-XL-
"A Struggle's End"
Iwato Castle, Chikuzen Province, November 23, 1306
As the sun set over Iwato Castle, Shouni Kagesuke felt weak and weary, moreso than ever before. He could hardly sit up straight, and the two faces before him, his ally Aso Koresuke and his adopted son and heir Shouni Kagetsune, seemed very blurry. It was certainly not from the bowl of sake in front of him--he had hardly touched that and simply felt tired.
"Lord Shouni, it will be three days tomorrow since the Chinese--no, the invader--committed such an atrocity against my troops," Aso said. "Please give the signal that you will strike back against them!"
"Lord Aso, it is late and you have drank too much," Kagetsune argued. "Please give my father one more day to decide." Kagetsune turned toward Kagesuke. "You do plan on fighting back, right? I disagree with such a course, for currently we lack the strength to liberate Japan from the foreign occupiers, but right now could be a wonderful time to eliminate Miura and his followers."
Kagesuke shook his head at hearing of Miura.
Damn him. Damn him to the deepest hell! All went well before that man arrived here, and even the invader seemed to respect us. That man brought nothing but schemes and even dared involve the court in his nonsense!
"Lord Aso, if you do nothing else, punish Miura," Kagesuke replied. "Kagetsune, I will give you my response tomorrow. I am getting old and am taking seriously devoting the remainder of my life to studying the wisdom found in the sutras, so I trust you to deliver my message so the vassals of the Shogunate might begin recognising you."
"I understand, Lord Shouni," Aso answered. "I will eliminate Miura and all who aid him if it is the final thing I do." Aso rose to his feet and bowed, leaving the reception room at Iwato.
"You do not seem well tonight, father," Kagetsune said, his face riven with concern. His son placed his hand to Kagesuke's head, surprised he was not feverish. "Perhaps you should sleep."
"I am not well because everything has changed so quickly," Kagesuke said. "Over twenty years ago I betrayed my lord, Shogun Koreyasu, because of the corruption and incompetence of his chief minister Houjou Sadatoki. I joined forces with the very invader who nearly destroyed our clan, who I had spent over a decade fighting against, all so I might hope they could rescue Japan."
Kagesuke sighed as he lay on his back on the mat, recalling the fierce clashes of that rebellion and the acrimonious meeting on the stormy day in Kushizaki Castle in Nagato where he and those brave men like his nephew Moritsune, Mouri Tsunemitsu and his son Tokichika, Kikuchi Takamori, and Adachi Tomasa and his cousin Tochika made the fateful decision to seek the invader's aid in saving Japan, all for the sake of Adachi Morimune who was slandered and marked for death for the crime of trying to aid the warriors of Japan.
But Adachi died before my eyes helping us break through the siege lines, no matter how much we tried to save him. Beside Tomasa, just how many of us there at Kushizaki that miserable day still are here?
"I know, father," Kagetsune said. "I know how much you have suffered for the sake of our country."
"Father? Ha, you know well I'm only your father by the law of our nation, Kagetsune. Moritsune was a great man, and so was his father, your real grandfather. To this day I never forget the sacrifice he made for our clan against the invader."
Tsunesuke, how I shame you for what I did to the Shogun. He once more felt that phantom pain where his left arm once was, lost at the hands of the invader--and the foolishness of Houjou leadership.
"So...so you are going to rise up against the invader?" Kagetsune said, suddenly very nervous.
"I do not know. They have treated us well, and granted us power we never could have had under the Houjou. Even with my own failures and with Miura's constant schemes, I have helped so many warriors from Kyushu and all Japan restore their fortunes and livelihoods. For the first time in my life, I cannot decide. I feel weak and incapable all of a sudden."
"I understand being worried about such a decision, father," Kagetsune said.
"Did you know, Kagetsune, that nearly 10 months ago at the end of last year, I had a strange dream? I have never told it to anyone." [1] He took a deep breath, finally ready to recount it. "I dreamed I was a bird soaring high on tired wings, and below me I saw Kamakura burning. I did not fear but rejoiced, and as I flew lower the flames extinguished and the city rose from the ashes as a phoenix. I alighted atop the Shogun's residence, for that was where I knew I must go, and before me I saw so many joyous faces I once knew, and even faces I did not. They cheered and sang and danced as I once did when the lords of Kyushu celebrated our victory over the invader in 1274. And then I awoke."
Kagetsune tilted his head. "That is strange indeed, and I understand why you wouldn't speak of it. Miura or that evil court wizard Abe no Yasuyo would assume the worst of you if they learned that."
"But what is stranger is that I learned in the weeks that followed that the very morning I dreamed that was the very morning that the Shogun and his warriors annihilated the Houjou clan. Nearly every single one of them is dead, including all even closely related to Sadatoki. I feel that hearing that news was the last wonderful thing to ever happen to me, for it leaves me with such turmoil. Do I return to the place I betrayed and sent my men to destroy? Do I remain here and suffer the endless intrigues of a maniacal schemer and wicked invader? What should I do, Kagetsune?"
Kagetsune stared at Kagesuke before smiling.
"You will take the correct path, father, and I will help you achieve it. For now, simply sleep. You seem terribly exhausted."
"Exhausted I am, Kagetsune," Kagesuke said. "The Houjou are gone and the invader is at war with himself. So many things are changing."
Mouri Sukechika is young, but if his guardians in the Oe and Awaya clans join my force, and Mouri Tokimoto joins too for good measure, then we can reverse the defeats we've suffered outside Kyushu and crush Miura for good. Ah, if only I had not favoured Tokichika so, then I would know those men better and know just how much I might rely on them!
"Please, father, sleep. When you awake, I am confident you'll make the correct choice."
