Siege of Akasaka

Siege of Akasaka
Part of the Genkō War
Date 1331 Location Shimo & Kami Akasaka fortresses, Minami-Kawachi, near Osaka Result Hōjō victory
Belligerents
Imperial forces	Hōjō forces
Commanders and leaders
Kusunoki Masashige	Unknown
Strength
500[1]	10,000[2]

The 1331 siege of Akasaka was a battle of the Genkō War, taking place during the final years of Japan's Kamakura period, at Shimo Akasaka-jō (下赤坂城, "lower Akasaka fortress") near modern-day Osaka.

The fortress was a 650 sq. yard palisade with 20-30 wooden towers, without a moat. Two hundred samurai manned the fort, while 300 were stationed on a nearby hill under the command of Masashige's brother Shichiro.^[1][3]

Shimo Akasaka, a mountain fortress, was built that year, and held by Kusunoki Masashige, a warrior with allegiance to Emperor Go-Daigo's armies. Bakufu forces of the Hōjō regents attempted to take the fortress in Nov. With great ingenuity, Masashige defended the fort. However, after the Hōjō cut the water supply to the fortress, it fell.^[4][5]

Kusunoki then built a second, but strengthened "Akasaka" castle, dubbing it Kami Akasaka-jō (上赤坂城, "upper Akasaka fortress"). This too was besieged, and fell, in March 1333.^{[4]:13-14[3]:174}

Tactics

Masashige's "schemes were as ingenious as if they had sprung from the brain of Ch'en-p'ing or Chan-kuo Liang." During the initial assault by the Kamakura force, Masashige used skilled archers to kill or wound many before they retreated hastily to make camp for a longer siege. Kusunoki Shichiro picked this time to attack the camp with his horsemen from two sides, joined soon by more horsemen from the castle gates. The "horsemen broke through the enemy lines from every direction, cutting them down on all sides and so astounding the eastern warriors that they could not form ranks."^[2]:118-119

In another assault, the Kamakura soldiers started scaling the outer wall, deceived by the silence from within. The wall was a false one, which Masashige signaled to be collapsed, dazing the attackers as they hit the ground. While on the ground, they were subjected to thrown logs and boulders from within the castle, killing many.^[2]:120

In another instance, the attackers tried to grapnel the remaining wall. Their attempt was halted when Masashige's men poured boiling water on the attackers.^[2]:120

The siege turned to one of starving the defenders. After three weeks, Masashige devised a plan in which they prepared a bonfire of their corpses, while the remaining men disguised themselves as the besiegers. Thus disguised, Masashige's men were able to slip through the defenses. Once free, one man left behind lit the bonfire and the castle, deceiving the Kamakura soldiers into thinking they had committed suicide.^[2]:121

References

1. Turnbull, Stephen (1977). The Samurai, A Military History. MacMillan Publishing Co., Inc. p. 97. ISBN 0026205408.
2. Morris, Ivan (1975). The Nobility of Failure. Holt, Rinehart and Winston. p. 118. ISBN 9780030108112.
3. Sato, Hiroaki (1995). Legends of the Samurai. Overlook Duckworth. p. 160-165. ISBN 9781590207307.
4. Sansom, George (1961). A History of Japan, 1334-1615. Stanford University Press. p. 10. ISBN 0804705259.
5. Turnbull, Stephen (1998). The Samurai Sourcebook. Cassell & Co. p. 206. ISBN 1-85409-523-4.