The 1337  was the final battle for the Nitta family

Nitta family

The ' was one of several major families descended from the Seiwa Genji, and numbered among the chief enemies of the Ashikaga shogunate, and later the Hōjō clan regents...

 in their support of the Southern Imperial Court against the Ashikaga

Ashikaga shogunate

The , also known as the , was a Japanese feudal military regime, ruled by the shoguns of the Ashikaga clan.This period is also known as the Muromachi period and gets its name from Muromachi Street of Kyoto where the third shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu established his residence...

 Pretenders of the Northern Court

Northern Court (Japan)

The , also known as the "Ashikaga Pretenders" or "Northern Pretenders", were a set of six pretenders to the throne of Japan during the Nanboku-chō period from 1336 through 1392...

.

Nitta Yoshisada

Nitta Yoshisada

was the head of the Nitta family in the early fourteenth century, and supported the Southern Court of Emperor Go-Daigo in the Nanboku-chō period, capturing Kamakura from the Hōjō clan in 1333....

's fortress at Kanegasaki was besieged for three months by forces in support of Ashikaga Takauji

Ashikaga Takauji

was the founder and first shogun of the Ashikaga shogunate. His rule began in 1338, beginning the Muromachi period of Japan, and ended with his death in 1358...

. Nitta's ally Uryū Tamotsu was forced back to the fortress of Somayama in March 1337, and Nitta Yoshisada joined him there soon afterwards, hoping to lead a counterstrike to lift the siege. This failed, and the occupants of the besieged castle, having run out of food and water, were forced to eat horseflesh to survive. In accordance with Buddhist

Buddhism

Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...

 belief, this was close to the worst disgrace one could face; eating horseflesh was believed to break one's karma

Karma

Karma in Indian religions is the concept of "action" or "deed", understood as that which causes the entire cycle of cause and effect originating in ancient India and treated in Hindu, Jain, Buddhist and Sikh philosophies....

, forcing them to be reborn in the next life as an animal or something worse.

Nevertheless, the defenders held out for twenty days longer, and on April 7, Kō no Moroyasu

Ko no Moroyasu

, along with his brother Moronao and his cousin Morofuyu, was one of the leading generals of Shogun Ashikaga Takauji during the Nanbokucho War.In 1335 he was sent west from Kamakura, the capital, at the head of a large army. The goal was to secure the shogun's control over the region, and prepare...

, commander of the besieging army, broke through the walls and took the fortress. Prince Takanaga

Prince Takanaga

was the second son of Emperor Go-Daigo of Japan, and fought for his father in the Nanboku-chō Wars. Since the characters used to write "Takanaga" can also be read as "Takayoshi", the prince is sometimes known by that name as well....

 and Nitta Yoshiaki

Nitta Yoshiaki

' , son of Nitta Yoshisada, fought for Emperor Go-Daigo, against the Ashikaga at the end of the Kamakura period. He was one of the chief generals at the fortress of Kanagasaki, which fell to the Ashikaga; Yoshiaki was killed, and Prince Tsunenaga captured....

, son of Yoshisada, were forced to take their own lives. Prince Tsunenaga

Prince Tsunenaga

' was one of the sons of Japanese Emperor Go-Daigo. He became involved in the Nanboku-chō wars between the true Imperial line and the Ashikaga clan....

escaped, but was captured soon afterwards and killed as well.