Stories of the Japanese 01303 [Muromachi/Yoshimochi Period] The Surrender of Yamairi
Come to think of it, when asked "Who is the shugo of this province?" for the Tokai, Kinai, Chugoku, and Kyushu regions, several names come to mind, but for the Kanto region, I cannot remember who the shugo are at all. In Kanto, the presence of the Kamakura Kubo and the Kanto Kanrei is so overwhelming that the shugo do not seem to be playing much of a role.
Although Yoshimochi and Mochiuji showed signs of moving toward reconciliation, they clashed once again over who should be appointed to the following positions:
- The Kazusa shugo position, which became vacant due to the absence of Zenshu Uesugi of Inukake
- The Kai shugo position, which became vacant due to the absence of Nobumitsu Takeda
In August of the 24th year of Oei (1417), the shogunate recommended to the Kamakura-fu that they appoint Mochitsuna Utsunomiya (1396–1423) as the Kazusa shugo. They argued that since Mochitsuna had been one of the first to secretly side with the shogunate, he deserved a reward. However, in October, Mochiuji rejected this.
In that same August, there was also trouble regarding the appointment of the Kai shugo. Nobunaga Takeda (?-1477), the second son of Nobumitsu, had participated directly in the rebellion, so he could not be allowed to inherit the family headship. On the other hand, regarding Mitsuharu Anayama, Nobumitsu's younger brother who had fled to Mount Koya fearing guilt by association, the shogunate insisted that he deserved a reward for being one of the first to secretly side with them, and they recommended him for the position of Kai shugo after having him take the name "Nobumoto Takeda." However, Mochiuji had intended to appoint Arianao Hemmi, a local warrior from Kai, to the shugo position, leading to a conflict of opinion.
In the end, the confrontation between Yoshimochi and Mochiuji only deepened. It could be said that Norimoto, who served as a mediator between them, was the only hope.
However, on January 4th of the following year, the 25th year of Oei (1418), Norimoto died of illness without having any biological children. Norizane (1410?–1466), Norimoto's nine-year-old cousin, was hurriedly adopted from the Echigo Uesugi family to succeed the Yamanouchi Uesugi family, but the position of Kanto Kanrei remained vacant for the time being.
Norizane became Kanto Kanrei at the age of 10 around August of the following year, but naturally, he could not stop Mochiuji. The policy of reconciliation ended, and there was no one left to admonish Mochiuji.
Now, around the same time that Norimoto died of illness, in Hitachi, Yoshito Satake, who was Norimoto's younger brother, was besieging Kuniyasu Castle, where Tomoyoshi Yamairi, the leader of the remnants of Zenshu's forces, had holed up.
Yoshito also felt that among the soldiers of the Yamairi forces were those who had served the Satake family for many years, and he wanted to avoid killing them if possible. Therefore, he accepted the proposal of Tomoyoshi Odano, who was from the Yamairi clan, and adopted a strategy of cutting off the water supply to make it difficult to hold the castle and force a surrender.
Tomoyoshi Yamairi, having had his water cut off, finally surrendered, and a meeting between Yoshito and Tomoyoshi took place. Yoshito remained humble, stating,
"Let's let bygones be bygones, and won't you exert your efforts for the Satake family once again?"
It was a generous offer that did not seem like an attitude toward a rebel army.
However, Tomoyoshi Yamairi stubbornly refused to accept that Yoshito was his lord. Having rejected the proposal, Tomoyoshi shaved his head and refused to serve Yoshito.
This part is based on a book called "Satake Hishi" (Secret History of the Satake) by Masayuki Ouchi, in which an expert compiled the Satake family documents. It is a book I obtained by visiting second-hand bookstores in Ibaraki Prefecture.