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A well-known
record (Tai-hei-ki) says: "In early morn the stars that linger in the
firmament gradually lose their brilliancy, even though the sun has
not yet appeared above the horizon. The military families did not
wantonly show contempt towards the Court. But in some districts the
stewards were more powerful than the owners of the estates, and the
constables were more respected than the provincial governors. Thus
insensibly the influence of the Court waned day by day and that of
the military waxed."

There were other causes also at work. They are thus summarized by the
Kamakura Jidaishi: "The conditions of the time called two parties
into existence: the Kyoto party and the military party. To the former
belonged not only many officials of Shinto shrines, priests of
Buddhist temples, and managers of private manors, but also a few
nominal retainers of the Bakufu. These last included men who, having
occupied posts in the Imperial capital for a long time, had learned
to regard the Court with gratitude; others who had special grievances
against the Bakufu, and yet others who, having lost their estates,
were ready to adopt any means of recovering them. The family system
of the time paid no heed to primogeniture. Parents fixed the
succession by favouritism, and made such divisions as seemed
expedient in their eyes. During a parent's lifetime there could be no
appeal nor any remonstrance. But no sooner was a father's tombstone
about to be erected, than his children engaged in disputes or
appealed to the courts. Therefore the Bakufu, seeking to correct this
evil state of affairs, issued an order that the members of a family
should be subservient to the directions of the eldest son; which
order was followed, in 1202, by a law providing that disputes between
brothers must be compromised, and by another, in 1214, ruling that
applications for official posts must have the approval of the members
of the applicants' family in conclave instead of being submitted
direct, as theretofore. Under such a system of family autocracy it
frequently happened that men were ousted from all share in their
paternal estates, and these men, carrying their genealogical tables
constantly in their pockets, were ready to join in any enterprise
that might better their circumstances. Hence the Shokyu struggle may
be said to have been, politically, a collision between the Imperial
Court and the Bakufu, and, socially, a protest against family
autocracy."

The murder of Sanetomo inspired the Court with strong hope that a
suicidal feud had commenced at Kamakura, and when the Fujiwara baby,
Yoritsune, was sent thither, peace-loving politicians entertained an
idea that the civil and the military administration would soon be
found co-operating. But neither event made any change in the
situation. The lady Masa and her brother remained as powerful as ever
and as careless of the Court's dignity.

Two events now occurred which materially hastened a rupture. One was
connected with an estate, in the province of Settsu, conferred by
Go-Toba on a favourite--a shirabyoshi, "white measure-marker," as a
danseuse of those days was called. The land-steward of this estate
treated its new owner, Kamegiku, with contumely, and Go-Toba was
sufficiently infatuated to lodge a protest, which elicited from
Kamakura an unceremonious negative. One of the flagrant abuses of the
time was the sale of offices to Court ladies, and the Bakufu's
attitude in the affair of the Settsu estates amounted to an indirect
condemnation of such evil practices. But Go-Toba, profoundly
incensed, applied himself from that day to mustering soldiers and
practising military tactics. The second incident which precipitated
an appeal to arms was the confiscation of a manor owned by a bushi
named Nishina Morito, who, though a retainer (keriin) of the Bakufu,
had taken service at the Imperial Court. Go-Toba asked that the
estate should be restored, but Yoshitoki flatly refused. It was then
(1221) that Go-Toba contrived the abdication of his son, Juntoku, a
young man of twenty-four, possessing, apparently, all the qualities
that make for success in war, and thereafter an Imperial decree
deprived Yoshitoki of his offices and declared him a rebel. The die
was now cast. Troops were summoned from all parts of the Empire to
attack Kamakura, and a motley crowd mustered in Kyoto.

STEPS TAKEN BY THE BAKUFU

It was on June 6, 1221, that the Imperial decree outlawing Hojo
Yoshitoki appeared, and three days later Kamakura was informed of the
event. The lady Masa at once summoned the leading generals of the
Bakufu to her presence and addressed them thus: "To-day the time of
parting has come. You know well what kind of work the late shogun, my
husband, accomplished. But slanderers have misled the sovereign and
are seeking to destroy the Kwanto institutions. If you have not
forgotten the favours of the deceased shogun, you will join hearts
and hands to punish the traducers and to preserve the old order. But
if any of you wish to proceed to the west, you are free to do so."

This astute appeal is said to have moved the generals greatly. There
was not one instance of disaffection; a sufficiently notable fact
when we remember that the choice lay between the Throne and the
Bakufu. A military council was at once convened by Yoshitoki to
discuss a plan of campaign, and the view held by the great majority
was that a defensive attitude should be adopted by guarding the
Ashigara and Hakone passes.

