The 1337 was the final battle for the
Nitta family in their support of the Southern Imperial Court against the
Ashikaga Pretenders of the
Northern Court.
Nitta Yoshisada's fortress at Kanegasaki was besieged for three months by forces in support of
Ashikaga Takauji. Nitta's ally
Uryū Tamotsu Uryū may refer to:
Places
*Uryū District, Hokkaidō Uryū may refer to:
Places
* Uryū District, Hokkaidō, a district in Hokkaidō, Japan
** Uryū, Hokkaidō, a town
People with the given name
*, a social worker in the Meiji period
*, an admir ...
was forced back to the fortress of Somayama in March 1337, and Nitta Yoshisada joined him there soon afterwards, hoping to lead a counterstrike to lift the siege. This failed, and the occupants of the besieged castle, having run out of food and water, were forced to eat horseflesh to survive. In accordance with
Buddhist belief, this was close to the worst disgrace one could face; eating horseflesh was believed to break one's
karma, forcing them to be reborn in the next life as an animal or something worse.
Nevertheless, the defenders held out for twenty days longer, and on April 7,
Kō no Moroyasu, commander of the besieging army, broke through the walls and took the fortress.
Prince Takanaga
was the second son of Emperor Go-Daigo of Japan. He fought for his father in the Nanboku-chō Wars. Since the characters used to write "Takanaga" can also be read as "Takayoshi", the prince is sometimes known by that name as well.
Appointed ''Se ...
and
Nitta Yoshiaki, son of Yoshisada, were forced to take their own lives.
Prince Tsunenaga (1324 – May 5, 1338) was one of the sons of Japanese Emperor Go-Daigo. He became involved in the Nanboku-chō wars between the true Imperial line and the Ashikaga clan.
In 1336, Tsunenaga was sent along with his brother Takanaga to be es ...
escaped, but was captured soon afterwards and killed as well.
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See also
* Siege of Kanegasaki (1570)
References
{{coord missing, Japan
Kanegasaki (1337)
1330s in Japan
1337 in Asia
Conflicts in 1337