Siege of Akasaka Castle (1331, Genkō 1)

Overview

From the 11th day of the 9th month to the 21st day of the 10th month of Genkō 1 (lunar calendar), the Kamakura shogunate army attacked the castle lord Kusunoki Masashige at Shimo-Akasaka Castle in Kawachi Province. The fight at Kami-Akasaka Castle in Genkō 3 (1333) is a separate event.

The Two Sides

The Taiheiki puts the Kusunoki side at over 200 men in the castle and over 300 on a nearby mountain, about 500 in all. For the shogunate side the Taiheiki gives 300,000, which is regarded as exaggerated; another estimate is about 10,000. The Kōmyōji Zanpen names Ōsaragi Sadanao, Kanesawa Sadafuyu, Ema Echizen Nyūdō (Hōjō Tokimi) and Ashikaga Takauji as the commanders of the shogunate's four regular armies, which set out from Kyoto on the 15th day of the 10th month.

The Course of the Siege

The shogunate army surrounded the castle on the 11th day of the 9th month and began the assault around the 14th (Wada Monjo). The castle had been built in haste and its provisions ran out in about twenty days, so the shogunate army switched to a blockade. On the night of the 21st day of the 10th month, Masashige set fire to the castle and left. The shogunate army mistook the burned bodies for Masashige's family and withdrew to the Kantō in the 11th month.

Result

The shogunate army took the castle but failed to capture or kill Masashige and Prince Moriyoshi. The prince escaped toward Totsukawa and Kumano. The battle is generally regarded as a local victory for the shogunate and a strategic victory for the side of Emperor Go-Daigo.