The nature
of this gallant enterprise may be appreciated by observing that Mutsu
lies at the extreme north of the main island, is distant some five
hundred miles from Kyoto, and is separated from the latter by several
regions hostile to the cause which Akiiye represented. Nevertheless,
the brilliant captain, then in his twenty-first year, seized Kamakura
in January, 1338, and marched thence in February for Yoshino. He
gained three victories on the way, and had nearly reached his
objective when, at Ishizu, he encountered a great army of Ashikaga
troops under an able leader, Ko no Moronao, and after a fierce
engagement the Southern forces were shattered, Akiiye himself falling
in the fight. This disaster occurred on June 11, 1338. A brave rally
was made by Akiiye's younger brother, Akinobu. He gathered the
remnants of the Mutsu army and occupied Otokoyama, which commands
Kyoto.

It was at this stage of the campaign that Go-Daigo resorted to the
exceptional measure of sending an autograph letter to Yoshisada, then
entrenched at Somayama, in Echizen. His Majesty conjured the Nitta
leader to march to the assistance of Akinobu at Otoko-yama. Yoshisada
responded at once. He despatched his brother, Yoshisuke, with twenty
thousand men, remaining himself to cover the rear of the expedition.
But Otoko-yama surrendered before this succour reached it, and the
Nitta brothers then combined their forces to operate against the
Ashikaga. Nothing decisive resulted, and in September, 1338,
Yoshisada fell in an insignificant combat near the fortress of
Fujishima in Echizen. He caused a comrade to behead him and carry off
the head, but the enemy identified him by means of the Imperial
letter found on his person.

Yoshisada was only thirty-eight at the time of his death (September,
1338). Rai Sanyo (1780-1832), the great Japanese historian, says: "I
saw a letter written by Yoshisada with his own hand for the purpose
of admonishing the members of his family. In it he wrote: 'An officer
in command of an army should respect the sovereign; treat his
subordinates with clemency but decision; leave his fate in heaven's
hands, and not blame others.' Yoshisada is open to criticism for not
pursuing the Ashikaga when they fled westward from Kyoto; yet it must
be remembered that he had no firm base, being hurried from one
quarter to another. The strategy he used was not his own free choice
nor were the battles he fought contrived by himself. But his