"You and I will make that choice. Is this not the land of the rising sun? The gods favour of our country, and shall we work hard and honour the Emperor, this night will perish as every other night has." Kagesuke took a deep breath, closing his eyes and seeing that vision of dawn before him as he drifted off with a smile.
---
Kouzan-ji, Akamagaseki, Nagato Province, November 25, 1307
Miura Yorimori looked up from his meditation, noticing his youngest son Tokisuke bowing before him. His brow furled, for Tokisuke would never visit him should the news not be important. Worse, Tokisuke seemed overexcited and almost joyous, completely improper behavior in a temple like this as he knelt before his father.
This youth clearly took after his mother's father, a man who no doubt was nothing but a peasant before the Yuan came to this country.
"Father, the Shouni faction is in disarray! Shouni Kagesuke is nowhere to be seen and his heir Kagetsune only impotently shouts about how he despises you and refuses to condemn the invader, and now Adachi Tomasa is calling him a coward and leading the rebels! We've as good as won!"
"Settle down, boy!" Yorimori growled, smacking him on the head with his priestly staff. He pondered the news.
Kagesuke is nowhere to be seen? Surely he would be with his men during such a crucial time...unless he can't. Even Yorimori could not suppress a brief smirk as he realised what had transpired.
"We must assume now that Shouni Kagesuke is dead," Yorimori said.
"Perhaps he's simply sick, father?" Tokisuke proposed, but Yorimori shook his head.
"He is prone to impulsive decisions, such as last year when he arrested that foolish poet the Retired Sovereign favours. Mere illness would not stop him from following the path he decided upon."
"Th-then you've won, right? There is nobody in Japan who is as powerful, wealthy, or connected as Lord Shouni was, and now that he's gone..."
"The battle has only just begun, Tokisuke," Yorimori said. "Do not ever assume you have won until long after the battle. Had Lord Shouni on his deathbed dispatched an assassin to this temple, and I met him instead of you, matters might be far different."
"U-understood, father," Tokisuke said, bowing ever lower.
"Good. I must return to my meditative exercises and you must return to Tokiaki's side. Serve him well, and let us actually grasp that victory you claim we have won."
"Yes, father!"
---
Ishigakibara, Bungo Province, December 16, 1306
Adachi Tomasa squinted into the distance, seeing the sails of the enemy fleet.
What a poor place to land! His lieutenant and kinsman, Osone Nagayori, grinned when he saw Tomasa's face.
"Exactly as I thought! But now what does the enemy think?"
"I suppose as much," Tomasa said. "Were I to guess the enemy's thought process, I believe they are hoping to march some distance and meet the invader. But fortunately the invader busies himself chasing down those cowards in the Shouni clan and punishing Hakata. They won't spare Miura a single soldier."
"I wouldn't spare Miura a single soldier either," Osone said. "He's an obnoxious man who'd rather party with decadent courtiers and the invaders' nobles and isn't a general I'd ever follow. To say nothing of his father. I have always appreciate those steppe chiefs of the invader--they are hard men without tolerance for foppish foolishness."
Someone bumped into Tomasa from behind, and Tomasa wheeled about and noticed Asahara Tameyori. Even in midday, the aging samurai was drunk and seemed to be laughing to himself about something.
It was not just his son's support for Houjou and Serada's rebellion that kept him away from leading any troops. A small wonder a man who violates the sanctity of the Emperor in such a way might be a man of such poor character. [2]
"What is it, Asahara?" Tomasa growled. "Make it quick, we're about to attack."
"Heheheh, I was just thinking how amusing it all is. Shouni's gone and both Miura and his son are soon to join him. The whole world is falling down around us, and even someone like me can pick up those pieces. Why, I could even be the next shogun!"
"Watch your tongue. As I have ordered, nobody shall make any decision about politics until our gravest threats--Miura and the invader--are dealt with."
"Not Shouni's welp?" Asahara said. "He opposes us as well. I can't wait to have him kiss my sandals for a job."
Tomasa sighed.
It is a shame that Lord Shouni died right when we needed him the most. Had he lived just a few months longer, he could have achieved that final victory of punishing Miura and driving out the invader. And it is even more of a shame that he did not instill enough courage in his adoptive son--no wonder that boy lost so many battles in the previous war against Kamakura.
"He will surrender to us once Miura is gone and we demonstrate our strength. Now go back to your men at once," Tomasa commanded. Asahara skulked away back into the brush.
"It wasn't just him, my lord," Osone said. "The Mouri clan too. I thought for sure Lords Sukechika and Tokimoto might join us."
"They will. Lord Tokimoto has just been cowed into submission by Miura's actions along the border, and Lord Sukechika has granted us supplies and even a few willing volunteers. Bungo is his province after all, and once we win here he will join us for certain."
Suddenly, shell trumpets blew and shouts raised to their right. "Enemy attack, enemy attack!" some voices called.
Kikuchi Takemura and Anan Hidetoki are over there--they may be young, but they have much to be fighting for.
"It seems they aren't content in simply waiting to be destroyed," Osone noted. He climbed on his horse and began moving back toward the main body of troops. "I'm going to make sure not a single one escapes."
"Hold it," Tomasa ordered, raising his hand. "The enemy is acting strange. It's as if they aren't surprised we're here."
"So what, we outnumber them, they don't stand a chance either way. If a single scout returns and manages to discover our force's numbers and positioning, then they'll just inflict heavier casualties on our force or worse, flee to their ships."
Tomasa pondered the dilemma. He certainly has a point.
Miura Tokiaki knows when to fight and when to retreat. If he feels like he can't win, then we lose the best chance to eliminate him for good.
