Stories of the Japanese 00749 [Late Kamakura Period] The Fall of Kasagi

September 28, 1331 (Genko 1/Gentoku 3). Among the shogunate forces besieging Mount Kasagi was Yoshitaka Suyama, a warrior from Bitchu Province. Suyama gathered his clan and declared,
"This castle, which has not fallen after days of siege, we shall take by ourselves before reinforcements arrive."
He was eager to launch a preemptive strike before the organized assault began, hoping to claim the glory for himself.
Late that night, under the cover of wind and rain, the Suyama clan snuck into the Emperor's camp. Although they were spotted and challenged by guards, Suyama and his men pretended to be allies, answering,
"We are just out on a night patrol,"
and were not questioned further.
Once they had penetrated deep into the camp, the Suyama men set fire to the buildings and raised a war cry in unison. The Imperial side, thinking, "So, a traitor has appeared," fell into total chaos, and by the early hours of the following day, the 29th, Mount Kasagi had fallen.
Emperor Go-Daigo managed to escape by disguising himself as a peasant, intending to head for Shimo-Akasaka Castle, where Masashige Kusunoki was holed up. He was accompanied only by his close aide, Fujifusa Madenokoji, and his younger brother, Suefusa (?-1333).
The Emperor and two court nobles—three men who had almost never walked along a road in their lives—began their journey through the rugged mountain paths. After walking for three days without food or water and without a map, the group arrived at the foot of Mount Ou in Yamashiro Province (Ide Town, Kyoto Prefecture). They were actually moving further away from Akasaka Castle and had drawn closer to the capital, where many enemies resided. Well, given that they were fleeing without a guide, it could not be helped.
Hearing the sound of the wind in the pines, Emperor Go-Daigo thought,
"It looks like it is about to rain,"
and took shelter under the trees, but then dew began to drip from the branches. Unable to find a place to escape the rain, the Emperor lamented his difficult situation by composing a poem:
"Since leaving Mount Kasagi, where I had hoped to go, there is no hiding place for me under the heavens."
Hearing this, Fujifusa Madenokoji expressed his concern for the Emperor by composing a reply:
"What can I do? I sought shelter under the pine, but the dew from the branches only wets my sleeves further."
The enemy's reach was finally closing in on Emperor Go-Daigo, who had fought so tenaciously until now.