Stories of the Japanese 01388 [Muromachi/Yoshinori Period] The Kakitsu Incident: The Imperial Edict for Punitive Action

July 30, the first year of Kakitsu (1441). Toshihide Bojo (1423–1465), acting on behalf of the shogunate, visited Tokifusa Madenokoji to consult on the wording of the imperial edict for punitive action. Tokifusa refused, saying, "The 30th is a 'daiakaguchi' (a day considered unlucky for military affairs), so please make it tomorrow," but because Toshihide would not back down, they reluctantly began their review.
Tokifusa took the draft they had created together to Naritada Funahashi, the Daigeki (a court official responsible for drafting documents), and requested revisions, but Naritada refused to meet him, claiming illness. This was likely due to the 'daiakaguchi.' Not giving up, Tokifusa forcefully visited Naritada and had him make the revisions that same day. It is interesting that the person who had been refusing until just moments ago ended up being the one forcefully persuaded.
However, in the end, the revisions by both Tokifusa and Naritada were completely unnecessary. This is because when Toshihide Bojo went to Emperor Go-Hanazono for approval on August 1, the Emperor revised—or rather, rewrote—the document so thoroughly that almost none of the original remained.
Before the approval, the draft was relatively safe, beginning with, "Regarding the villains in Harima Province, they have suddenly disrupted the moral order of humanity and have even gone so far as to engage in heinous plots," and it was short, stating only that the villains in Harima Province were committing unethical crimes and should be punished. It did not even mention the name Akamatsu.
On the other hand, the imperial edict written by Emperor Go-Hanazono himself stated, "Mitsu-yu Hoshi, along with Noriyasu, have harbored conspiracies in their private residence, suddenly disrupting the moral order of humanity, blocking the imperial command from reaching Banshu, and inviting the weapons of the Emperor's officials. (Omitted) To exhaust one's loyalty to the country and filial piety to one's family is only possible at this time. Do not dare to delay even for a day. Furthermore, those who collaborate with them shall certainly be punished for the same crime." This was about twice the length of the original draft. It specifically named Mitsusuke and Noriyasu Akamatsu, noted that they were obstructing the imperial court's orders from reaching Harima Province, and in the latter half, it not only ordered loyalty to the Emperor but even stated that those who sided with the Akamatsu would be treated as having committed the same crime.
Mochiyuki Hosokawa tried to use the Emperor's authority, and the court nobles disliked this, but Emperor Go-Hanazono, conversely, tried to demonstrate his presence by going along with the shogunate's strategy. Perhaps the Emperor was just as shrewd as the Shogun.
Now, although the army to suppress the Akamatsu had departed from Kyoto, there was still some time before the fighting began. During that interval, the internal conflict within the Hatakeyama family, which had surfaced due to the amnesty, occurred first.
August 3. Mochikuni Hatakeyama, who had previously been exiled by Yoshinori, arrived in the capital. His retainers, Kunimasa Yusa and Yusada Saito, tried to stop him, but they were scattered by Mochikuni's army.
In this way, Mochikuni won the family headship through force. From this point on, Mochikuni Hatakeyama would rise to a position where he would lead the shogunate's administration.