"Very well. Tell Anan and that idiot Asahara to prepare their men for battle." Tomasa pondered his first order. "Fire arrows into the trees and smoke out the enemy scouts--Sugimoto Tokiaki is around here, and the faster we destroy him, the more easily we can destroy the rest of them."
---
Ishigakibara, Bungo Province, December 16, 1306
A chilly sea breeze whipped at Miura Tokiaki's back as he pondered the strategic situation from the back of his horse.
"Lord Sugimoto Tokiaki is late, Lord Miura," the warrior Hata Kanekuni said. "All report not a single man has returned."
Tokiaki sighed, not wanting to say the obvious.
He was a truly talented warrior and perhaps the greatest commander of a screening force any leader could ask for. I can only hope that brilliant warrior who shares my very name still walks this earth.
"We press the attack," Tokiaki stated, knowing it was the only option. "Sugimoto cannot be ambushed, nor can he perish so easily.
"It would be better to retreat and find another landing site so that Lord Ijuuin or our Yuan allies might aid us, my lord," Hata noted. "They still greatly outnumber us. And they have thousands of warrior monks from Mount Kubote, and even the brother of Usa Shrine's chief priest is out here leading his guards and priests."
"Odd for a man like you to state that, Lord Hata. I recall my first meeting with you over 15 years ago, where you were covered with wounds from fleeing your family and their warriors to Mongol lines. You took such a bold action because you knew it was in your interest. And now your kinsmen the Masuda clan are scattered to the wind and you are the strongest man in Iwami," Tokiaki noted.
"Wh-what of it," Hata asked.
"You took bold action when it was necessary and gained everything. Battle and politics are much the same in that regards--those who don't take bold action never gain bold results."
"Lord Miura, we're outnumbered almost twice over and all we need to fight another day is simply land some place else and await Lord Burilgitei or Lord Gao to send reinforcements."
"We have no time," Tokiaki said. "If we retreat, then we demonstrate we are nothing but cowards who cannot survive without the Yuan. But if we win, we demonstrate our strength not only to the rebels, but to the Yuan."
Tokiaki squinted at the enemy's right flank where Sugimoto was presumably fighting for his life.
They are already disrupted over there and bound to be out of position. If we press hard, we can trigger a collapse in their ranks.
"Lord Hata, tell my son and Lord Sakuma to prepare their cavalry. We'll send the entire left against them, and by doing so destroy one wing of their army and give us the perfect positioning to drive them off."
"Y-yes, Lord Miura," Hata said, slowly slinking away.
Their army cannot be of high quality with how hastily it's been cobbled together. Moreoever, their commanders are generally young or inexperienced, or so detestable like that Asahara Tameyori that few would trust them with a high command. This victory shall be ours.
---
The end of the Banpou Invasion and its concurrent wars heralded the most difficult peace of all. Every faction involved--Yuan China, the Kingdom of Goryeo, the Kingdom of Japan, and the Kamakura Shogunate--fought to exhaustion. A great number of prominent leaders died in the fighting, while new figures gained power and prestige often at the expense of older figures who discredited themselves. The reappearance of peace only shifted the conflict from the battlefield to the courts and throne rooms.
The fiercest of these conflicts was to occur in Hakata, for the Kingdom of Japan now faced the challenge of incorporating the 25 provinces they seized, or from their perspective, reclaimed from the rebellious Kamakura Shogunate. This land contained most of Japan's economy and most importantly of all, the imperial capital of Kyoto itself. Yet most of the land was in ruins, with at least 20% of the population (over 500,000 people) killed and hundreds of thousands more fled or deported. The capital itself lay in a state of desolation, with its nobles and priests long since fled and the remnant population being squatters and looters.
The Kingdom of Japan itself suffered heavily. In addition to bearing much of the burden on shipping and logistics, they lost well over 60,000 warriors, including some of the most prominent nobles such as Mouri Tokichika, Chikama Tokiie, and Kikuchi Takamori. Age and status did not matter, for some of the dead such as Shouni Sukenobu were promising candidates for Hakata's next generation leadership.
For the regent Shouni Kagesuke and his heir Kagetsune, this marked a great decrease in power, for Mouri and Kikuchi were two of the Shouni clan's foremost personal allies. Numerous casualties occurred as well among the personal vassals of the Shouni clan such as the Mizuki (水城氏), the Nagatoshi (永利氏), the Takanami (高並氏), and the Kakei (筧氏) clans. The ravages of time and warfare ensured few men who defected to the Mongols alongside Shouni after the Siege of Kushizaki Castle back in 1286 still remained, ensuring Shouni became increasingly distant from the actual concerns of the warriors his government ostensibly represented.
Although Shouni's main rival and cosigner Miura Yorimori lost important relatives like his kinsman Yoshimura and Yoshimura's cousin Kazuuji (三浦員氏), his own powerbase remained intact, and indeed grew for his son and heir Miura Tokiaki and even Tokiaki's young son Tokitane (三浦時胤) won distinctions on the battlefield. The brilliant Tokiaki parleyed these achievements into status at court, an action encouraged by his father due to awareness of the Royal Court's growing status and importance of their planned relocation to Kyoto.
The Hakata court in this era was far more powerful than it had been even a few years prior, for it was reaping the profits of a well-organised bureaucracy of peasant leaders, many of whom were themselves supported by brothers or cousins who returned with loot or were awarded land grants in the conquered provinces. The death of so many warriors led to those warrior nobles who became farmers (as per the policy of
heinou bunri) taking up the mantle of their kin--their land was often sold to farmer-bureaucrats of the Imperial Court, or in some cases even confiscated in the case of those who tried evading the policy.
