The , or "Black Fortress", was a fortress of the ''

Kanrei or, more rarely, ''kanryō'', was a high political post in feudal Japan; it is usually translated as ''shōguns deputy''. After 1349, there were actually two ''Kanrei'', the ''Kyoto Kanrei'' and the ''Kantō Kanrei''. Originally, from 1219 until ...

Shiba Takatsune 　 was the Constable (''shugo'') of Echizen Province during the 14th century Nanboku-chō Wars in Japan. He acted to block the northward progress of Nitta Yoshisada, who supported the Emperor's Southern Court against the ''shōgun''s Northern C ...

located in

Echizen Province was a province of Japan in the area that is today the northern portion of Fukui Prefecture in the Hokuriku region of Japan. Echizen bordered on Kaga, Wakasa, Hida, and Ōmi Provinces. It was part of Hokurikudō Circuit. Its abbreviated for ...

(present-day Nittazuka, Fukui,

Fukui Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Fukui Prefecture has a population of 778,943 (1 June 2017) and has a geographic area of 4,190 km2 (1,617 sq mi). Fukui Prefecture borders Ishikawa Prefecture to the north, G ...

) in the Hokuriku region of Japan. It was attacked twice during the Nanboku-chō Wars of the 14th century, during which it was likely both built and destroyed. The fortress was first attacked in August 1338 by a small force under

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 ...

, numbering roughly fifty

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million yea ...

, in what would come to be known as the Battle of Fujishima.

Hosokawa Akiuji was a ''samurai'' general in the service of the Ashikaga Northern Court, during Japan's Nanboku-chō period. Life In 1338, he was sent by Ashikaga Takauji to assist in the defence of the Kuromaru, a fortress belonging to ''Kanrei'' Shiba Takats ...

had been ordered by

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 Murom ...

to aid Shiba Takatsune in the defense, and encountered Nitta's force a short distance from the fortress. The warrior monks of the Heisen-ji monastery, originally part of Nitta's force, were bribed by Shiba to abandon the attack, and Nitta's rush to fill the ensuing gap in his formations led to him and his horsemen running into Hosokawa's. In the battle which followed, Nitta was mortally wounded by an arrow. The following year, upon his enthronement,

Emperor Go-Murakami (1328 – March 29, 1368) was the 97th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession, and a member of the Southern Court during the Nanboku-chō period of rival courts. He reigned from September 18, 1339, until March 29, 13 ...

ordered the late Nitta Yoshisada's brother,

Wakiya Yoshisuke also known as , (1305–1340) was the brother of Nitta Yoshisada in the early fourteenth century, and supported the Southern Court of Emperor Go-Daigo in the Nanboku-chō period, capturing Kamakura with his brother from the Hōjō clan in ...

, to lead another attack on the fortress. This assault was successful, and ended in Shiba's surrender.

''Taiheiki''

Chapter 20 of 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� ...

'' chronicles the events of the death of Nitta Yoshisada at Kuromaru. It states that an arrow wounded his horse, making it unable to jump over a ditch. It fell and trapped Yoshisada's left leg. An arrow in the flurry struck him between the brows, and he drew his sword and slit his throat. The resemblance to the death of

Minamoto no Yoshinaka , , or Lord Kiso was a general from the late Heian period of Japanese history. A member of the Minamoto clan, Minamoto no Yoritomo was his cousin and rival during the Genpei War between the Minamoto and the Taira clans. Yoshinaka was born in Musas ...

as described in the ''

Heike Monogatari is an epic account compiled prior to 1330 of the struggle between the Taira clan and Minamoto clan for control of Japan at the end of the 12th century in the Genpei War (1180–1185). Heike () refers to the Taira (), ''hei'' being the ''on'yo ...

'' has led to questions about whether the account is factual.

Helmet of Yoshisada

In 1660, a farmer tilling the land near the site of the battle uncovered a ''

kabuto ' (兜, 冑) is a type of helmet first used by ancient Japanese warriors which, in later periods, became an important part of the traditional Japanese armour worn by the samurai class and their retainers in feudal Japan. Note that in the Ja ...

'' helmet and presented it to

Matsudaira Mitsumichi was an early to mid- Edo period Japanese samurai, and the 4th '' daimyō'' of Fukui Domain.Foulk, T. Griffin. "The Forgotten history of Daian-zenji, a Tokugawa-period Zen Monastery," ''The Japan Foundation Newsletter'' (''Kokusai Kōryū Kikin' ...

, ''

daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and nominal ...

'' of Fukui Domain. The construction of the helmet indicated that it had belonged to a high-ranking warrior, and the domain's chief military strategist, Inoue Banzaemon declared that it must have belonged to Nitta Yoshisada. In 1870, the imperial governor of Fukui,

Matsudaira Mochiaki was a Bakumatsu period ''daimyō'' under the Edo period Tokugawa shogunate of Japan. He was the 7th ''daimyō'' of Itoigawa Domain in Echigo Province and later the 17th (and final) ''daimyō'' of Fukui Domain in Echizen Province.Burks, Ardat ...

, built a Shinto shrine, the

Fujishima Shrine is a Shinto shrine located in the city of Fukui, Japan. In the former Modern system of ranked Shinto Shrines, it was a special shrine (別格官幣社, ''Bekkaku Kanpei-sha''). Its main festival is held annually on August 25. was the head of ...

on the site, as part of the

Meiji government The was the government that was formed by politicians of the Satsuma Domain and Chōshū Domain in the 1860s. The Meiji government was the early government of the Empire of Japan. Politicians of the Meiji government were known as the Meiji o ...

's drive to honour the history of the

Kenmu Restoration The was a three-year period of Imperial rule in Japanese history between the Kamakura period and the Muromachi period from 1333 to 1336. The Kenmu Restoration was an effort made by Emperor Go-Daigo to overthrow the ruling Kamakura Shogunate ...

and to promote loyalty to the

Imperial family of Japan The , also referred to as the Imperial Family or the House of Yamato, comprises those members of the extended family of the reigning Emperor of Japan who undertake official and public duties. Under the present Constitution of Japan, the Emperor i ...

. The ''kabuto'' is preserved at the shrine, and is an Important Cultural Property. The site of the battle itself was protected as a National Historic Site since1924.

References

{{reflist
''Taiheiki''
(in Japanese)

Kuromaru The , or "Black Fortress", was a fortress of the ''Kanrei'' Shiba Takatsune located in Echizen Province (present-day Nittazuka, Fukui, Fukui Prefecture) in the Hokuriku region of Japan. It was attacked twice during the Nanboku-chō Wars of t ...

1330s in Japan 1338 in Asia 1339 in Asia Conflicts in 1338 Conflicts in 1339 Echizen Province Historic Sites of Japan