Iwanami Nihonshi Jiten was one of the leading generals of

Shōgun , officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamakur ...

Ashikaga Takauji was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Ashikaga shogunate."Ashikaga Takauji" in ''The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th edn., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 625. His rule began in 1338, beginning the Muromac ...

during the

Nanboku-chō period The Nanboku-chō period (南北朝時代, ''Nanboku-chō jidai'', "North and South court period", also known as the Northern and Southern Courts period), spanning from 1336 to 1392, was a period that occurred during the formative years of the Mur ...

, along with his brother Moronao and his cousin Morofuyu.

Life

In 1335 he was sent west from

Kamakura is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Kamakura has an estimated population of 172,929 (1 September 2020) and a population density of 4,359 persons per km² over the total area of . Kamakura was designated as a city on 3 November 1939. Kamak ...

, the capital, at the head of a large army. The goal was to secure the shōgun's control over the region, and prepare for an attack to the west, expanding the Shōgun's power. However, the Imperial Court sent its army, bolstered by warriors from across the country, against the shogunate and against Moroyasu and Moronao in particular. This army, led by

Nitta Yoshisada was a samurai lord of the Nanboku-chō period Japan. He was the head of the Nitta clan in the early fourteenth century, and supported the Southern Court of Emperor Go-Daigo in the Nanboku-chō period. He famously marched on Kamakura, besieging ...

, met Moroyasu's force on 10 December, and they fought again ten days later. After a number of skirmishes, Moroyasu's army, despite being reinforced by men under

Ashikaga Tadayoshi "Ashikaga Tadayoshi" in ''The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th edn., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 624. was a general of the Northern and Southern Courts period (1337–92) of Japanese history and a close associate ...

, was defeated, and withdrew into the Hakone Mountains. Here, at Sanoyama and Mishima, another set of skirmishes took place, eventually resulting in the destruction of Nitta's Imperial force when the shōgun arrived with further reinforcements. The

Taiheiki The (Chronicle of Great Peace) is a Japanese historical epic (see ''gunki monogatari'') written in the late 14th century and covers the period from 1319 to 1367. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Taiheiki''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', pp. 923� ...

, an epic dedicated to the events of this period, describes the Kō brothers as avid villains. This description is likely accurate. Both brothers during their careers were extremely useful to Takauji, but because of their violent character, they also made him many powerful enemies. Most importantly, Moronao was bitterly opposed to Takauji's younger brother Tadayoshi and his policies. This enmity would be the main trigger of the

Kannō Disturbance The , also called ''Kannō no juran'', was a civil war which developed from antagonisms between ''shōgun'' Ashikaga Takauji and his brother, Ashikaga Tadayoshi, thus dividing and weakening the early Ashikaga shogunate.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric '' ...

, an extremely divisive and damaging civil war between Takauji and Tadayoshi with very serious repercussions for the whole country. Although Takauji ultimately won, he was initially defeated in March 1351 by Tadayoshi and a truce was agreed upon with the help of

Zen Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), and ...

master

Musō Soseki was a Rinzai Zen, Zen Buddhist monk and teacher, and a calligraphist, poet and garden designer. The most famous monk of his time, he is also known as ("national Zen teacher"), an honorific conferred on him by Emperor Go-Daigo.''Musō Soseki'' ...

, who was close to both sides. One of the conditions posed by Tadayoshi was that the Kō brothers would retire from politics forever and become monks, which they did. Moronao became a Zen monk and Moroyasu a member of the

Nembutsu Nianfo (, Japanese: , , vi, niệm Phật) is a term commonly seen in Pure Land Buddhism. In the context of Pure Land practice, it generally refers to the repetition of the name of Amitābha. It is a translation of Sanskrit '' '' (or, "recolle ...

fraternity. They later left Hyōgo for Kyoto accompanied by Takauji, but they would never arrive. The Kō were captured and then executed with many dozens of their family at the

Muko River The is a river in the south-eastern part of Hyōgo Prefecture. This river was selected as the second most important river in the region by the prefecture governor. Its total length is 66 kilometers, and the drainage area is 496 square kilometers. ...

by forces led by Uesugi Akiyoshi on 25 March, 1351 (''

Kannō , also sometimes romanized as Kan'ō, was a Japanese era name (年号, ''nengō'', lit. year name) of the Northern Court during the Era of Northern and Southern Courts after ''Jōwa'' and before ''Bunna''. This period spanned the years from Febr ...

2, 27th day of the 2nd month'') in revenge for their killing of Akiyoshi's father Shigeyoshi. Takauji, powerless, had to deliver them to Akiyoshi.

References

* Iwanami Nihonshi Jiten (岩波日本史辞典), CD-Rom Version. Iwanami Shoten, 1999–2001. * Sansom, George (1961). "A History of Japan: 1334-1615." Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. 1351 deaths Samurai Year of birth unknown {{samurai-stub

Life

See also

References

References