dazaifu was strained again when the ships of Yuan’s envoy loomed to demand the reply of Japan. The imperial court promptly reacted this time, though its reply didn’t reach the hand of the envoy, partly due to the covert operation of anti-Mongol agents of southern China—a force resisting Kublai Khan.
Countdown to the Mongol invasion
1273: Kublai Khan almost demolished his archenemy, the Southern Song dynasty in China, after a five-year battle, which enabled him to stage a full-scale attack on Japan.
1274: (Jan.) Kublai Khan directed the king of the Goryeo dynasty to build 300 battleships.
(June) The battleships were completed, and a fleet of over 700 ships (900 according to another record) was ready to set sail. The soldiers and matelots numbered over 27,000 including those of the Goryeo dynasty who were called up (Some documents say 40,000).
Bun-ei no Eki (Bun-ei War)
1274: (Oct.5) The joint Yuan and Goryeo forces first stormed Tsushima Island, killing its lord and all samurai forces. Then, they captured hundreds of islanders including children. Later, they bound many women on the walls of battleships as human shields.
(Oct.14) They next attacked Iki Island, some 30km away from Kyushu, and again massacred its garrisons and islanders in the thousands. Then, they deluged some other islands situated off the west coast of Kyushu. (These cruel attacks were immediately reported to Dazaifu, the emperor in Kyoto and the Kamakura shogunate. Strained by the report, all lords in Kyushu dispatched their samurai warriors to the coastline and Dazaifu. The Kamakura shogunate also ordered the lords of western districts to rush their warriors to Kyushu.)
(Oct. 20) All-out battle broke out
The Yuan and Goryeo forces stormed Hakata Bay (a route to Dazaifu) and broke into a few kilometers to take up position. Dazaifu deployed their main forces on the other side of the shore. Suddenly, out of the blue, a battle cry of samurai forces roared from an unexpected side. The invading forces were stunned as the raging troops of the Higo-han (domain) unexpectedly blitzed them from the flank in the Akasaka area and the invaders were soon pushed back to the landing spot by the joint attack of the Higo-han and the main forces.
Plunged into confusion once, the Yuan and Goryeo forces soon reorganized their troops and swung back to ram their way to Dazaifu, capturing numerous local people on the way. Dazaifu’s forces withdrew from the first battle zone and rebuilt a new defense line some 10 km inland to protect Dazaifu.
Dawn broke
(According to a Goryeo war record, the invading forces found the casualties of their soldiers were more than expected. They could not be replaced quickly while Japan could mobilize troops and arms one after another.)
The tables were suddenly turned. The invading forces found it difficult to reach Dazaifu and decided to retreat before Japan’s troops started their counteroffensive. The invading forces rushed into the dark sea in haste before dawn, and ships collided with each other or crashed on the rocky land in disorder. The stormy waters of late October crushed wooden ships into the deep sea. They lost more than 13,000 combatants (soldiers and matelots) — more than one third of the combat personnel — before returning to a bay in Korea on November 27th. The Goryeo dynasty lost a tremendous number of resources for this war, including manpower, provisions and lumber.
(Wild Kublai) (1276: Kublai Khan conquered his last rival in continental China—the Southern Song dynasty, and started preparing to attack Japan again.)
1279 (June): Eighth mission: Kublai Khan sent the final envoy demanding Japan’s submission. He chose the delegation’s members from the conquered Southern Song dynasty this time. However, the Kamakura government didn’t budge, and except for a few technicians and intellects, the delegation was put to death just as before.
Koan-no-Eki (Koan War) — Crisis again
1281: The dark cloud was swelling over Japan again.
The Kublai Khan-led Yuan dynasty of China mounted a second attack against Japan with an unprecedented 140,000-or-more strong forces (including crew members). They were mobilized from Mongolia, the Goryeo dynasty (Korea), and the Southern Song dynasty of China. Some 4,400 ships were prepared to send them to Kyushu via two routes: the eastern route and southern route.
(May 3rd): The eastern route army (ERA) first weighed anchor to assault Tsushima and Iki islands located on the route to Kyushu. Then they flooded into Hakata Bay to storm Dazaifu. They made light of Japan’s preparedness for the next attack. Unexpectedly, they crashed into a long, 2-3m high masonry barrier built along the coastline, which stretched over 20km. (The Kamakura shogunate built it in haste after the previous war.) What’s more, some daredevil samurai fighters, with their backs to the barrier, spearheaded counterattacks against the landing enemy.
