Nawa Nagatoshi

Nawa Nagatoshi (birth year unknown–1336) was a powerful local clan leader of Hōki Province (present-day Tottori Prefecture) who played a decisive role in Emperor Go-Daigo's campaign to overthrow the shogunate (the Genkō War), and he was a loyal retainer. He contributed to the fall of the Kamakura shogunate and the realization of the Kenmu Restoration, and he is remembered in history as a warrior who symbolized the dawn of the Nanboku-chō period.

In 1332, after Emperor Go-Daigo was exiled to the Oki Islands (Shimane Prefecture) by the Kamakura shogunate, the emperor escaped from the island the following year, in 1333. Nagatoshi welcomed the imperial party to Mount Senjō (Senjōsan) in Kotoura Town, Tottori Prefecture, and, protecting them from pursuit by shogunate forces, raised the banner of the overthrow of the shogunate. This action is known as the Battle of Senjōsan and became a turning point in Emperor Go-Daigo's movement to overthrow the shogunate. Nagatoshi's decision was extremely important for securing a base from which the emperor could issue imperial edicts (rinji) calling on samurai across the country to overthrow the shogunate.

Afterward, with the efforts of Ashikaga Takauji, Nitta Yoshisada, and others, the Kamakura shogunate fell in 1333, and Emperor Go-Daigo began the Kenmu Restoration. Nagatoshi was given important responsibilities in this new government and received the post of Governor of Hōki, further enhancing his military renown. However, when Ashikaga Takauji rose in revolt, as samurai were dissatisfied with the new government, Nagatoshi continued to fight as the main force of the imperial side (the Southern Court). In 1336, he fought in the streets of Kyoto against the Ashikaga forces who had entered the capital after the Battle of Minatogawa, and he died in battle on the 30th day of the 6th month of that year. His age at death is unknown, but he remained loyal to Emperor Go-Daigo to the very end.

Nagatoshi's loyalty was highly praised by later generations. In 1883 (Meiji 16) he was posthumously granted the Junior Third Rank, and in 1935 (Shōwa 10) the Junior First Rank. Nawa Shrine, which enshrines Nagatoshi, still stands in Daisen Town, Tottori Prefecture, and he is deeply revered locally as “the loyal retainer who protected Mount Senjō.” Together with Kusunoki Masashige, Yūki Chikamitsu, and Chigusa Tadaaki, who were all valued in the Kenmu government, he was called “Sanboku Issō” (“three trees and one grass,” a pun on their names). He is also said to have been a skilled archer.