Siege of Kasagi
Encyclopedia
The 1331 siege of Kasagi was among the first battles of the Genkō War
, which brought an end to Japan's Kamakura period
. Emperor Go-Daigo
, who had been plotting against the shogunate
and the Hōjō clan
regents, had hidden the Japanese imperial regalia in Kasagi-dera, a fortified Buddhist temple, atop Kasagiyama
, just outside Kyoto
, and was secretly raising an army from there.
The temple was raided in the night by Hōjō forces under Suyama Yoshitaka and Komiyama Jirō, who climbed the cliffs surrounding the fortress, and set it aflame. The Emperor, however, escaped and fled.
The temple was rebuilt in 1381, and destroyed by fire again less than twenty years later. Today, only a few buildings remain.
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...
, which brought an end to Japan's Kamakura period
Kamakura period
The is a period of Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura Shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura by the first shogun Minamoto no Yoritomo....
. Emperor Go-Daigo
Emperor Go-Daigo
Emperor Go-Daigo was the 96th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession....
, who had been plotting against the shogunate
Kamakura shogunate
The Kamakura shogunate was a military dictatorship in Japan headed by the shoguns from 1185 to 1333. It was based in Kamakura. The Kamakura period draws its name from the capital of the shogunate...
and the Hōjō clan
Hojo clan
See the late Hōjō clan for the Hōjō clan of the Sengoku Period.The in the history of Japan was a family who controlled the hereditary title of shikken of the Kamakura Shogunate. In practice, the family had actual governmental power, many times dictatorial, rather than Kamakura shoguns, or the...
regents, had hidden the Japanese imperial regalia in Kasagi-dera, a fortified Buddhist temple, atop Kasagiyama
Kasagi, Kyoto
is a town located in Sōraku District, Kyoto, Japan.As of 2008, the town has an estimated population of 1,754. The total area is 23.57 km².-External links:*...
, just outside Kyoto
Kyoto
is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...
, and was secretly raising an army from there.
The temple was raided in the night by Hōjō forces under Suyama Yoshitaka and Komiyama Jirō, who climbed the cliffs surrounding the fortress, and set it aflame. The Emperor, however, escaped and fled.
The temple was rebuilt in 1381, and destroyed by fire again less than twenty years later. Today, only a few buildings remain.