87. Last of the Kamakura Shogunate.

　　　　　　　　　

Ruins of Toshoji Temple, Kamakura

The feast in Kamakura continued.

People went out to dance and sing. At night, bonfires were lit all over the city and the bustle did not cease until late at night.

Even the samurais were in high spirits. They were half in a frenzy.

No wonder.

The destruction of a nation was at hand. Moreover, they were up against the strongest Mongolian army in history. The kamikaze blew them away. There was not a single person who was not buoyed up.

However, Hojo Tokimune had a grim look on his face. The dancing courtiers finally noticed that something was wrong with Tokimune.

The place became quiet.

Tokimune stood up.

“What are you all so excited about? You think you have won when the enemy ship and the bandit ship were sunk by the autumn wind and a little water? Did you take the general alive? Who can say that your prayers have been answered? And what was the result of the battle? Were we really victorious? Did we take the head of the Mongolian king?”

Everyone fell silent.

“You don't understand. There is no one here who loves and cares for his country.”

No one understood Tokimune. He left deserted.

We can see the bitterness of the regent.

Tokimune's greatest understanding was Nichiren. Tokimune devoted his whole soul to the defense of the land, while Nichiren cried out for the destruction of the country. Both of them shouted out for the future of the country.

　Tokimune pardoned Nichiren, but he never took refuge in him. Nichiren said

　

“The Nirvana Sutra teaches that those who enter the Latter Day of the Law and slander the Lotus Sutra will fall into hell more often than the dust of the earth, but those who believe in it and become Buddhas will be less than the soil on their fingernails.” ‘Reply to the Buddhist nun Myoho.’

Let us now look at the end of the Kamakura shogunate, or the process of its downfall.

Tokimune died three years after the Ko’an War. He was 34 years old. He spent the rest of his life in the fight for domestic security and preparation for the Mongolian invasion. Some historians say that he died of nervous exhaustion. His days must have been filled with frustration.

There was no one he could consult.

Taira no Yoritsuna, the family courtier, was not a counselor who could predict the future of the country. Yasumori Adachi, another influential figure, was an outsider of his family. It was too great a risk to carelessly reveal his heart. He had no choice but to be alone. He must have spent many agonizing days.

The only one left after Tokimune was Sadatoki Hojo, who was only 14 years old. Naturally, his close associates had to interfere. Two of them were Taira no Yoritsuna and Adachi Yasumori. What would happen if Hojo's steward and an outside courtier were in charge of government affairs? The fierce confrontation was decisive.

At one time, Yasumori Adachi had the upper hand by exiling a branch of the Hojo clan. As a result, the outside vassals began to rise to power all at once. The Hojo clan, dissatisfied with this, attacked Yasumori, led by Taira no Yoritsuna. This was only three years after the fall of Nichiren.

The situation at this time is well described in the writings of Takayuki Okutomi and Masako Okutomi.

“At 5:00 p.m. on November 17, 1285, Yasumori and his son, who had come to the capital as usual without knowing what was going on, were caught in a trap and slaughtered on the spot by Yoritsuna's secret attackers.

Immediately thereafter, Hojo's army, which had been dispatched without a moment's delay, raided the Adachi family residence in Amanawa, Kamakura. Yasumori's younger brother Tokikage, nephew Tokinaga, and other members of the Adachi clan were executed before they could mount any resistance.

That night, Taira no Yoritsuna and other steward forces used this as an opportunity to ravage the whole Kamakura area. They attacked the residences of outside samurais who tended to be at odds with each other in an attempt to reduce their power. It is said that the number of vassals executed that night exceeded 500. The names of the major families alone numbered more than 20.

Most of them had their main domains in Musashi, Ueno, and Shinano. However, there were also warriors from Mikawa, Omi, Harima, Mimasaka, Inaba, and Aki, and even from Kyushu.

The pursuers were then sent to the outside vassals in various regions. In Chikuzen Iwato, a battle was fought between the clans of Shoni.

The outlying daimyo were completely defeated. The Kamakura shogunate became the property of the direct retainer power. This was the end of what was later called the "Shimotsuki Disturbance.

