Tales of the Japanese 01318 [Muromachi/Yoshimochi Period] The Fall of Nukada Castle
From this point on, we enter the era of the 5th Shogun Yoshikazu, but since Yoshikazu held no real power and Yoshimochi remained the supreme authority, I will keep the chapter title as the "Yoshimochi Period."
In Hitachi, the rebellion against Mochiuji continues, led by:
・Mitsushige Oguri, who is holed up in Oguri Castle
・Sukeyoshi Yamairi, who is holed up in Nukada Castle
Actually, since the Shogunate supports the Yamairi family, it is difficult to determine whether to view this as a "rebellion by Yamairi against Mochiuji" or a "rebellion by Mochiuji against the Shogunate."
In mid-January of the 30th year of Oei (1423), Sadayori Chiaki-Uesugi and others, acting under Mochiuji's orders, attacked Oguri Castle, but it did not fall easily.
Mochiuji's relationship with the Shogunate is deteriorating further. On March 9, Yoshimochi proposed to the Retired Emperor Go-Komatsu that he "wished to hand over the Shogunate to Yoshikazu," and on March 18, the Shogunal appointment was granted to Yoshikazu. However, there is no record of the Kamakura-fu sending a congratulatory mission at this time. It seems they have reached a point where they no longer even exchange ceremonial greetings.
As an aside, taking the change of Shogun as an opportunity, the Retired Emperor Go-Komatsu suggested to the Shogunate that they might want to change the era name, but Yoshimochi declined. Feeling that his good intentions had been trampled upon, the Retired Emperor Go-Komatsu seems to have held a grudge and became colder toward the Shogunate from this point on.
On March 21, the front at Nukada Castle finally saw some movement. Since the Yamairi clan had already moved from Nukada Castle to Kuniyasu Castle, the defense of Nukada Castle was left to hereditary soldiers such as Yoshiaki Nukada. Seeing that morale had dropped due to the long siege, Yoshiaki Nukada decided to take the risk and sally forth.
The Nukada army became embroiled in a chaotic melee with the attacking forces of Sadayori Chiaki-Uesugi. Mikitane Kamata of the Uesugi side struck the neck of Yoshiaki Nukada's horse with the tip of his spear, and when Yoshiaki fell, he was killed.
Having lost its commander, Nukada Castle fell that same day. Nukada was granted to Michitane Onozaki, who had played an active role on the attacking side.
On March 21, the same day Nukada Castle fell, Shogun Yoshimochi was causing a minor stir in Kyoto. Yoshimochi took issue with Kanera Ichijo (1402–1481) for writing his own title as "Ryuei" in the postscript of a waka poetry anthology.
Since Kanera was a Middle Counselor of the Left Imperial Guard, he intended to write it as a Chinese-style name for that position, but it is recorded that Yoshimochi became angry, saying,
"Is this not a title granted to the Seii Taishogun?"
Kanera Ichijo was likely correct, and it was Yoshimochi's misunderstanding, but Yoshimochi seems to have become sensitive about enhancing his son's authority.
Kanera Ichijo, who appears for the first time in this story, is also featured in Japanese history textbooks as a figure who was active in classical studies.