Most crucial of all, the Hakata court found direct support from the Mongols, who relied on its institutions and especially legitimacy to govern Japan. The court nobles readily used the Mongols assigned to the court to pass messages to the
darughachi and other Mongol allies so that they might resolve feuds in their favours. These communications with the Mongols only increased as King Tanehito came of age and an active search for a consort in Yuan China began.
This gave new importance to the ancient Office of Monks and Foreigners (玄蕃寮), the closest thing to a foreign ministry in medieval Japan. Like all court offices, it had fallen far from its peak in the mid-Heian period. Its revival began in 1294 as the Kourokan (鴻臚館), a guesthouse for foreign envoys in Hakata, was rebuilt under the orders of Grand Chancellor Sanjou Sanemori. The envoy selected was usually a son of a less important courtier, who himself was responsible for selecting the diplomats (often monks) who conducted the actual work. Administration of the Kourokan was assigned to Taira no Nakanori (平仲範) (son of the Interior Minister--and negotiator of the Tensei Truce--Taira no Nakachika)--for this his descendents carried the surname "Kourokan" [3].
Kourokan Nakanori's office faced competition however--Shouni Kagesuke had often sent ambassadors to the Yuan court, firstly as unofficial collaborators and then under the aegis of the Shogunate's role as national defense. The Mouri clan, first Tsunemitsu and after his death his son Tokichika, often held this position which benefitted their clan greatly in terms of unofficial trade with Yuan China and the prestige from their exhibition of foreign monks and ministers, and it had become practically hereditary.
The aging Miura Yorimori understood the importance of this office. Using his son's prestige at court, in 1304, he petitioned King Tanehito in his role as Shogun to remove from office Mouri Tokimitsu (毛利時光), elder brother of Tokichika, on the basis that Mouri used his office for smuggling goods into China. Mouri was removed and effectively banished from Japan, but this raised protests from Shouni Kagesuke who demanded his reinstatement. Tanehito responded by abolishing the post entirely with the rationale that it duplicated the Office of Monks and Foreigners, and subsequently assigned Miura's son Tokiaki to head that office. This signified the first great tension between King Tanehito and Shouni Kagesuke. This conflict was one which Miura Yorimori, ever playing both sides, could easily exploit.
Tanehito presided over a court riven with conflict. A large number of courtiers had defected in the wake of the fall of Kyoto, or in some cases been outright abducted by the Mongols, and they allied with Great Retired King Fushimi to regain this power following a string of incidents in 1301 [4]. As Tanehito grew older, he resented his father's dominance of the court and sympathised with those courtiers who opposed his father's favouritism. His own preferred courtiers were those who had long served him in Hakata.
One incident in 1305 shows how this demonstrated itself. In that year, the young noble Hirohashi Mitsunari (広橋光業) was sent by his superior, the regent Nijou Morotada, to summon the master poet Kyougoku Tamekane to Tanehito's court for a poetry contest. This enraged Kyougoku, for in the past he and his ancestors (like Fujiwara no Teika) had never been summoned via intermediary, but always directly. Further, Hirohashi did not sign his letter "humbly yours", another stark departure of protocol from when even the regent signed his letters to Tamekane in that format [5].
While he did attend the poetry competition after the regent Nijou personally apologised to him, Kyougoku complained to both Tanehito and Fushimi regarding the incident. Not only was Hirohashi dismissed from his posts, but the regent who appointed him, Takatsukasa Fuyuhira, also fell under suspicion. Takatsukasa himself had been convinced to resign in 1301 by the Great Retired King out of his loyalty, but the criticism he received for not knowing Hirohashi's poor character where Kyougoku mocked him as an inexperienced man and inferior poet infuriated him. Only Tanehito's personal intervention kept Takatsukasa from retiring to a monastery.
Hirohashi shot back at Kyougoku's accusations by composing a list that entered into infamy. Using a series of circumlocations and puns on names in a lengthy poem in his diary, he noted there were "Four Men Whose Inability Failed Their Lord." It was clear just who those four men were:
*Shouni Kagesuke
*Asahara Tameyori
*Andou Suenaga
*Kyougoku Tamekane
To countless later generations, this became the canonical list of the "Four Great Traitors" of the Mongol Invasions. It seems Hirohashi blamed Shouni for leading the first major defection, blamed Asahara for kidnapping Tanehito as an infant, and blamed Kyougoku for opening the gates of Kyoto to the Mongols which led to his father's death. The inclusion of Andou Suenaga, son of the
Hi-no-moto Shogun of Ezo Andou Suemura, is due to Hirohashi's dislike of his arrogant and barbaric behavior--Andou spent much of his time at Hakata as an envoy for his father and would have regularly demanded more troops be sent to Ezo and Mutsu for his father's campaign. Hirohashi justified this with the likely truthful accusation that Suenaga persuaded his father Suemura to defect and thus summon the barbarians to invade the north of Japan.
A palace attendant discovered the diary in 1306, supposedly at the instigation of the powerful court diviner Abe no Yasuyo and summoned Hirohashi to explain himself. Hirohashi claimed he acted on behalf of the King of Japan, who had every reason to oppose the actions of those men. Tanehito deemed him not guilty of any serious crime, but rebuked him anyway. This was not good enough for Kyogoku--he appealed the verdict to Fushimi and subsequently exiled Hirohashi to Kii Province.
Shouni Kagesuke attempted to make use of this so-called Hirohashi incident. He aligned himself with Fushimi and claimed slander and even managed to get Hirohashi's former employer Takatsukasa arrested. But Miura Yorimori accused Shouni of overstepping his boundaries in regard to the Shogunate's power, for Shouni acted without consulting Miura as he was required to. It was a political mistake that only managed to infuriate Tanehito while convincing many courtiers of the Shogunate's dysfunction and tyranny.