Thereafter, the shogunate was administered in a manner that pursued only the interests of the steward. The interests of the ordinary people, the unprofessional, and even those of the vassals were disregarded. Bribes thrived, and unfair trials were conducted. Secret agents were spread and torture was practiced. The fear of oppression frightened the people.

Kamakura, which had once been built by Minamoto no Yoritomo as a newly emerged province of the warriors of the East, was transformed into a dark world infested with wickedness and wickedness.

After the Ko’an War, it was Taira no Yoritsuna who became the man of power. However, his power did not last long. Hojo Sadatoki, the eldest son of the young Hojo Tokimune, was already 22 years old at the time of the battle. On April 22, 1293, eight years after the Shimotsuki Disturbance, Sadatoki's hand was moved.

In the early morning of that day, Taira no Yoritsuna and Yorimori (father and son), who, like Adachi Yasumori and his son, had come to the government office without knowing anything about the situation, were captured alive by the attackers who were hiding in the office, and Yoritsuna committed suicide.

Not long after, Yoritsuna's residence in Keishiga Valley, Kamakura, was surrounded by an army of Sadatoki's men. Fire was set on the neighboring houses of Ono, Kasai, and others, and eventually ninety-three members of Yoritsuna's family and clansmen were slaughtered to death in the raging fire.

Coincidentally, this Yoritsuna's house may have been the former residence of Sasuke Tokimoto, who was once chased by Adachi Yasumori.

At this time, Yoritsuna had already been ordained and was known as Taira-zenmon Kaen. This is why this rebellion was later called the Taira-Zenmon Rebellion.

Regent Sadatoki ordered his family steward to be put to death, and he regained actual power in the shogunate administration. However, the close associates had already had a taste of power and corruption.

From then on, the Hojo clan was manipulated by the close associates, who effectively controlled the real power of the Kamakura shogunate, and the Hojo clan clans continued to fight each other for position and a false name. However, this had no effect on the impending doom. Kamakura had already lost its freshness, and was now covered with corruption and corruption, colored by the incessant fires of war and blood stains.

Fifty-two years after the Ko’an War, the Kamakura shogunate fell.

The overthrowing shogunate forces led by Nitta Yoshisada rushed into Kamakura along the coastline. This coastline was the road along which Nichiren was sent to the place of his execution on a bare horse at the time of the persecution of Tatsunokuchi. Although it was a road, it was inaccessible to a large army because the sea was closing in. Strangely enough, however, the water receded on that day, and they were able to capture Kamakura in one fell swoop.

The one who defended Kamakura was Tokimune's grandson, Takatoki. The Shogunate forces, now on the defensive, holed up in Tosho-ji Temple at the far eastern end of the city.

The overthrowing Shogunate forces finally surrounded the temple, and the Shogunate forces gave up and Takatoki, the Hojo clan, and 500 of their retainers all committed suicide, and the Shogunate fell.

The Hojo clan was originally from a rural area in Izu, but it rose to the level of ruling the whole country. In today's terms, it would be like a village chief from the mountains rising to the position of prime minister. Although he was a complete upstart, the Hojo clan led a group of warriors and ruled the country with great effort.

Although the clan's daughter Masako married Yoritomo, a nameless tribe could not have ruled Japan for so long.

Nichiren attributes this to the fact that an excellent ruler emerged from the family. Although Nichiren is harsh in all of his character reviews, he does give credit to Hojo Sanetoki and his son Yasutoki. Sanetoki overcame the Jokyu Rebellion and ushered in a new era of samurai rule. Nichiren praised Sanetoki, saying that he was a man who "did everything in his power, both civilly and militarily. Yasutoki also established the Collection of Rulings, and was himself called a great lord for his impartiality. He valued moral principles and worked to promote the martial arts.

However, the decline of the samurai began during the reigns of Tokiyori and Tokimune. The shogunate appointed a direct retainer such as Taira no Yoritsuna, and thoroughly destroyed the outsider who had no blood ties to the shogunate. In the end, they were corrupted and corrupted by these direct vassals.

