THE HISTORIOGRAPHICAL INSTITUTE THE UNIVERSITY OF TOKYO

#116 116. IMAGAWA RYO-SHUN'S CALLS TO ARMS, 1372-1373 (Iriki-in docs.; also KK, III.) THE government of the Ashikaga sho-gun had at this period specially grave causes for anxiety over the conditions in Kyu-shu. The island comprised numerous barons who, swayed by their shifting interests, changed sides all too readily, as we have seen, for the Northern party to be able to count upon the constancy even of those who were known to espouse it. In fact, many of them had already veered to the Southern party; for it, under the leadership of Prince Kanenaga and the Kikuchi baron, had for more than ten years maintained an undoubted supremacy among the con- tending factions of the region. Of the stronger local barons, the three great families of warriors,- the Shoni, in chiku-zen, the Otomo, in Bun-go, and the Shimadzu, in Satsuma,-were most to be P274 feared: they had long been established in their points of vantage, and were, if not closely watched, liable either singly or in combination to throw their weight on the opposite scale of the balance, or otherwise to become very largely autonomous. It was in view of these conditions that a specially able deputy(ta-dai) of the sho-gun was ap- pointed for Kyu-shu, in 1371, in the person of his kinsman Imagawa Sadayo, Buddhist name Ryo- Shun, the accomplished diplomat and man of letters. After ten months of leisurely journey from Kyouto, during which he was seemingly absorbed in innocent poetic diversions,¹ Ryo-Shun arrived in Kyu-shu, early in 1372, and at once set about carrying out with remarkable resourcefulness his matured plans of breaking down the Southern party and of weakening the local chieftains. He successfully drove the army of the Prince and the Kikuchi from their headquarters at Da-zai Fu, which they had held since 1361; they were finally forced to retire to their original stronghold in Higo. With a view to preventing their junction with men of the south, and possibly securing an active cooperation of the latter, Ryo-Shun issued re- peated calls for armed support to the Shimadzu, the Tsuchimochi, the Ito, the Nezhime, and other families, in Satsuma, Osumi, and Hiuga.² Three letters of summons received by the Iriki-in are given below. [IMAGE]　　[JP-#180]

#116-A A "IF you come to [take] our side, your original domains³ will be undisturbed. If you render special services, you will be rewarded. Ordered thus. "O-an 5 y. 11 m. 25 d. [20 December 1372]. Sha-mi ( Ryo-Shun's monogram ). "Shibuya Tora-wo-Maru."⁴

[IMAGE]　　[JP-#208]

#116-BC B "If you come to [take] our side, your original domains³ will be undisturbed. If you render special services, you will be rewarded. Ordered thus. "O-an 5 y. 12 m. 25 d. [19 January 1373]. Sha-mi, (Ryo-Shun's monogram). "Shibuya Tora-goro⁵ dono."

[IMAGE]　　[JP-#183]

C "Raise [an army of] your younger brothers⁶ and entire family, and render loyal service. If you do special services, you will be rewarded. Ordered thus. "O-an 6 y. 2 m. 23 d. [17 March 1373]. Sha-mi, (Ryo-Shun's monogram). "Shibuya Tora-goro⁵ dono."

¹His sketches, Michi-yuki buri, are found in Gun-zho rui-zhu, XI. ²Shimadzu koku-shi, vii; Sei-sei sho-gun no miya, 388, 429-430. ³Hon-ryo, "original domains," that is, domains held by heredity or otherwise from a time prior to the beginning of the Ashikaga shogunate. As in the Kamakura period (see No. 45), hon-ryo were distinguished from domains granted recently by the sho-gun, which were called on-chi, "land [granted] by favor," shin-on, "new favor," on-sho, "reward by favor," etc. The holding of a hon- ryo always required the sho-gun's letter of recognition. It will be understood that these remarks apply only to domains of the go ke-nin, direct vassal of the sho-gun. ( Cf. Nos. 65 preface, 113 n. 3, 116 n. 3.) ⁴Probably Shigeyoshi, younger brother of Shigeyori. ⁵Iriki-in Shigeyori, heir to Shigekado, and seventh lord of family. ⁶Sho-shi; see No. 64, n. 1.

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