(June 6th): Facing a fierce counterattack of samurai forces, the invading army retreated to build a tentative stronghold by occupying Shiga Island which is connected to the mainland by a path.
(June 8th): Samurai warriors started an all-out attack against the enemy from the sea and the land path to Shiga Island. The attack continued till the next day, and finally pushed the enemy back to the sea. The invaders retreated to Iki Island, some 30 km away from Hakata Bay, where they were originally scheduled to join up with the southern route army (SRA) on June 15th. They didn’t find the SRA, though. An advance troop of the SRA arrived later to tell the ERA that the SRA changed its first target from Iki Island to Taka Island and Hirado Island, some 50 km west of Hakata Bay.
(June 29th): Tens of thousands of samurai forces stormed Iki Island to drive out the ERA. They immediately attacked the ERA soldiers of the hastily rigged-up bastion and ships. Furious battle continued for days and nights covering the island with blood. Three days later, a new reinforcement unit of samurai landed on the island, and the cornered ERA finally retreated from the island. However, they didn’t return to their homeport. The ERA turned west instead to join the southern route army (SRA) on Hirado Island.
Around the same time, the main fleet of the SRA assaulted both Hirado Island and Taka Island to make them footholds for invasion. In response, Dazaifu mobilized samurai warriors again from every corner of Kyushu, while the Kamakura shogunate was also sending some 60,000 soldiers from the mainland.
(July 27th): Dazaifu’s warships started attacking the SRA ships anchored in the bay of Taka Island. (Prior to this battle, they wiped out ERA soldiers entrenched in Shiga Island of Hakata Bay.) Their repeated zapping continued for almost a full day until the dawn of next day, which made the ERA/SRA leaders reconsider their original plan to occupy Dazaifu. Instead, they reinforced their makeshift bastion on Taka Island, and matelots lined up their ships in a rank to protect themselves from the next samurai attack.
(July 30th): A typhoon destroyed many SRA ships anchored in the bay of Taka Island and drowned numerous soldiers and matelots. The ships, which were, densely moored to deter the next attack of Japan’s battleships clashed into each other on the huge waves and sank into the sea. (On the other hand, the ships in Hirado Island’s bay were not so seriously damaged, as they were properly moored with a certain distance between each ship.)
The fierce counterattacks of samurai forces and massive loss of battleships forced the ERA/SRA leaders to reconsider their invasion plan. Some sectors of the army had already crumbled due to repeated fighting and epidemics among soldiers.
“Don’t stop. Charge forward to occupy Dazaifu!”
“We sure lost many soldiers, but we still have 100,000 battle-hardened men.”
“There is no choice of retreat!”
“Though the provisions are very limited, we can seize more in the occupied places.”
Some leaders insisted at the strategy meeting.
However, Dazaifu’s fierce counterattack pushed them back at every sector, depressing the morale of soldiers. Furthermore, the typhoon’s huge waves crushed most of the ships in the bay of Taka Island where the main forces of the Yuan army were taking up their position.
With no hope of immediate logistic support from the Yuan dynasty or the Goryeo dynasty, the invaders finally came to a conclusion: “Retreat.”
“Get off the ships!” The higher brasses pulled low-ranking soldiers from the undamaged ships to board themselves instead and took off to the Korean Peninsula in a flurry. “That was that” for those who narrowly fled, but some 100,000 soldiers left behind on Taka Island faced a dire future. (By contrast, some 4,000 soldiers stationed on the neighboring Hirado Island were lucky. They returned safely under the guidance of a thoughtful leader who tossed all provisions, even horses, from the ships to take those soldiers aboard.)
The soldiers abandoned by their selfish brasses planned to build ships with the lumber of the island. Time didn’t allow it, however. Dazaifu’s all-out attack began. With no logistical support, the Yuan forces were eventually wiped out, leaving some captives of the Southern Song dynasty (used in interplay with Japan before) in the hands of local lords.
The Koan war thus ended.
Third trial of invasion Unable to accept this failure, Kublai Khan ordered the mobilization of more invasion forces two years later, despite the extreme exhaustion of involved countries which led to numerous domestic riots and an anti-Yuan movement spearheaded by a neighboring country. To cope with those problems, Yuan couldn’t afford to recruit soldiers and sailors for the third trial.