Nichiren predicted the end of Hojo's reign, citing the examples of kings from the past and present.

“King Wen of the Chou dynasty was victorious in battle because he took care to provide for elderly people. During the thirty-seven reigns spanning eight hundred years in which his descendants ruled, there were some incidents of misgovernment, but on the whole the Chou dynasty prospered due to that fundamental virtue. King Ajātashatru, though a most evil man, was able to hold the throne for ninety years owing to the merit of his father, King Bimbisāra, who had made offerings to the Buddha for several years. The same principle holds true today. I do not think the present regime will last long, as it opposes the Lotus Sutra. Yet, probably because of the excellent leadership of Hojo Sanetoki, the late acting administrator, and Hojo Yasutoki, the former governor of Musashi, it appears to be secure for the time being. But in this case, too, the present government will eventually collapse if it continues its enmity toward the Lotus Sutra. These people mistakenly think that, while the Nembutsu priests are friendly to the Lotus Sutra, Nichiren is hostile to the Nembutsu; and they claim to believe in both teachings. I, Nichiren, say in rebuttal: If nothing is vitally wrong with the present government, then why have such unprecedented epidemics, famines, and wars broken out? Why have the authorities twice subjected the practitioner of the Lotus Sutra to grave punishment without allowing him to confront the other schools in open debate? How pitiful, how unfortunate!

Even under such circumstances, as a woman you have inherited the life of the Lotus Sutra. In fact, you have inherited the life of the parents of Shakyamuni, Many Treasures, and the Buddhas of the ten directions. Is there anyone else in the entire land of the whole world who possesses such good fortune?

With my deep respect,

Nichiren

The twenty-fifth day of the sixth month

Reply to lady Nichinyo”

Hojo Sanetoki and Yasutoki. Because of the excellence of these two men, it appeared that Hojo would last for a long time, but now that he had become an enemy of the Lotus Sutra, he would not last.

The people of the Shogunate also said ludicrously. The Nembutsu priests know the Lotus Sutra well. Nichiren is an enemy of the Nembutsu. We believe in both of them, so we are blameless. They do not see the crisis before them. They do not see that the scale of famine, pestilence, and war is unprecedented. Nichiren had written the “Opening the Eyes”, but they could not see anything.

Hojo was doomed to destruction.

The "Taiheiki" describes the end of the war in glorious detail, but the actual scene is nothing short of tragic.

Tokimune's grandson, Takatoki, was ordained and called Sagami Nyudo. Under the onslaught of the shogunate forces, he hesitated for a while, but a young man named Nagasaki Shinzaemon showed him the way, and he committed suicide. Shinzaemon was a distant relative of Taira no Yoritsuna.

After Takatoki's suicide, one by one, his family members and vassals chose death as if obsessed.

“The family members of Shinzaemon died one by one as if obsessed with the death of Takatoki. Seeing this, the members of the clan and other clans seated in the hall pushed aside their snow-covered skin and took off their clothes, some cutting their stomachs, while others cut off their own heads. Some even cut their own throats, and some even scraped off their own heads. (omission) Including these people, there were more than 130 of them, and in total, more than 380 of their followers, who cut their stomachs first, and set fire to the residences, which was a form of a house. Seeing this, soldiers lined up in front of the gateway to the garden, some of them clawed at their stomachs and jumped into the flames, while others lay on top of each other, with their fathers, sons, and brothers lying on top of each other. Blood poured out and overflowed onto the ground, and the bodies of the dead lay in the path, piled up in heaps, just like a river in the suburbs. The corpses were so faded that they could not be seen, but when we later asked their names, we found that more than 870 had died in this one place. In addition to the above, there are more than 6,000 people in total in Kamakura, including monks and priests, men and women, who were benefactors, and who chose death to repay their kindnesses.”

　　　　　

　Those who were related to the family lineage of the Hojo clan of the Kamakura Shogunate committed suicide in the midst of the firestorm of the war to defeat the Shogunate.

It was May 22, Genkou 3 (1333), the 51st year after Nichiren's death.

To be continued.