Stories of the Japanese 00945 [Early Northern and Southern Courts Period] The Death of Hata Tokiyoshi
In this series, I am always at a loss as to how much I should assume about the readership. For example, when a place name like "Echizen" appears, should I write (Fukui Prefecture) in parentheses? I wonder if most people reading this series already know that Echizen equals Fukui Prefecture.
In the end, I don't set any clear rules, and I just add supplementary information or not depending on my mood.
Returning to the situation in Echizen.
Although Yoshisada died in battle in Echizen, I mentioned that the Southern Court forces were somehow managing to advance the war to their advantage. However, according to the "Taiheiki," the Northern Court forces reversed the situation again in less than a year. On September 13, 1340 (the first year of Kokoku/third year of Ryakuo), the shogunate army led by Shiba Takatsune captured Echizen Fuchu, leaving the Southern Court forces with only Hata Tokiyoshi holed up in Takasu Castle (Fukui City, Fukui Prefecture).
For the Northern Court forces led by Shiba Takatsune and Taka Morishige, all that remained was to capture this Takasu Castle, but they were struggling to attack this sturdy fortress defended by the fierce warrior Hata Tokiyoshi. This was because Hata Tokiyoshi was said to be a man of such strength that he had no equal in the eight provinces of Bando, having been strong at sumo since he was a child, and he was also quite skilled at horseback riding and archery. It was also famous that among Hata's retainers was a man of superhuman strength named Aku Hachiro.
Now, Kamiki Iemitsu, who was in the Shiba army, had a background as someone who was originally a retainer of the Nitta family but had changed his allegiance to the Ashikaga side. Perhaps because of that background, within the Shiba army,
"Isn't Kamiki secretly communicating with Hata?"
Rumors began to spread. Kamiki felt frustrated by these rumors, and early on the morning of February 27, 1341 (the second year of Kokoku/fourth year of Ryakuo), he began an attack to capture Takasu Castle with his own troops alone.
However, Takasu Castle had anticipated this attack. When the Kamiki forces began to climb the cliff, Aku Hachiro, who was inside the castle, rolled large rocks down at them, causing the Kamiki forces to suffer casualties one after another.
Thinking that now was the chance to rout the enemy while the Shiba army's Kamiki forces were being decimated, Hata left the castle on October 21 with 16 of his main men and hid himself on a mountain path.
On the other hand, Shiba Takatsune never dreamed that the soldiers of the small Takasu Castle had dispersed and left the castle, so he began to attack the castle with 3,000 cavalry.
Hata Tokiyoshi remained hidden until the enemy approached. When the enemy finally got close, he and his 16 men jumped out,
"General Hata is here. Where is Shiba, the Governor of Owari?"
They shouted and charged into the large army. The Shiba army, taken by surprise, fell into great confusion.
As a result, the 16-man Hata force successfully repelled the 3,000-man Shiba army. However, the Hata force also suffered casualties, with 5 dead and 9 seriously injured.
October 25. Hata Tokiyoshi, one of the Four Heavenly Kings of Nitta, died from the arrow wounds he received at this time. In the "Taiheiki," there are descriptions praising Hata's bravery, but at the scene of his death, it says,
"He was an outlaw who strayed from the path of humanity, and divine punishment has been dealt,"
and so on, which is inconsistent. This is likely because it was written by many different authors.