1294 (Jan.) Kublai Khan died, and the third invasion plan finally fizzled out.
After the war — The days of the Hojo clan —
Japan thus beat the enemy back. The imperial court and Kamakura shogunate (or ruling regent Hojo family) breathed a sigh of relief. (This victory further strengthened the Hojo’s control over the country.) Then a question came up. Did the lords in Kyushu feel relieved, too? “Yes,” of course, but with mixed feelings. They repelled deadly foes numbering more than a hundred thousand at the cost of mass casualties. Therefore, they deserved great rewards. Victors at that time usually won the occupied territories or other rewards in return, but…
Alas! No way! They received almost nothing. Look back at their valiant fight! Pity for them! It was a fruitless hard-won triumph. No territorial benefits! They just drove out enemies from their land. They protected their families, land, and dignity with desperate fighting. Did the ruling regent Hojo (or “Tokuso,” the legitimate head of Hojo family) of the shogunate prepare goodly rewards for them?
Nay, of all things, the Tokuso ordered them to build up more defenses to repel the possible third invasion of Yuan forces — a heavy order for those facing financial difficulties after the wars. Some samurai families were obliged to sell their properties to maintain their status. Resentment against the Hojo family gradually spread among other Gokenin lords who built their power under the previous blue-blood Minamoto shogunate. (Gokenin means a direct liegeman of the shogun.)
As a result, in the central government of Kamakura, their resentments led to a power struggle between key players of the Tokuso governance; Adachi Yasumori, a leading Gokenin, and Tairano Yoritsuna, regent of young Tokuso. Adachi Yasumori was promoting policies to assure the position and properties of Gokenin, while Tairano Yoritsuna was Uchikanrei (or Naikanrei) of the Tokuso trying to strengthen the power of the Hojo clan (and that of himself).
Their power struggle culminated in Yoritsuna’s sudden attack against Yasumori (Gokenin) in November 1285 — four years after the Koan war, the second battle against the massive Yuan forces. While consolidating the Tokuso’s power by eradicating Yasumori and his families, Yoritsuna triggered nationwide division between Hojo followers and Gokenin lords — a potential backfire for the Hojo clan. In any case, Yoritsuna became the top advisor to the young Tokuso, -“Hojo Sadatoki,”- and stepped up the Tokuso’s grip over the Gokenin lords.
In 1293, Yoritsuna reorganized the judiciary court in Kyushu to “Kyushu Tandai” to command all governmental, judiciary and military workings under direct control of the Hojo clan. Thus, Tokuso’s power covered the whole area of Kyushu, overshadowing every lord. However, as it is often said, clouds always follow the sunshine. It was just when another power struggle was quietly going off. Who was the key figure? Yoritsuna again — who else? The target? Of all things, the Tokuso! The power-hungry man Yoritsuna finally threw off his mask. Luckily for the Hojo family, however, there was a man blowing the whistle on the plot. Who? Believe it or not, it was none other than Yoritsuna’s elder son. He ran to the Tokuso family to reveal his father’s planned coup against Tokuso Hojo Sadatoki. (Behind this seemingly loyal action was a conflict with his father for putting the second son ahead of him.)
The Hojo family immediately called a pre-emptive strike, but then, on April 12, they were suddenly devastated by an unexpected happening. God! A catastrophic earthquake hit the Kamakura area. Houses, temples — most of the buildings were seriously damaged or collapsed in a moment, and fire broke out to worsen the horrible conditions, killing thousands of people. — The city almost crumbled.
Tokuso Sadatoki, however, saw this as an opportunity, and in ten days after the earthquake, he ordered his liegemen to assault Yoritsuna. Around the ghostly hour, when the people were sleeping like dogs after the heavy work of recovery, those liegemen attacked Yoritsuna’s fortified house, set it on fire, and wiped out Yoritsuna and his family.
This was Yoritsuna’s own doing. — His overconfidence backfired and eventually killed him.