Alone, Oye no Hiromoto opposed that programme. Regarding the
situation from a political, not a strategical, standpoint, he saw
that every day they remained unmolested must bring an access of
strength to the Imperial forces, and he strenuously urged that a dash
should be made for Kyoto at once. Even the lady Masa did not rise to
Hiromoto's height of discernment; she advocated a delay until the
arrival of the Musashi contingent. Another council was convened, but
Hiromoto remained inflexible. He went so far as to urge that the
Musashi chief--Yoshitoki's eldest son, Yasutoki--ought to advance
alone, trusting his troops to follow. Then the lady Masa summoned
Miyoshi Yasunobu and asked his opinion. He said: "The fate of the
Kwanto is at stake. Strike at once." Thereupon Hojo Yoshitoki ordered
Yasutoki, his son, to set out forthwith from Kamakura, though his
following consisted of only eighteen troopers.

Thereafter, other forces mustered in rapid succession. They are said
to have totalled 190,000. Tokifusa, younger brother of Yasutoki, was
adjutant-general, and the army moved by three routes, the Tokai-do,
the Tosan-do, and the Hokuriku-do, all converging upon the Imperial
capital. On the night of his departure from Kamakura, Yasutoki
galloped back all alone and, hastening to his father's presence,
said: "I have my orders for the disposition of the forces and for
their destination. But if the Emperor in person commands the western
army, I have no orders to guide me." Hojo Yoshitoki reflected for a
time and then answered: "The sovereign cannot be opposed. If his
Majesty be in personal command, then strip off your armour, cut your
bow-strings, and assume the mien of low officials. But if the Emperor
be not in command, then fight to the death. Should you be defeated I
will never see your face again."

THE STRUGGLE

When they learned that a great army was advancing from the Kwanto,
the courtiers in Kyoto lost heart at once. There was no talk of
Go-Toba or of Juntoku taking the field. Defensive measures were alone
thought of. The Imperialist forces moved out to Mino, Owari, and
Etchu. Their plan was to shatter the Bakufu columns separately, or,
if that might not be, to fall back and cover the capital. It was a
most unequal contest. The Kyoto troops were a mere mob without
intelligence or coherence. They broke everywhere under the onset of
the Kwanto veterans. At the river Uji, where their last stand was
made, they fought gallantly and obstinately. But their efforts only
deferred the result by a few hours. On the twenty-fifth day (July 6,
1221) after he had marched out of Kamakura, Yasutoki entered Kyoto.
The Throne had no hesitation as to the course to be pursued in such
circumstances. From the palace of the Shin-in a decree was issued
restoring the official titles of the Hojo chief, and cancelling the
edict for his destruction, while, through an envoy sent to meet him,
he was informed that the campaign against the Bakufu had been the
work of irresponsible subjects; that the sovereign did not sanction
it, and that any request preferred by Kamakura would be favourably
considered.

Yasutoki received these gracious overtures with a silent obeisance,
and taking up his quarters at Rokuhara, proceeded to arrest the
leaders of the anti-Bakufu enterprise; to execute or exile the
courtiers that had participated in it, and to confiscate all their
estates. In thus acting, Yasutoki obeyed instructions from his
implacable father in Kamakura. He himself evinced a disposition to be
merciful, especially in the case of the Court nobles. These he sent
eastward to the Bakufu capital, which place, however, very few of
them reached alive, their deaths being variously compassed on the
way.

To the Imperial family no pity was shown. Even the baby Emperor* was
dethroned, and his place given to Go-Horikawa (1221-1232), the
eighty-sixth sovereign, then a boy of ten, son of Morisada, Go-Toba's
elder brother. Go-Toba, himself was banished to the island of Oki,
and Juntoku to Sado, while Tsuchimikado, who had essayed to check the
movement against the Bakufu, might have remained in Kyoto had not the
exile of his father and brother rendered the city intolerable. At his
own request he was transferred, first, to Tosa, and then, to Awa. The
three ex-Emperors died in exile. Go-Toba seems to have suffered
specially from his reverse of fortunes. He lived in a thatched hut
barely impervious to rain, and his lot is said to have been pitiful,
even from the point of view of the lower orders.

*To this child, Kanenari, who lived a virtual prisoner in Kyoto for
thirteen years subsequently, the Bakufu declined to give the title of
Emperor.