Nitta Yoshisada
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Nitta Yoshisada (新田義貞?)(1301-1338) was the head of the Nitta family in the early 14th century, and supported the Southern Court of Emperor Go-Daigo in the Nanboku-cho period, capturing Kamakura from the Hōjō clan in 1333.
Long an enemy of Ashikaga Takauji, Nitta Yoshisada is often blamed for the split between the Northern and Southern Courts, as he fought against the Ashikaga and for the Emperor Go-Daigo. This rivalry came largely from the fact that the Ashikaga were ranked above the Nitta, despite their being descended from a younger ancestor; since the ancestors of the Nitta did not fight alongside their Minamoto cousins in the Genpei War, they were never accorded power or prestige at Kamakura.
In 1331, after being ordered by the bakufu (shogunate) to join an army at the Chihaya fortress, Nitta received summonses from Prince Morinaga and Emperor Go-Daigo to strike at the Hōjō, so he left his post. Returning to his home province of Kozuke, Nitta rallied the aid of other descendants & vassals of the Minamoto clan, and began to march towards Kamakura. On the approaches to the city, Nitta enjoyed some early victories, routing the Hōjō defenders and pursuing them towards the city.
Kamakura is surrounded by man-made cliffs on three sides, intentionally making it very difficult to attack. Nitta took advantage of a low tide and moved his men in through the beaches to the south. According to the Taiheiki, Nitta threw his sword into the surf and prayed to Amaterasu, the Sun Goddess, who parted the waters for him. The city was taken, and the Hōjō clan's influence destroyed.
Following the fall of Kamakura (and the Hōjō regency), Nitta was appointed Governor of Echigo and Vice-Governor of Harima and Kozuke Provinces, as Emperor Go-Daigo redistributed the Hōjō lands.
During the following few years, Nitta's rivalry with Ashikaga Takauji (and his brother Ashikaga Tadayoshi) came to a head, with the two planning rebellion, and issuing a call that "Nitta Yoshisada must be destroyed." They fought a number of battles, many of them in and around Kyoto, in the same locations as famous battles of the Genpei War; in the end, Nitta was defeated, but continued to be a thorn in Takauji's side until his death in 1338.
Nitta's death was as remarkable as his life. Turnbull (2003) writes that Nitta was fighting in the Siege of Kuromaru against Hosokawa Akiuji, an ally of Takauji, when his horse was felled by arrow fire. Nitta, pinned under the dead horse and unable to move was an easy target for archers. As a final act, Nitta drew his short sword and cut off his own head. Record has it that a number of his fellow samurai committed junshi seppuku nearby, in a show of allegiance.
[edit] References
- Sansom, George (1958). 'A History of Japan to 1334'. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press.
- Turnbull, Stephen (1998). 'The Samurai Sourcebook'. London: Cassell & Co.
- Turnbull, Stephen (2003). 'Samurai: The World of the Warrior'. Osprey Publishing.
