Siege of Kamakura (1333)

Siege of Kamakura
Part of the Genkō War
Date 1-5 July 1333 Location Kamakura, Sagami Province Result Imperial victory; city destroyed.
Belligerents
Forces loyal to Emperor Go-Daigo	Hōjō clan
Commanders and leaders
Nitta Yoshisada	Hōjō Mototoki Hōjō Takatoki Daibutsu Sadanao Akahashi Moritoki Kanazawa Aritoki
Strength
	15,000

The 1333 siege of Kamakura was a battle of the Genkō War, and marked the end of the power of the Hōjō clan, which had dominated the regency of the Kamakura shogunate for over a century. Forces loyal to Emperor Go-Daigo and led by Nitta Yoshisada entered the city from multiple directions and destroyed it; in the end, the Hōjō leaders retreated to Tōshō-ji, the Hōjō family temple, where they committed suicide with the rest of the clan.

For ten days, Nitta had been leading the imperial loyalists on a rapid cross country campaign before reaching the outskirts of Kamakura. After the Battle of Bubaigawara ended two days prior, the Hōjō forces rushed back to Kamakura to consolidate defenses. Nitta aggressively pursued and divided his forces into three prongs, thus completely surrounding the landward sides of the city. Only the seaward side, which was fortified by Hōjō ships, remained open.

The hills surrounding Kamakura contained seven passes, (the so-called Seven Entrances or Mouths), each with guarded checkpoints. Nitta Yoshisada attacked from the west, east and the north through the Gokuraku Pass, the Nagoe Pass and the Kewaizaka Pass, dividing his forces in three. However, after many hours of fighting, little progress had been made towards the city, particularly on the western passes near Gokuraku-ji, which was guarded with rows upon rows of wooden shielding. Nitta realized the Gokuraku-ji could be bypassed by marching around the cape, where the Inamuragasaki promontory juts out into the water. However, the waters were fortified by Hōjō ships making the approach impossible without heavy losses. According to the chronicles, Nitta threw his sword into the sea as an offering to the sun goddess, Amaterasu, and the sea parted as if by a miracle clearing a beach wide enough for Nitta's army to traverse. Though in fact they were taking advantage of a very low tide.

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