(1324 – May 5, 1338) was one of the sons of Japanese

Emperor Go-Daigo Emperor Go-Daigo (後醍醐天皇 ''Go-Daigo-tennō'') (26 November 1288 – 19 September 1339) was the 96th emperor of Japan, Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'')後醍醐天皇 (96) retrieved 2013-8-28. according to the traditional order ...

. He became involved in the Nanboku-chō wars between the true Imperial line and the

Ashikaga clan The was a prominent Japanese samurai clan which established the Muromachi shogunate and ruled Japan from roughly 1333 to 1573. The Ashikaga were descended from a branch of the Minamoto clan, deriving originally from the town of Ashikaga ...

. In 1336, Tsunenaga was sent along with his brother Takanaga to be escorted 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 ...

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 ...

where, it was hoped, they could escape the attacks of the Ashikaga. According to the epic ''

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� ...

'', Tsunenaga was secretly made heir-apparent before he left, but no other documents confirm this. In fact, in November of that year, his brother Narinaga was officially named Crown Prince. Fleeing the Ashikaga, Nitta brought the Princes away from Yoshino, where the Southern Court of Go-Daigo was based, towards Tsuruga in Echizen. They eventually made it to the castle of Kanagasaki. In January 1337 the castle came under siege, and by April those inside were reduced to eating horseflesh to survive before the gates were stormed. Tsunenaga escaped from the castle, but was captured and killed soon afterwards.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tsunenaga Japanese princes 1324 births 1338 deaths Sons of emperors Royalty and nobility who died as children

See also

References