Battle of Tatarahama

On the 2nd day of the 3rd month of Kenmu 3 / Engen 1 (April 13, 1336 in the Julian calendar), the Battle of Tatarahama was fought at Tatarahama in Chikuzen Province (present-day Higashi-ku, Fukuoka, near the mouth of the Tatara River). It was a battle that greatly determined the course of the Nanboku-chō turmoil. It became the occasion on which Ashikaga Takauji, driven out of Kyōto, made his comeback in Kyushu.

Break with the Kenmu Restoration

The Kenmu Restoration of Emperor Go-Daigo, which had overthrown the Kamakura shogunate, was already showing signs of instability, unable to absorb the discontent of the warriors. Ashikaga Takauji, who had gathered the expectations of the warrior class, eventually broke away from the new government, and the Kenmu regime ordered Nitta Yoshisada to attack Takauji. Takauji defeated Nitta Yoshisada at the Battle of Hakone-Takenoshita and for a time did enter Kyōto. However, he was counterattacked by the loyalists (Imperial side) such as Kusunoki Masashige and Kitabatake Akiie, was defeated around Kyōto, and fled westward by sea.

Westward Flight to Kyushu

During his westward flight, Takauji aimed for Kyushu with the support of Akamatsu Norimura (Enshin) of Harima and others. He landed there and was welcomed by Shōni Yorihisa, shugo (military governor) of Hizen, and others. However, most of the powerful families of Kyushu had sided with the loyalists. Centered on Kikuchi Taketoshi of Higo, most of the Kyushu powerful families gathered, including Akizuki Tanemichi of Chikuzen, Aso Korenao of Higo, Kamachi Takehisa of Chikugo, and Hoshino Ieyoshi. Their army is said to have swelled to more than 20,000 mounted troops. Takauji was placed in a very disadvantageous situation. The Shōni family's home base was attacked by the Kikuchi army, and equipment that Shōni Sadatsune had procured for the Ashikaga side was destroyed by fire during the attack on Dazaifu.

Defections That Decided the Outcome

The Ashikaga army numbered only about 2,000 mounted troops, and there was an overwhelming difference in strength with the Kikuchi army of the loyalist side. Takauji, with the support of Munakata Ujinori, whose base was at Munakata in Chikuzen, prayed for victory at Munakata Taisha and deployed at Tatarahama. In the early stages, the Kikuchi army, superior in numbers, had the advantage. During the battle, however, a large number of defections occurred from the Kikuchi side, and the situation reversed at once. The Kikuchi army, now in complete rout, fled. The valiant general Aso Korenao was seriously wounded and, while fleeing toward Higo, committed suicide in Hizen. This battle has been passed down to later generations as a reversal in which the smaller side defeated a large army through its advantage of terrain and covert inducements.

The Age of Tachi and Ōdachi

The late Kamakura and Nanboku-chō periods were a time when long tachi for striking from horseback, and enormous swords called ōdachi and nodachi, came into fashion. The intensity of the turmoil is said to have prompted the enlargement of swords. Swordsmiths of Bizen and Sōshū responded to the demand for such weapons, and the Nanboku-chō wars marked a distinct era in the styles of Japanese swords as well.

Subjugation of Kyushu and Return to Kyōto

With this victory, almost all of Kyushu turned over to the Ashikaga side, and Takauji quickly restored his position. Leaving Isshiki Noriuji and Niki Yoshinaga to hold Kyushu, Takauji advanced eastward again with a large army. Then, in the 5th month of that year, at the Battle of Minatogawa in Settsu Province, he defeated Kusunoki Masashige, took control of Kyōto, and secured the path to establishing the Muromachi shogunate. The Battle of Tatarahama is remembered in Japanese history as a reversal in which the weaker side, using defections and its advantage of terrain, defeated a large army. It is also remembered as a turning point that redrew the map of power in the Nanboku-chō period.