Prince Morinaga
Encyclopedia
Minamoto no Chikako
was the daughter of Kitabatake Morochika, and Imperial consort to Emperor Go-Daigo. She had earlier been Imperial consort to Go-Daigo's father, Emperor Go-Uda.She was the mother of Prince Morinaga.-References:* A Guide to Kamakura, , retrieved on June 21, 2008...
executed by Ashikaga Tadayoshi
Ashikaga Tadayoshi
was a general of the Northern and Southern Courts period of Japanese history and a close associate of his elder brother Takauji, the first Muromachi shogun. Son of Ashikaga Sadauji and of a daughter of Uesugi Yorishige, the same mother as Takauji, he was a pivotal figure of the chaotic transition...
in 1335.
When Moriyoshi was 18, Go-Daigo had him named the head abbot of the Enryakuji temple on Mount Hiei
Mount Hiei
is a mountain to the northeast of Kyoto, lying on the border between the Kyoto and Shiga prefectures, Japan.The temple of Enryaku-ji, the first outpost of the Japanese Tiantai sect of Buddhism, was founded atop Mount Hiei by Saichō in 788. Both Nichiren and Honen studied at the temple before...
.
When Go-Daigo's attempt to seize power in 1331 failed (the Genkō War
Genko War
The —also known as the —was a civil war in Japan which marked the fall of the Kamakura shogunate and end of the power of the Hōjō clan. The war thus preceded the Nanboku-chō period and the rise of the Ashikaga shogunate...
), Moriyoshi fled Enryakuji to the province of Kii
Kii
- Geography :* Kii Channel, a separating Honshū and Shikoku islands of Japan.* Kii Mountains, a mountain range in the Kansai region of Japan.* Kii Province, a former province of Japan.* Kii Peninsula, a peninsula in the Kansai region of Japan....
, meeting up with Kusunoki Masashige
Kusunoki Masashige
was a 14th century samurai who fought for Emperor Go-Daigo in his attempt to wrest rulership of Japan away from the Kamakura shogunate and is remembered as the ideal of samurai loyalty.-Tactician:...
. They tenaciously defended the small fortress of Akasaka
Siege of Akasaka
The 1331 siege of Akasaka was a battle of the Genkō War, taking place during the final years of Japan's Kamakura period, at Shimo Akasaka-jō near modern-day Osaka....
before finally being forced to withdraw.
He then moved to Mount Yoshino
Mount Yoshino
is a mountain located in the town of Yoshino in Yoshino District, Nara Prefecture, Japan. In 2004, It was designated as part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site under the name Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range....
.
Masashige's heroics defending Chihaya
Siege of Chihaya
The 1333 siege of Chihaya took place during the final year of Japan's Kamakura period. It was one of several battles of the Genkō War, in which Emperor Go-Daigo sought to eliminate the power of the Hōjō clan regents. Chihaya-jō was built atop Mt. Kongō, in Kawachi province, in 1332...
, together with Moriyoshi's efforts to rally troops, brought a large number of warriors to the loyalist cause. By 1333, Ashikaga Takauji
Ashikaga Takauji
was the founder and first shogun of the Ashikaga shogunate. His rule began in 1338, beginning the Muromachi period of Japan, and ended with his death in 1358...
and Nitta Yoshisada
Nitta Yoshisada
was the head of the Nitta family in the early fourteenth century, and supported the Southern Court of Emperor Go-Daigo in the Nanboku-chō period, capturing Kamakura from the Hōjō clan in 1333....
had joined the cause. The Hōjō
Hojo
Hōjō may refer to:*Hōjō clan, a family of regents of the Kamakura Shogunate*Late Hōjō clan, daimyo in the Sengoku Period*Hōjō, Ehime, a city in Japan*Hōjō, one of the five kata of Kashima Shinden Jikishinkage-ryū...
shogunate was soon destroyed.
Restored to the throne, Go-Daigo started the Kemmu Restoration
Kemmu restoration
The is the name given to both the three year period of Japanese history between the Kamakura period and the Muromachi period, and the political events that took place in it...
. After refusing to appoint Ashikaga Takauji to the post of seii taishōgun
Shogun
A was one of the hereditary military dictators of Japan from 1192 to 1867. In this period, the shoguns, or their shikken regents , were the de facto rulers of Japan though they were nominally appointed by the emperor...
, he made the double mistake of giving the title to his sons Prince Moriyoshi and Norinaga, two civilians, thus alienating Takauji and the warrior class, who felt he, as a military man and a descendant of the Minamoto, should have been shogun instead.
Takauji made false charges that Moriyoshi was planning to overthrow his father, and forced Go-Daigo to hand him over. Moriyoshi was then sent to Takauji's brother Tadayoshi in Kamakura and imprisoned in a cave near Kamakura for eight months. The cave is now within the premises of a Shinto shrine in Kamakura named Kamakura-gū
Kamakura-gu
is a shrine in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It was erected by Emperor Meiji in 1869 to worship the spirit of Prince Morinaga, who was imprisoned and later executed where the shrine now stands in 1335...
. A rebellion headed by Hōjō Tokiyuki
Hojo Tokiyuki
was a samurai of the Hōjō clan who fought both for and against the Imperial Court. His father was Hōjō Takatoki, last Regent and de facto ruler of the Kamakura shogunate....
forced Tadayoshi to retreat from Kamakura. Being unable to take the prince along, Tadayoshi had him beheaded on July 23, 1335. Kamakura-gū
Kamakura-gu
is a shrine in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It was erected by Emperor Meiji in 1869 to worship the spirit of Prince Morinaga, who was imprisoned and later executed where the shrine now stands in 1335...
, built around the cave where Prince Moriyoshi was imprisoned, was dedicated to him by Emperor Meiji
Emperor Meiji
The or was the 122nd emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession, reigning from 3 February 1867 until his death...
in 1869.