Now, who else could stand against the Hojo? The shogun? Well, he was just a figurehead. The emperor? Not anymore. The imperial court was divided into two, and two self-proclaimed emperors were insisting on their legitimacy to the Tokuso. In such an upside-down political circumstance, Sadatoki kept a grip on the governance of the nation, and thus even after four members of his family succeeded the Tokuso position in turn, Sadatoki continued to control the government from behind — until 1305, when he killed Hojo Tokimura, No. 2 of the Kamakura government after him. As Tokimura was from the cadet branch of the Hojo, this action triggered a serious uproar among the Hojo families. After the confusion was calmed by the senior members of the families, Sadatoki lost his previous power and degraded himself to a fallen life.
In 1311, Sadatoki passed away. His young son Takatoki succeeded the Tokuso position at the age of nine and assumed office as the regent of shogun. Of course, the Hojo family reinforced the authority of the young Tokuso with a capable inner regent. However, Takatoki was also destined to face growing strains and confusions of various power struggles, as the country was little by little churning with dissatisfactions spreading among non-hierarchical Gokenin families as well as the emergent money mongers – (merchants) –, and, of all things, division of the imperial court!
This division dates back to 1259 when grand emperor Gosaga urged his elder son, emperor Gofukakusa, to abdicate the throne to Gosaga’s second son Tsunehito who thus ascended to the throne under the name Emperor Kameyama. Then, grand emperor Gosaga became a cloistered emperor, and Gofukakusa shifted to the grand emperor.
In 1272, the cloistered emperor Gosaga passed away without nominating the next emperor after Kameyama. That triggered a serious split in the emperor’s family. Both Gofukakusa and Gosaga (brothers) declared themselves as the official lineage of the emperor. This soon developed into the bickering two imperial courts structure. The stymied imperial families each requested the Hojo’s support, and then the Tokuso mediated their alternate succession to the throne, which somehow quenched the fatal conflict of both families, though some irregular cases followed.
Then, in 1318, a crown prince was enthroned to the highest status of the imperial court — this was the emergence of Emperor Godaigo, whose efforts to recover the emperor’s authority eventually developed the dispute into a serious confrontation of the Northern and Southern Imperial Courts (Nanboku-cho) inviting nationwide confusion and struggles between the powerful warrior leaders, and what’s more, pushed the Hojo clan to the brink of a cliff.
On November 26, 1288, a boy was born as the second son of Emperor Go-Uda of the Daikakuji imperial line. Who could have imagined then that this boy would bring the country into a chaotic power struggle thirty years later? The man who was stigmatized as the “Shame of the Imperial House” by late Emperor Hanazono of the Jimyoin imperial line eventually ascended the Chrysanthemum Throne in March, 1318 under the name of Emperor Godaigo.
Extremely frustrated with the upside-down power structure between the emperor and shogun, he was determined to restore the supreme power of the imperial house just as his forefathers had governed the nation as sovereign.
The curtain of stormy days was raised some six years later in October 1324 (the first year of the Shochu era) by an incident, known as the Shochu-no-Hen — an attempt to overturn the Kamakura Shogunate controlled by the Hojo Establishment. Somehow, the plot caught the Hojo’s ears before gathering momentum. With only a tip on the plot’s mastermind, what would the Hojo do to crush this nascent plan of Godaigo’s? Anti-shogunate forces had yet to gather under the emperor. However, an overreaction might invite backlash. The Hojo thus decided to deport only one man — a key figure of the suspected plot — to Sado Island and refrained from going further.
Godaigo gave up? He kept silent for seven years.
So, did the Hojo pay little attention to what he’d be up to next?
Godaigo never gave up his aspiration to restore the great power of the emperor. Again, seven years later, he reared his head with another plan. The secret plot must have been shared by only a few confidants.
— Alas! How could it happen? The plan once again leaked to the Rokuhara Tandai (the Hojo’s watchdog over the imperial court) just before they could take action in June 1331. What went wrong? Of all things, one of the confidants, Yoshida Sadafusa, tipped off the authorities.*
No excuse of Godaigo’s was to be heard this time.
(*Strangely Sadafusa was hired again when Godaigo recaptured his power later. Some historians believe that Sadafusa foresaw the failure of the plan and looked for a way to save Godaigo’s life.)
The Hojo sent a punitive force to hunt down the suspects involved. Godaigo fled Kyoto with his two sons, Prince Takayoshi and Prince Moriyoshi, and immediately issued the imperial order to major lords to topple the Hojo Establishment. In response, Kusunoki Masashige (hereafter “Masashige”) and Sakurayama Koretoshi raised their armies to crush the Hojo clan, though Masashige served the Hojo clan as a retainer before.
