Stories of the Japanese 00884 [Kenmu Period] The Second Battle of Kyoto: The Death of Nawa Nagatoshi

While the Ashikaga and Nitta armies were confronting each other at To-ji Temple, Toki Yorio (?-1342) of the Ashikaga side was waiting at Kamigamo with 300 cavalrymen. Toki Yorio was the younger brother of Toki Yorinao, also known as Akugenta.
When Yorio attacked the enemy at Gojo-Omiya, they fled one after another without putting up a fight. Yorio then headed south from there, approaching the main force of Nitta Yoshisada.
Yoshisada scattered the enemy and retreated to Sanjo-gawara, but in the process, he became separated from his fellow soldiers, and Nawa Nagatoshi was left behind. Nagatoshi was fighting on Omiya Street with only 200 cavalrymen, but he was killed by the Ashikaga forces.
Meanwhile, although Yoshisada was surrounded by the Ashikaga forces, he managed to escape with his life and flee to Mount Hiei.
Why exactly was Nawa Nagatoshi left behind?
According to the Taiheiki, when the Emperor Go-Daigo's army set out from Mount Hiei, women and children watching the procession saw Nawa Hoki-no-kami Nagatoshi riding out on horseback and said,
"These days, Yuki, Hoki (Nawa Hoki-no-kami), Kusunoki, and Chigusa are called the 'Three Trees and One Grass' and seem to have received many rewards, but it is said that three of them have been killed in battle, and only Nawa Hoki-no-kami remains."
Upon hearing this, Nawa Nagatoshi is said to have muttered,
"The people of the world must be gossiping that it is shameful that I have not been killed in battle until now. If our side is defeated in this battle, I will remain behind alone and die in battle."
If this was the reason he met a death that was essentially suicide, it is a truly tragic end.
Thus, all of the famous warriors of Emperor Go-Daigo's side known as the 'Three Trees and One Grass' had died in battle, and the only famous warriors remaining were Nitta Yoshisada and Kitabatake Akiie. That Kitabatake Akiie was now fighting in the Tohoku region and was no threat to the Ashikaga side. Although the Ashikaga side could not take Mount Hiei, it could be said that they were advancing the war to their advantage.
Incidentally, this article is based on the Taiheiki, so it follows the story that the Nitta army was defeated in Kyoto three times, but in historical fact, this Second Battle of Kyoto seems to have been a single event that took place on June 30th. The Taiheiki likely added various embellishments to bring out the interest of the story.