Stories of the Japanese 00966 [Early Northern and Southern Courts Period] Basara Daimyo Toki Yorito: Encounter
Starting today, we will cover the villainous episodes of Toki Yorito. When it comes to Basara Daimyo, there are three main figures:
(1) Ko no Moronao, (2) Sasaki Doyo, and (3) Toki Yorito.
For some reason, only the third one has low name recognition... even though he was an outrageous character.
During this era, the term "Basara" became popular.
As I explained in episode 00837, Wikipedia defines "Basara" as:
"An aesthetic sense that ignores social hierarchy, is meritocratic, mocks and resists authorities such as the nobility and the Emperor, and favors extravagant, flashy behavior and stylish, ornate clothing."
Originally, the word "Basara" is derived from the Sanskrit word "vajra," meaning diamond, and was born from the image of "breaking through common sense with the hardness of a diamond."
The three samurai considered the representatives of Basara in this era are Ko no Moronao, Sasaki Doyo, and Toki Yorito. Since I have already introduced Ko no Moronao's cruelty regarding Lady Kaoyoshi and Sasaki Doyo's burning of Myoho-in Temple, I will now introduce the episodes of Toki Yorito (though it is unclear if they are historical fact).
September 3, 1342 (the 3rd year of Kokoku / 1st year of Koryaku). That day was the anniversary of the death of the Retired Emperor Fushimi, and the Retired Emperor Kogon was scheduled to visit the Fushimi Palace. This detached palace, the Fushimi-dono, was once a garden worth seeing, filled with rare trees and stones, but it had since been left unmanaged and had fallen into complete ruin.
At night, as the ox cart carrying the Retired Emperor Kogon was passing through Gojo, it happened to cross paths with Toki Yorito and Nikaido Yukiharu, who were returning from practicing Kasagake (a form of mounted archery) at a nearby horse track.
When an official of the Retired Emperor's party shouted,
"Who goes there? This is disrespectful. Dismount from your horses!"
Nikaido Yukiharu jumped off his horse and sat respectfully to the side, but Toki Yorito, on the other hand, shouted loudly,
"I do not believe there is anyone in the capital who can force me, Yorito, to dismount from my horse. What kind of fool is it that says such things?"
And he actually refused to dismount.
In the early Kamakura period, even though three retired emperors, including the Retired Emperor Gotoba, were exiled to remote islands, the Kamakura samurai still sufficiently respected the authority of the nobility and the Emperor. However, by the Northern and Southern Courts period, the imperial family had split into two, causing the authority of the imperial family to be completely lost. Furthermore, since the Northern Court's imperial family was only able to ascend to the throne thanks to Shogun Takauji, it seems the samurai began to disregard the imperial throne entirely.