The Battle of Minatogawa and Takauji’s Return to Kyoto

Takauji’s break with Go-Daigo led to fighting near Hakone and Takenoshita late in 1335. Defeating Nitta Yoshisada’s army allowed him to advance to Kyoto. In early 1336, forces supporting the emperor, including Kusunoki Masashige and Kitabatake Akiie’s army from the northeast, drove the Ashikaga out again.

Takauji retreated to Kyushu and rebuilt an alliance with regional warriors, including the Shōni, Ōtomo and Shimazu. Victory at Tatarahama enabled a renewed eastward campaign. Takauji traveled with the fleet while his brother Tadayoshi led forces overland. Their approaches converged on the coastal area of Hyōgo, guarding access toward Kyoto.

At Minatogawa in the fifth month of 1336, Yoshisada and Masashige attempted to stop the advance. The Ashikaga won, Yoshisada withdrew, and Masashige died with many followers. Takauji entered Kyoto again. Go-Daigo took refuge on Mount Hiei and subsequently negotiated his return to the capital under Ashikaga supervision.

The Taiheiki made Masashige’s proposed strategy, farewell to his son and final death major scenes of loyalty. Those are influential literary accounts whose speeches and extraordinary army sizes require separate scrutiny. The campaign’s wider sequence is clearer: an Ashikaga defeat and retreat were followed by new Kyushu support, a combined sea-and-land return and the loss of the emperor’s position around Kyoto.