The second battle came over the issue of the crown prince. From its inception, the Kingdom of Japan had never appointed a crown prince. It is suggested that the Mongols may have demanded an appropriate prince from the Kamakura Shogunate had Tanehito died without an heir, although some speculate based on the popularity of the
Heike Monogatari among the Hakata Shogunate's leadership that they planned on finding an elderly man with many children who might pass as Emperor Antoku and creating a new imperial family centered around him [6].
With the fall of Kyoto in 1301, these plans proved unnecessary, for Fushimi brought with him his family. He increasingly favoured his fourth son Tomihito (富仁親王), born 1297 [7]. Fushimi made a shocking move to solidify his authority over the court--when he married, Tanehito was to adopt his half-brother Tomihito and make him his heir over any of Tanehito's own children. This move seems to have occurred due to Fushimi's knowledge of Mongol marriage policy--he feared a half-Mongol prince sitting on the throne and also feared Tanehito himself had been degenerated in the years he spent surrounded by bitter courtiers, Mongol warriors.
The elite of the Hakata Shogunate disliked how they played no role in appointing Fushimi's crown prince. It seems Miura was aligned with Tanehito, while Shouni sought to keep the succession alternating between the Jimyou-in and Daikaku-ji lines. The latter moved close to Sanjou Saneshige, the former minister of the center whom the Daikaku-ji supporters in the Kingdom of Japan clustered around.
With Fushimi's power ascendent, in 1305 it was decided to return the court to Kyoto as soon as possible. A hasty reconstruction of the core of the Imperial Palace would be followed by a grand renovation of both palace and city. Charged with this task were the Bureau of Carpentry (木工寮) and the Office of Palace Repair (修理職), two more offices that renewed their importance in this era of upheaval.
In particular, the latter office came to include many involved with the direct planning of the court's relocation, for its head also served as a direct envoy to the retired emperor. They could draw an endless amount of funds from the treasury for this purpose. Miura Yorimori ensured this otherwise lowly office was granted to Sanjou Kintada (三条公定), youngest son of Sanjou Sanemori who had fallen into disfavour with the Great Retired King. While this office was far below the status of what even a younger son of the illustrious Sanjou family might achieve, it was through this post that Kintada could aid his brothers in making a political comeback.
With power like this, Miura Yorimori reached the pinnacle of his career in the aftermath of the war. Through intrigue and battlefield prestige, his clan now stood as the highest among the warriors of the Kingdom of Japan, and had now even found its way into the realm of the court nobles. But he would not enjoy his position, for old age caught up to him. In 1305, he resigned the position of cosigner and became a monk at Kouzan-ji, a temple he founded not far from one of his castles in Akamagaseki in Nagato earlier that year with the aid of local Zen monks. His son Tokiaki inherited his power and prestige as well as the position of cosigner.
Miura Tokiaki was even more skilled than his father at dealing with court nobles, perhaps due to his father recognising the court's relationship with the Yuan that the Miura might leverage against the Shouni. The court recognised him shortly after his father's death, granting him the post of Chinzei Envoy (鎮西申次), the liaison post between the court and the shogunate (akin to the Kanto Envoy to Kamakura). This position was thus fused with that of cosigner, ensuring Miura could leverage both court (and Mongol) influence in the Shogunate and the Shogunate's influence in the court.
Shouni Kagesuke could do nothing to stop this. Disliked by the king and his appeals to the retired emperor falling on deaf ears, as regent he was politically isolated. Yet his impulsive nature hadn't faded even with age--in late 1306, he ordered Kyougoku Tamekane arrested on charges of plotting against the Shogunate. It seems Kyougoku had organised a poetry session where he proclaimed his loyalty to crown prince Tomihito and boasted of his authority and power--this was of course an offense against King Tanehito that required investigation. This method secured both a direct meeting with retired emperor Fushimi and threatened Miura and his faction [8].
In exchange for the freedom of his friend and ally Kyougoku, Fushimi granted Shouni his meeting. There, Shouni accused Miura Tokiaki and his son Tokitsugu of violating the principles of heinou bunri through holding both court and military office. Fushimi agreed and ordered Miura and his son to choose which office they preferred. But this order was never carried out, for Miura appealed to Tanehito and thenceforth to the Mongols. He even sent a second direct appeal to the court in Dadu. He declared he would not resign his offices before the Mongols made their decision, defying the authority of the Shogunate and bringing the nation to the brink of civil war.
A second conflict troubled the Kingdom of Japan due to the civil war within the Kamakura Shogunate. The Houjou clan fell from power in January 1306 as an alliance between the Imperial Court, the Shogun Takaharu, and several powerful clans captured Kamakura and installed Takeda Tokitsuna as shogunal regent. Yet the Houjou retained Shikoku as a base for themselves and their remaining ally. Miura Yorimori saw this as an opportunity to expand his power and attempted negotiations with Houjou Sadanao, Iyo Tandai, to ally with him, subsidise him with grants from Zhengdong's government, and eventually restore his clan to power.
Although Houjou liked the idea, he found such an alliance too politically difficult, for his own clan was divided on that matter and powerful shogunal vassals like the Kawano and Ashikaga would never accept. He deliberately stalled for time on giving an answer, which in the end proved advantageous for in April 1306, Temur Khan died suddenly and his 7 year old son Daishu became Emperor due to his powerful supporters, taking the name Yesun Altan Khan and later to be called Emperor Jianzong of Yuan.
Yesun Altan inherited the most powerful empire on the planet, but he was in no position to use his power. Temur's primary wife Bulugan despised him as the daughter of a rival spouse, and in a quick coup invited the victorious general Ananda, King of Anxi, to assume the position of regent. Further, Yesun Altan suffered from an unknown illness that gave him sickly character. It was to no one's surprise that whether by nature or poison, Daishu's rule lasted barely four months before he perished in August 1306 and Ananda seized power in Yuan China. Chaos immediately ensued due to the widespread perception Ananda and Bulugan illegitimately seized power.
