Go-Daigo’s Rising and the Fall of the Kamakura Government

Go-Daigo’s attempt to defeat the Kamakura government in 1331 ended with his capture after resistance at Kasagi. The court placed Kōgon on the throne, and Go-Daigo was exiled to Oki in 1332. His removal did not end opposition: Kusunoki Masashige continued resistance at fortified positions around Akasaka and Chihaya, while Prince Moriyoshi also worked against the government.

In 1333 Go-Daigo escaped Oki and established a western rallying point at Senjōsan in Hōki. Ashikaga Takauji, sent west on the government’s side, changed allegiance. A vow associated with Shinomura records his pledge to defeat Kamakura and reward Hachiman with land and shrine adornment if victorious. His forces attacked Kyoto’s Rokuhara headquarters, which fell in the fifth month.

Nitta Yoshisada rose in the east and attacked Kamakura. On the twenty-second day of the fifth month, Hōjō Takatoki and members of his following died at Tōshōji. The loss of both the Kyoto headquarters and the eastern center ended the government. Takauji was then a commander supporting Go-Daigo, not yet the shogun of a new Ashikaga regime.

Go-Daigo’s return made a new imperial administration possible, but its arrangements and warrior alliances still had to be settled. Hōjō survivors remained active after 1333. Excavated structures, tiles and fire traces at Tōshōji preserve the setting of the defeat; the nearby cave-suicide story is a later tradition. The political collapse can be stated without adopting miracle stories about Nitta’s attack or an independently verified total for the dead.