August 1331: Godaigo reached Mt. Kasagi, some 30km south of Kyoto, and entrenched himself in the stronghold on the mountain with 3,000 allied soldiers. Meanwhile, Masashige built Akasaka Castle with some fortresses in Chihaya, some 40km away from Mt. Kasagi.
To crush Godaigo’s forces first, the Hojo called out more than 70,000 soldiers to lay siege to the mountain. Now, emperor Godaigo was a trapped rat, and the Hojo expected the battle to end in a few days. Never! Look! The Hojo’s forces, to their surprise, were blocked by a fierce counterattack of Godaigo’s forces — for almost one month! It was an unexpected black swan for the Hojo. It could spark another anti-Hojo uprising. The Hojo’s army changed their tactics, and set fire to the bushes and trees of the mountain from every corner. The raging flames soon pushed back Godaigo’s forces, and gradually the battle cry died away. All was over, and soon the emperor was captured in September, 1331.
The Hojo Tokuso pulled Godaigo down from the throne with no hesitation this time and exiled him to the Oki Islands early in the next year, while enthroning Emperor Kogen. Prince Takayoshi was also exiled to Tosa on the large island of Shikoku. The other prince, Moriyoshi, somehow managed to escape from the mountain to join Masashige.
Kusunoki Masashige: Another man turning the tide
The Hojo’s forces then surged ahead to Masashige’s Akasaka castle with ten times the soldiers. The castle was a makeshift fortress built in haste and — could be overrun at any moment. But not so fast! Masashige was a strategy genius, and bedeviled the enemy with various unique attacks for more than one month (for instance, an anecdote claims that Masashige let his soldiers pour boiled human waste on enemies climbing up the castle walls). With increasing casualties, the Hojo’s forces stepped back and used starvation tactics against Masashige as a last resort. Masashige, knowing his limited arsenal and food supply, finally set fire to the buildings and disappeared leaving more than 20 burnt dead bodies behind which the enemy took as remains of Masashige and other leaders, having chosen an honorable death.
It was October 21, 1331.
The story didn’t stop there.
After the battle, the Kamakura Shogunate (or the Hojo) gave Akasaka Castle to Yuasa Munefuji as a reward, and unwound the tension of possible ripples — for the time being. Yes, “for the time being.”
April 1332: Masashige returned and surprisingly took back the castle overnight!
Overnight! — It’s true! How in the world?
He planted agents in the towns around the castle and one day got a tip that hundreds of hired carriers would bring food provisions into the castle on a dark night.
Done! Masashige deployed a unit of his samurai, captured all rice-bags, and then concealed arms in those containers. His troops, disguised as carriers, entered the castle calmly without any suspicion. The moment after they passed through the gate, they took out arms from the containers and charged down on the enemy. At the same time, other troops lying in wait outside rushed into the castle. Yuasa Munefuji, stunned, gave in without fighting, and went under the command of Masashige thereafter.
The dizzying days of hellish power struggles
May 1332: Upon recapturing the castle, Masashige started overwhelming the neighboring local lords and expanded his zone of influence to the Settsu district — a key strategic point between his home turf and Kyoto.
As soon as the Rokuhara-Tandai heard report of this, 5,000 soldiers were dispatched to pounce on Masashige and his forces. However, Masashige’s tactics outmatched theirs again. He hid his troops in three places facing a bridge on the route where the Hojo’s forces were coming. After allowing them to cross the bridge, Masashige’s troops charged them all at once from three directions just before they could take a ready position. Falling into disorder, they were completely crushed. Many soldiers drowned in the river, and the others ran away to Kyoto.
July 1332: Then, the Rokuhara-Tandai sent Utsunomiya Takatsuna (or Kintsuna), a man with well-known military prowess, to crush Masashige. Takatsuna’s forces were a mere 700 samurai. Masashige, however, avoided direct engagement this time. He was aware of their daredevil fighting records. Masashige instead fortified himself in a ready-to-fight formation and burned torches in the surrounding mountains to baffle the enemy. The stalled face-off continued for a few days, and Utsunomiya’s forces eventually returned to Kyoto without fighting.