Ironically, this coup helped King Tanehito choose his wife. As the son of Kublai Khan's third son Manggala, Ananda banished his most powerful rival Ayurbarwada (Khayishan's younger brother) on the charge of him plotting a coup. Ayurbarwada sent his mother Dagi (答己) and sister Sengge Ragi (祥哥剌吉) to safety among his allies in Goryeo while he attempted to rally warriors to his banner in what became the first Yuan civil war. The two Mongol women became acquainted with the Goryeo court, and through them Sengge Ragi learned more of Japan. Upon hearing of a wise Mongol princess devout in Buddhism, Tanehito requested her as his primary consort. Ayurbarwada accepted this request, believing it might keep Japan peaceful during and after the civil war.
Both Shouni and Miura viewed the situation as a way to augment their power and ensure Japan greater independence. Miura knew that because he held a potentially dangerous position as the grandfather of Prince Khayishan's son, he could be suspected of disloyalty and executed. At the same time, he knew he must back Ayurbarwada, since Ayurbarwada would favour his nephew--and his family--to keep him loyal.
Shouni-Miura War
Using the retired Emperor and Kyougoku Tamekane as intermediaries, Miura convinced Shouni into joining Ayurbarwada's uprising under the pretext that the new Yuan emperor would reward the Japanese for their loyalty and punish those who delayed in the call to arms. Shouni raised 10,000 warriors and took personal command of them as he often did.
Thus Shouni fell into Miura's scheme, for Miura slandered him to both Ananda's Chancellor of Zhengdong Abubeker Bayanchar (伯顏察兒) and Ayurbarwada's loyalists led by Burilgitei. According to Miura, Shouni's real intention was to return Khayishan's son Kusala to China in the event Ayurbarwada died in battle--it is clear that Ayurbarwada sought to keep Kusala in Japan lest the powerful faction surrounding his deceased brother gain unfortunate ideas. Miura claimed to know of this thanks to his position as Kusala's grandfather. The Mongols took these allegations--Abubeker ordered Shouni's arrest, while Burilgitei demanded the matter be investigated and not a single Japanese warrior join Abubeker's force.
The cornered Shouni subsequently struck at several government offices in Hakata, while a coordinated force commanded by Yamana Toshiyuki attacked those in Kyoto in an attempt to both kill Miura, seize King Tanehito for himself, and destroy Zhengdong government facilities. As Abubeker Bayanchar in the span of weeks managed to infuriate the Japanese with his blatant corruption, a mob in the city joined Shouni's force and drove out the Mongols from Hakata. Hassan died defending the city with a small force of barely 4,000 men, and not a single Mongol official escaped the massacre. Many foreign merchants and moneylenders also perished. Bayanchar fled the city, but surrendered to an anti-Ananda force under Asahara Tameyori--he and his wife would spend over twenty years under house arrest in Fujian.
The operations in Kyoto however went poorly. A band of
hokke-ikki rebels in Settsu Province waylaid Yamana, and he lost half his army suppressing them. By the time he finally reached Kyoto, Miura was well-prepared for him and destroyed his small force with an overwhelming army of 8,000 men. Yamana fled and tried infiltrating Kyoto to carry out his mission, but the Imperial Police in the city cornered him so he committed suicide. His army melted away and joined Miura.
With the war in China heating up, Burilgitei's army departed to aid Ayurbarwada. Wild news spread that Mongol rule was collapsing. But this was not the case--Burilgitei left his deputy marshal Gao Xing in charge of 20,000 men. After Gao's men destroyed a detatchment of Shouni allies under Aso Koresuke (阿蘇惟資) on November 21, Shouni realised his only option was to openly declare his intention to revolt or suffer consequences from the Mongols.
In the end, Shouni chose neither--on November 23, 1306, he died in his sleep perhaps because of the intense stress. His would-be rebellion looked to his heir and grand-nephew Kagetsune, but Kagetsune lacked his father's penchant for impulsive decisions and knew fighting the Mongols was impossible. He declared his struggle lay only with Miura Yorimori and publically declared support for Ayurbarwada. This divided Kagetsune's army, for the veteran commander Adachi Tomasa condemned Kagetsune as a coward and even Kagetsune's own brother Tsunekiyo decided to follow Adachi.
Confused leadership ensured Shouni's rebellion faltered. While Mouri Tokimitsu relished the chance to take up arms against the Miura, the two most powerful members of the Mouri clan, Tokichika's heir Sukechika (毛利資親) and Tokimoto, each proclaimed themselves neutral. The Kikuchi clan, also battered by internal dispute and greatly weakened by Mongol punishment after the 1303 Hanbou Disturbance, fell divided as Kikuchi Takemura (菊池武村) joined Adachi while the other Kikuchi remained neutral.
Around 3,000 warriors remained with Shouni Kagetsune, but this was not a problem--Adachi had around 17,000 men, the army swollen by peasants, warrior monks, and
hokke-ikki prepared to expel the Mongols. Among them were armed
shugendo practicioners from Mount Kubote in Buzen and the shrine guards of the powerful Usa Shrine under Usa Kimitsura (宇佐公連), brother of the chief priest. Other smaller forces had spread throughout Kyushu, using the opportunistic neutrality of many local lords to expel
darughachi and kill pro-Mongol collaborators. Even Miura's own army began suffering defections as a plot between a small group of shogunal vassals and court nobles nearly succeeding at assassinating Miura as he slept--all were killed. Of prominent Kyushu lords, only some Otomo clan branch families like the Tachibana [9] and the Ijuuin clan backed Miura.
