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#82
 82. ASHIKAGA'S CALL TO SHIBUYA SHIGEMOTO FOR SUPPORT,
                           1335

     (A copy in Iriki-in docs.; also KK, II; SK, XII; and Dai Ni-hon shi-ryo, VI, ii, 686.)
THE success of the imperial government against the feudal in 1333 was due largely to the wide-
spread discontent which had been created by the latter among the feudal classes. These then
espoused  the imperial cause, not all from pure loyalty0 but many with hopes for better personal
fortune under the new regime. The situation demanded of the rulers utmost tact and impartiaeity.
Great was the chagrin of these soldiers of fortune, therefore, when their claims for justice and for
reward were too often treated by the imperial court with a thoughtless disregard of equity, amount-
ing sometimes to positive injustice. A feeling of unrest spread quickly and increasingly; it gave
a welcome opportunity for revolt to the astute lord of Ashikaga, Takauji, the scien of the Mianamoto
family  which had produced the first line of sho-gun of feudal Japan. Confident of the response
which would come from all sides, Takauji openly rebelled at Kamakura, early in November 1335,
only fifteen months after the downfall of the Hojo  regency. Under the date 17 November, he sent
broadcast brief identical calls for armed support, many of which have been preserved (e.g., Dai
Ni-hon shi-ryo, VI, ii, 684-688), to great warriors, chiefly in western Japan, of whom the lord of
Iriki was one. The summons was signed by Takauji's younger brother, Tadayoshi; Nitta Yoshisada,
another Minamoto, the chief leader of the imperial forces, was named as the enemy, doubtless in
order to avoid a direct reference to the person of the sovereign.

     "NITTA Uemon no suke Yoshisada shall be vanquished. It is hereby ordered that
you gather the men of your family and immediately hasten to present yourselves.
   "Ken-mu 2 y. 11 m. 2 d. [17 November 1335].     Sa-ma no kami, ([Tadayoshi's]
                                                                       monogram.)
"Shibuya Shin-hei-zhi nyu-do dono."1





  1Iriki-in Shigemoto.






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