Nitta Yoshisada was a samurai of the Nanbokucho Wars or the Wars Between the Courts, a conflict that dominated the 14th century where the emperors of Japan waged war in order to regain their lost powers and assert their authority over the Shogun. Yoshisada changed sides in the conflict more than once but eventually supported the Emperor Go-Daigo. This loyalty was in evidence when he attacked the bakufu's capital of Kamakura in 1333 which was the capital for the Minamoto shoguns and the Hojo shikken. This stronghold was well protected with mountains guarding three of its sides and the fourth by the sea. In response to this Yoshisada divided his forces into three so that a division could attack by the east, west and north. Yet resistance from the imperials was fierce and no breakthrough could be made, particularly on the western side in the Gokurakuji Pass where defenders fought behind wooden palisades. Yoshisada then famously took his army via the seaward side of Kamakura and according to legend he offered his sword to the Sun Goddess which in turn made the sea part allowing him and his army to pass through and according to the Taiheiki 'So he prayed, and cast his gold-mounted sword into the sea. May it not be that the dragon-gods accepted it? At the setting of the moon that night, suddenly more than 2,000 yards the waters ebbed away from Inamura Cape, where for the first time a broad flat beach appeared.'

Kamakura fell not long afterwards during ferocious street fighting. When all was lost the Hojo family and their close retainers committed mass suicide or junshi. Some Hojo samurai wrote poems before dying, a ritual copied by future generations of samurai. A warrior monk called Fuonji Shinnin wrote a poem on a pillar inside a temple using his own blood and another monk used his trousers before commanding his son to behead him, who in turn plunged the blade into his own body. The closest family members withdrew to a temple called the Toshoji, which means 'the temple of victory in the east', where they proceeded to commit mass suicide in a cave dug out of the rock at the rear of the compound. The temple itself no longer exists but the cave does and even today it attracts pilgrims. Fresh flowers can often be found at the cave entrance.

In contrast to the dramatic deaths of the Hojo Nitta Yoshisada's was, although heroic, quite a lonely one. Go-Daigo despatched his favoured general to capture the fortress of Fujishima where stalwart warrior monks were defending a wooden stockade. More concerning to Yoshisada were the omens before the battle in which his horse suddenly reared up and trampled to of his grooms to death and when his army crossed a river the standard bearer's horse collapsed and threw its rider into the water while clutching the Nitta banner. As an example to his men Yoshisada resolved to take the lead against Fujishima and force an entry. He must have cut a dramatic scene as he galloped across the rice fields towards the enemy archers defending the barricades; hundreds of arrows were loosed at him and many of his mounted companions tried their best to shield him but they in turn were cut down. Yoshisada was urged to break off the attack but he was determined. However, his horse was struck by an arrow and collapsed trapping Yoshisada's left leg under its body. It wasn't long before an arrow struck his head. Still conscious he is then said to have sliced his own head off. According to one source called the Hagakure, Yoshisada's headless body continued to fight: 'Even if one's head were to be suddenly cut off, he should be able to do one more action with certainty. The last moments of Nitta Yoshisada are proof of this. Had his spirit been weak, he would have have fallen the moment his head was severed.' Yoshisada's followers were greatly impressed by his death and resolved to die where he fell but after a couple of days of reflection they wisely decided that it wasn't such a good idea.

Further Reading

Samurai Commanders 1 (Osprey Publishing) - Stephen Turnbull.

Samurai: The World of the Warrior (Osprey Publishing) - Stephen Turnbull.