Miura sent his son Tokiaki from Kyoto at the head of his own force of 10,000 men and landed in Bungo Province, intending to quickly unite with Gao Xing's army. But Miura was unaware that Gao Xing was busy laying siege to Hakata quite some distance away. Upon realising he was trapped, he was determined to resist Adachi's army instead of retreating in shame. Adachi struck first at the field of Ishigakibara on December 16 and nearly drove Miura back into the sea were it not for warriors under the talented veteran Sugimoto Tokiaki he had sent ahead. Sugimoto's thousand warriors rose great chaos in Adachi's right. In particular, he slew Usa Kimitsura (宇佐公連) who had taken the lead in the fighting. The loss of such a spiritually powerful figure and a sudden thunderstorm demoralised the right wing of Adachi's army and forced Adachi to send reinforcements to the right to eliminate the remnants of Sugimoto's force. It is said Sugimoto himself died while singlehandedly ambushing a hundred enemies and delaying them for a few precious minutes as they struggled about in confusion.
Miura took immediate advantage of this and concentrated his cavalry on the right flank. The advance of his kinsman Sakuma Tsunetomo (佐久間常朝) and son Miura Tokitane who fired countless arrows into the right utterly broke them, and subsequently they dismounted and threatened to flank the center. Adachi tenaciously held them off and tried sending his left to counter the still-outnumbered Miura's own advance, but this did not hold long. Sakuma feigned a retreat with around half the cavalry and drew the ambitious warriors of the key commander Shouni Tsunekiyo forward. A chance arrow killed Shouni's horse, spreading fear in their ranks and giving Sakuma and Miura the perfect opportunity to turn about and overwhelm them. Shouni committed suicide at that moment and Sakuma drove a wedge between Adachi and those soldiers under fighting Miura. This terrified the commander on the left, Asahara Tameyori, who immediately ordered a retreat which spread to Adachi's side and became a general rout.
The Battle of Ishigakibara proved the moment the Miura clan solidified power over the Kingdom of Japan. Although Miura lost 3,000 men--including the talented veteran Sugimoto, who died of wounds he suffered several days later--nearly half of Adachi's army died thanks to underestimating Miura's tenacity. Thousands more surrendered and morale plummeted. Miura punished the nearby temples and shrines for supporting the rebellion. In particular, he forced Usa Shrine's head priest to pay a huge ransom for the return of his brother's body and Miura's promise that he would not turn him over to the Mongols.
Ishigakibara proved the decisive battle in the 1306-07 civil war in Japan
Gao Xing heard the news and left half his forces at Hakata under Naimantai while uniting with Miura. But this was not necessary, for on January 3, 1307, the samurai Serada Ietoki (世良田家時), son of the infamous rebel Serada Noriuji, assassinated Adachi Tomasa in conspiracy with Asahara Tameyori for Asahara viewed Miura as the most likely victor. Ietoki had lived most of his life under house arrest for Miura Yorimori for his father's misdeeds and had managed to join Shouni and Adachi's force, but after the Battle of Ishigakibara knew the chance of success was low. Ietoki presented Adachi's head to Miura who made him one of his personal vassals as a reward. As for Asahara, he maintained his positions he held before the rebellion but gained nothing--Miura viewed him as untrustworthy.
As Adachi ranked among the most charismatic and talented of Shogunal vassals with a long record of service, his death crippled the rebellion. Kikuchi Takemura led thousands to flee the Kingdom of Japan, claiming that the Kamakura Shogunate was once again the legitimate government now that the Houjou had fallen--they were received well, and Kikuchi himself received land in Kai and became a vassal to the powerful Isawa branch of the Takeda clan. The veteran Sagara Nagauji (相良長氏) and Irita Chikanao (入田秀直) rallied the rebels in the aftermath, but Gao Xing's army destroyed them in battle on January 23, 1307.
The siege of Hakata lasted for around four months thanks to Shouni vassal Akizuki Taneaki (秋月種顕) taking charge of the siege. He carried on the battle and repelled Mongol probing attacks, but Hakata's defenses were hastily assembled. In the end, epidemic and internal tension ensured spies opened the gate to the city. Akizuki committed suicide as Naimantai's Mongols stormed Hakata, but sent his children on a fishing boat to Echigo Province where they became vassals of the Nagoe clan.
Gao and Naimantai argued over the fate of Hakata. Naimantai proposed execution of all Japanese men in the city for aiding the revolt, but Gao disagreed, believing the rebellion to be the consequence of the corruption and brutality of Ananda's illegitimately-appointed governors. With the aid of Confucian scholars, he argued a more merciful treatment was necessary to which Naimantai acquiesced. The incident is sometimes taken as indicating increasing Mongol assimilation to Chinese culture.
Regardless, Gao knew well the anti-Mongol undertone of the uprising and his proposal was still quite harsh. He executed over 500 residents of Hakata deemed ringleaders and along with them all their adult male relatives, banishing their female relatives and children to China. Further, he closed all Shinto shrines in Hakata due to their association with anti-Mongol sentiment and exiled their priests to China. Finally, Gao levied a great fine upon all free Japanese in the city as restitution for the victims. While the ransom was paid, thousands fled Hakata permanently as a result, usually moving to growing cities in the provinces--ironically this would be a driving factor of urbanisation within the Kingdom of Japan that worked in tandem with the
heinou bunri policy.
Concurrently, Miura laid siege to Iwato Castle, the Shouni clan's fortress. The siege lasted several months before Mongol gunpowder weakened the defenses enough for the Mongols to storm the castle. On September 30, 1307, Shouni Kagetsune and several dedicated retainers committed suicide, but at the request of his half-brother Asahi Sukenori, some of the Shouni clan to surrender so they might one day take revenge.
