The Battle of Fujishima

Background — The Fall of Kanegasaki Castle and the Southern Court's Setback

In the third month of 1337 (Engen 2 / Kenmu 4), Kanegasaki Castle in Echizen Province fell to an assault by the Northern Court's Ashikaga forces, and Nitta Yoshisada's son, Nitta Yoshiaki, was killed among other losses that dealt a severe blow to the Southern Court's cause. Yoshisada himself sought to rebuild his strength within Echizen Province, rallying support from local temple and shrine forces as he worked to restore his position.

Wakiya Yoshisuke's Recovery of the Provincial Capital and the Assault on Kuromaru Castle

The following year, 1338 (Engen 3 / Ryakuo 1), Yoshisada's younger brother, Wakiya Yoshisuke, recaptured the provincial capital of Echizen, and the Southern Court's fortunes began to recover. Yoshisada's forces then launched an assault on Kuromaru Castle, the stronghold of Shiba Takatsune, the Ashikaga-appointed military governor (shugo) of Echizen.

The Defection of the Heisen-ji Monks and the Reversal of Fortune

The fighting is said to have initially favored Yoshisada's side, but the tide turned sharply after Shiba Takatsune won over the monks of Heisen-ji, one of Echizen's most powerful temples, bringing them to his own side. In response, Yoshisada massed a reported force of over 30,000 horsemen at Tomyoji temple and began an assault on Fujishima Castle.

The Clash at Tomyoji Nawate and the Death of Nitta Yoshisada

On the evening of the 2nd day of the intercalary seventh month of Engen 3 / Ryakuo 1 (August 17, 1338), as Yoshisada made his way to relieve Fujishima Castle, he encountered a relief force — sent from Kuromaru Castle under the command of Hosokawa Dewa no Kami and others — at Tomyoji Nawate (in what is now the Fujishima district of Fukui City), and a fierce melee ensued. According to the Taiheiki, Yoshisada was thrown from his horse under a hail of arrows, and as he rose, an arrow struck him in the forehead, inflicting a fatal wound; he is said to have taken his own life on the spot. He was thirty-eight years old.

Aftermath and the Consolidation of Ashikaga Supremacy

With the loss of their supreme commander, the Nitta forces collapsed, and the Southern Court's position in Echizen suffered a major setback. The battle sealed the decisive advantage of the Northern Court and the Ashikaga side; not long after Yoshisada's death, on the 11th day of the eighth month of Ryakuo 1, Ashikaga Takauji was appointed Sei-i Taishogun, firmly laying the foundations of the Muromachi shogunate in both name and substance.

Tomyoji Nawate and Its Legacy

The exact site of Yoshisada's death long remained uncertain, until, in 1656 (Meireki 2), a farmer working a paddy field at Tomyoji Nawate happened to unearth a helmet and other pieces of armor, leading the area to become widely recognized as the traditional site of Yoshisada's death. Today this site is preserved as a protected historic location known as "Tomyoji Nawate — Traditional Site of Nitta Yoshisada's Death in Battle," and together with the nearby Nitta Tsuka mound, it continues to be maintained as a historical site commemorating the final moments of Yoshisada, one of the central figures in the overthrow of the Kamakura shogunate.