September 1332: The Kamakura Shogunate (or Hojo Tokuso) mobilized a massive number of fighters (reportedly 300,000 soldiers) in haste to completely wipe out Masashige and his army. Masashige was fortifying Chihaya Castle in a rush along with two others and many forts. These were tactfully laid out on the mountain isolated by cliffs and a peak. Massive amounts of food and water were garnered for the protracted battle.
Kamakura’s forces surrounded the mountain and started attacking the castles, but Masashige’s soldiers were die-hards. They repulsed the enemy again and again — never giving up — and the fighting continued into the next year.
The looming mood of upheaval: Their dauntless fighting began spreading something to the local ruling families nationwide — anti-Hojo Establishment sentiment.
February 1333: The governor of the Oki Islands was stunned.
—Exiled-Emperor Godaigo broke away from the islands —
The Taiheiki (a Japanese historical epic written in the 1370s) states that it happened on a certain dark night. The emperor fled “on foot” with his aide to a port where they luckily found the owner of a small ship, who dared to disregard possible punishment from the island’s governor. He accepted their request and immediately sailed into the dark sea. A happy relief that didn’t last long. A fleet of search party ships soon chased them and one ship stopped theirs.
Everyone braced themselves for what would happen next, except one. Good heavens! The skipper, a sharp guy (?), put the emperor and his attendant into the small hold of the ship, and piled up fish on top of them (the emperor and a high-ranking man!). The pursuers investigated the hold only to find fish. Thanks to the smart skipper, they got through this crisis and reached a small port called Nawa in Houki Province (today’s Tottori Prefecture).
The man governing this area was Nawa Nagatoshi, who controlled a shipping business. Godaigo sent a messenger to him to call for his urgent support. A bolt out of the blue to him — literally. Godaigo was a man exiled by the Kamakura Shogunate (under the Hojo clan). What would happen as a result? Nawa naturally wavered for a while, but eventually decided to stand up for Godaigo. His vassal fighters were merely two hundred or less in number, though. They decided to take the emperor to Mt. Senjo, a natural fortress, and moved at lightning speed to beef up the stronghold and bring in provisions for a long fight.
Meanwhile, the governor of the Oki Islands mobilized some 3,000 soldiers from neighboring areas under the Hojo’s orders, and launched an onslaught at Nawa’s forces on the mountain. Nawa’s fighters madly fought back, and eventually killed a leader of the enemy. When a storm followed this, Nawa’s forces ran down the mountain to launch a full-scale attack and put the enemy to rout. The governor fled to the islands. Now, the tide started turning. The samurai leaders of neighboring territories hastened to join the exiled-emperor Godaigo.
April 1333: The Kamakura Shogunate frantically mobilized two corps under powerful generals: Hojo (Nagoe) Takaie and Ashikaga Takauji. Now the upheaval could be settled by their leadership. Unfortunately, however, this backfired on the Hojo clan. Takaie was killed in the battle against anti-Hojo imperialists.
May 1333: On the other hand, Takauji, of all things, contacted Godaigo in secret on the way to Kyoto. He turned his back on the Hojo clan and attacked the Hojo’s Rokuhara-Tandai to wipe them out on May 7th.
—The news of the Hojo vassals’ flight from Kyoto reached the mobilized armies besieging Kusunoki Masashige’s Akasaka and Chihaya castles. Losing their reason to fight against Masashige, they now started to return to their own territories just like the ebb of a tide. Masashige and his soldiers managed to survive and finally claimed victory.
July 4th, 1333: It happened
Affected by Masashige’s undaunted fighting, and Takauji’s destruction of the Rokuhara-Tandai, Nitta Yoshisada, an imperial general, also stood against the Hojo clan. After winning some fights against the Hojo’s forces in other places, he started attacking their headquarters in Kamakura on July 1st, and finally wiped out the Hojo’s forces on July 4th. Tokuso Hojo Takatoki and some 300 vassals as well as the Hojo family members killed themselves in the burning of Toshoji temple in Kamakura.
The Hojo era of some 140 years thus ended. Alas, what a terrible last moment.
July 14, 1333: Masashige awaited Godaigo and Nawa Nagatoshi in Hyogo to escort them to Kyoto.
(Continued in the reinstated emperor Godaigo’s Kenmu-no-Shinsei (Kenmu Restoration) from1333 to 1336)