This did not end the rebellion, for Irita continued fighting in the mountainous interior of Kyushu with several thousand men under arms. But Irita's men devolved into little more than bandits, and Irita himself was more interested in gaining headship of the fragmented Otomo clan than sweeping political changes. They proved only a minor nuisance confined mostly to Bungo Province.
The Shouni clan suffered greatly in the aftermath. Miura banished Shouni Kagetsune's sons Tsunetane (少弐経胤) and Yorikazu (少弐経員) to the Oki Islands. He ordered Asahi Sukenori, Shouni's half brother, to become leader of the clan, but Asahi fled to the Kamakura Shogunate rather than betray his kinsmen. Therefore, the Shouni clan's leader became Kagetsune's nephew Shouni Sukekage (少弐資景) [10], son of his younger brother Sukenobu who fell at Aonogahara.
The Shouni lost all but a portion of their land within Chikuzen province, confiscated Minamoto no Yoritomo's sword Higekiri and donated it to a shrine, and stripped them of the rank of shogunal regent (which was seized by Miura Tokiaki) along with the rank of military governor in the four provinces they held it. Miura Yorimori granted these to members of his clan, although seized Chikuzen for himself. The only official post the Shouni still held was deputy military governor Chikuzen--This was due to Miura Yorimori showing mercy on them, reporting that Kagetsune had not joined the anti-Mongol rebellion but merely had been unable to control his forces in his attempt to aid Ayurbarwada.
Other sporadic rebellions took some time to subdue. Most notable of these was that of Matsuda Motoyasu (松田元保) in Bizen. Matsuda, a half-hearted defector to the Mongols, had since been converted to Nichiren Buddhism by his grandson Motokuni (松田元国) who had returned from exile in the Kamakura Shogunate. He announced his adherence to the forbidden sect in 1306, allied with both Shouni and Adachi, and attracted a number of local anti-Mongol forces and crypto-Nichiren Buddhists to his banner. Numbering around 8,000, they took over much of Bizen, Bitchuu, and Mimasaka from their base at Tamamatsu Castle (玉松城) before Miura Tokiaki sent an army to crush them. Matsuda sent his children to Kamakura along with a few monks, while he himself remained besieged at Tamamatsu Castle for over a year. Miura was so frustrated by the siege he did not see it through to the end, leaving his son Tokitane in command with a skeleton force. When Miura stormed Tamamatsu in early 1309, he found not a single person alive for Matsuda and many others had starved himself to death while the survivors committed suicide upon Miura's attack.
With these events, thus ended the Koukei War, so named for the Yuan era name Koukei--Huangqing (皇慶) in Chinese--in which it concluded. It solidified the dominance of the Miura clan in Japan--Miura Yorimori received the noble title of duke and a monetary reward, as customary of victorious Mongol generals. With the Miura clan thoroughly in control of the country and with the ruler of Japan married to the sister of the Emperor, their only obstacle to total dominance of Japan lay in the power of the Great Retired King Fushimi.
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Author's notes
Another chapter I mostly wrote months ago, concluding the Shouni Kagesuke-Miura Yorimori rivalry. I did feel that Shouni Kagesuke should be somewhat of a tragic figure--OTL he was killed by an army led his half-brother as he tried to avenge the death of Adachi Morimune thereby securing better economic conditions for the shogunal vassals (I turned this event into the Tenkou Rebellion TTL). I find it likely that any Japanese who collaborated with the Mongols would find matters getting well out of control sooner or later.
The next few chapters will wrap up matters in Japan and around the world. I'm not really sure which order I'll go in for these chapters, it'll depend on my schedule and how suitable I think each one is to post. But they're mostly finished anyway.
Thanks for reading!
[1] - By the reckoning of the Japanese calendar--Shouni is referring to the fall of the Houjou which happened TTL on January 17, 1306 by the Western calendar but would be before the New Year by the Japanese calendar.
[2] - TTL Asahara kidnapped Tanehito and brought him to Mongol territory as part of a conspiracy and later his son tried killing Shouni Kagesuke in a revolt. OTL he tried assassinating Tanehito's father, Emperor Fushimi. It's safe to say he was a very unscrupulous person.
[3] - An ATL character, born 1289. If Taira no Nakachika had any sons, they are not named. The change of surname wouldn't be too unusual either, for OTL the descendents of Nakachika's brother became called the Nishinotouin family after their residence
[4] - See Chapter 21 for details.
[5] - This actually happened OTL between Kyougoku and Hirohashi, albeit in a different year and with a different regent sending him
[6] - I don't think I addressed this in the past, but having only a single toddler from the Imperial family as figurehead king would have been quite frustrating for the Kingdom of Japan during their early years. Alternatives like having a vacant throne might have been acceptable (since the political theory would be that the actual ruler is held hostage by the Kamakura rebels), and I suppose an imposter Emperor Antoku (like I discussed appearing in one chapter) may have been an option too albeit extremely ambitious
[7] - I'm going to use the same names as OTL princes for people born this long after the butterflies serious affect Japan. In any case, this boy would be an ATL brother of the prince of the same name who became Emperor Hanazono.
[8] - Despite the growth of the court's power in the Kingdom of Japan, the Hakata Shogunate would still hold the authority to arrest courtiers at will much as the Kamakura Shogunate did
[9] - The Tachibana clan (立花) are not to be confused with the Tachibana (橘) family who were mostly court nobles--they are the ancestors of the famous Sengoku era warrior Tachibana Muneshige
[10] - An ATL character--can't find a geneaology of Shouni Sukenobu's OTL children
