53･54･55 Fifty-seven Years of the Yoshino Court [2] [3] [4] (an omission) Kitabatake Akiie was appointed Governor of Mutsu (Aomori, Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima Prefectures) at the time of the Imperial Restoration of the Kenmu Era (1334), even though he was only 16 years old. However, the governorship was a formality; his actual duty was to bring peace to the areas of Mutsu and Dewa, which correspond to the modern six prefectures of the north-eastern (Touhoku) part of Honshuu Ialand of Japan. This is a vast strip of land remote from the capital, where imperial influence scarcely, and immediately after the fall of the Houjou clan, it was filled with unrest. At first, Kitabatake Akiie declined the appointment, But Emperor Go-Daigo states: "The country is already united under the court and no distinction should be made between the military and the civil. In ancient times many princes and other members of the imperial family, as well as descendants of the great courtier families, took command of armies. These same people must once again take up arms and become the bulwark of the court." The Emperor then took a brush and wrote the inscription for the battle banner. This and various weapons were given to Kitabatake Akiie, upon which he accepted the appointment. With Prince Yoshinaga as the Imperial Commander-in-Chief, he set out to the north. As he was about to leave, the Emperor summoned him and gave him his own garment and a horse as a special gift. His destination was Taga Castle located near Shiogama (in Miyagi Prefecture). After a year and a half, both provinces succumbed to his noble military and civil rule. As a prize for this achievement, he, at age 17, was awarded the Second Rank, Minor, in itself an impressive reward. Next year at age 18, he was also appointed General of the Headquarters for Racification and Defence. (an omission) Equally wondrous was the fate of Kitabatake Chikafusa. He was then 46 years old. Previously he was the tutor of the late Prince Yonaga. Mourning the death of the Prince, Kitabatake Chikafusa declined the appointment to Major Counseller and entered into religion, and for 8 years he retierd and did not appear in public. However, his eldest son Akiie had died in battle, and the second son Akinobu was unable to report to his appointment in the north. The clan leaders of the Kusunoki, Nawa, Nitta, and all other imperial loyalists who worked for the Imperial Restoration of the Kenmu Era (1334) had died, while the rebels were gaining strength. Seeing this, in spite of his religious convictions and advanced age, Kitabatake Chikafusa resolutely assumed leadership again and set out to restore imperial rule and punish the rebels. First, Kitabatake Chikafusa entered into Oda Castle at the foot of Mt. Tsukuba in Ibaraki Prefecture. In the next year, while fighting under siege, Emperor Go-Daigo passed away. Informed that Prince Yoshinaga had ascended to the throne to succeed his father, Kitabatake Chikafusa was so moved that he started writing A Chronicle of Gods and Sovereigns (Jinnou Shoutouki). This was the autumn of the 4th year of the Engen era (1339). In the following year, he wrote An Abstract of the History of the Court Appointments (Shokugenshou). Meanwhile, the rebel commander Kou no Morofuyu closed in on Oda Castle, and the castleowner Oda Haruhisa sided with him. Kitabatake Chikafusa moved to Seki Castle in the 11th month of the 2nd year of the Koukoku era (1341). Joining armies with other castles such as Taihou Castle, he was again under siege. It was during this time that he edited and revised A Chronicle of Gods and Sovereigns (Jinnou Shoutouki). In the 11th month of the 4th year of the Koukoku era (1343) his Seki Castle fell. Thereupon Kitabatake Chikafusa returned to Ise, and reported to Mt. Yoshino. He became the central figure in the Yoshino court, assisting the Emperors. He passed away in the 9th year of the Shouhei era (1354) at age 62. After the passing of Empweoe Go-Daigo, during the reign of Emperor Go-Murakami, the rebels burned the temporary imperial headquarters at Yoshino to the ground. But the imperial court would not give in and rejected the proposals made by the Ashikaga clan. Eventually, Ashikaga Takauji was permitted to surrender temporarily to the imperial court. The so-called "imperial northern court" was abolished for a time, and Kyouto returned to imperial hands, which reassured the Emperor for a while. All this must have been the realization of the grand plan laid out by the late Kitabatake Chikafusa. His writing, A Chronicle of Gods and Sovereigns (Jinnou Shoutouki) was most valuable. In brief, this is a book on the history of Japan. It is not a sequential list of events. It discussed questions such as: Why was Japan created ? What is the essential character of this nation ? Since its foundation, what was the spirit that remained constant for two thousand years of fistory ? Kitabatake Chikafusa wrote this originally for the young Emperor Go-Murakami who ascended to the throne in most difficult times. It was also meant for his subjects who served alongside. However, the book was read not just by the imperial subjects of the Yoshino court. The loyalists under siege elsewhere, for instance at Seki Castle or Taihou Castle, were also greatly inspired by this book. Kitabatake Chikafusa therefore edited and revised it, and it raised and sustained the spirits of the people in the Yoshino court and in other parts of the country. In the end, the book outlived the 57 years of the Yoshino court. It was hand-copied and read widely during the ensuing war-torn years, and was treasured by everyone. During the Edo period (1603-1867), scholars were able to grasp the essential character of the Japanese nation through this book, and this loyalist passion eventually culminated in the Meiji Restoration of 1868. It is astonishing that a single book can become the driving force of the destiny of a nation. A similar illustration of this would be Fichre's writings in Germany. In Japan, A Chronicle of Gods and Sovereigns (Jinnou Shoutouki) is a splendid example.

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