also well known as Akamatsu Enshin was a Japanese

samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They h ...

of the

Akamatsu clan is a Japanese samurai family of direct descent from Minamoto no Morifusa of the Murakami-Genji. Papinot, Jacques Edmond Joseph. (1906). ''Dictionnaire d’histoire et de géographie du Japon''; Papinot, (2003)"Akamatsu" at ''Nobiliare du Japon ...

in the

Muromachi period The is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate (''Muromachi bakufu'' or ''Ashikaga bakufu''), which was officially established in 1338 by t ...

. He was governor (''

shugo , commonly translated as “(military) governor,” “protector,” or “constable,” was a title given to certain officials in feudal Japan. They were each appointed by the ''shōgun'' to oversee one or more of the provinces of Japan. The pos ...

'') of Harima Province in Hyōgo Prefecture. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)
"Akamatsu Norimura,"
''Japan encyclopedia,'' p. 16.

Warrior

Norimura supported

Emperor Go-Daigo Emperor Go-Daigo (後醍醐天皇 ''Go-Daigo-tennō'') (26 November 1288 – 19 September 1339) was the 96th emperor of Japan, Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'')後醍醐天皇 (96) retrieved 2013-8-28. according to the traditional order ...

and

Ashikaga Takauji was the founder and first '' shōgun'' of the Ashikaga shogunate."Ashikaga Takauji" in ''The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th edn., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 625. His rule began in 1338, beginning the Murom ...

in the struggle to overcome the

Kamakura shogunate The was the feudal military government of Japan during the Kamakura period from 1185 to 1333. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Kamakura-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 459. The Kamakura shogunate was established by Minamoto no ...

. Akamatsu joined Takauji in capturing Kyoto from imperial forces on 23 Feb. 1336. He then became a part of the

Ashikaga shogunate The , also known as the , was the feudal military government of Japan during the Muromachi period from 1336 to 1573.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Muromachi-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 669. The Ashikaga shogunate was establi ...

. Before the

Battle of Minatogawa The Battle of Minatogawa (), also known as the Battle of Minato River, was a battle of the Nanboku-chō Wars fought near the Minato River in Settsu Province (present day Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture) on 5 July 1336. The Imperial forces loyal to Em ...

, his

Shirahata castle is the remains of a Muromachi period Japanese castle structure located in the town of Kamigōri, Akō District, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. Its ruins have been protected as a National Historic Site as one of the Remains of Akamatsu-shi Castles ...

was surrounded by Emperor Go-Daigo's large force led by

Nitta Yoshisada was a samurai lord of the Nanboku-chō period Japan. He was the head of the Nitta clan in the early fourteenth century, and supported the Southern Court of Emperor Go-Daigo in the Nanboku-chō period. He famously marched on Kamakura, besieging ...

but he held the castle over 50 days it helped

regroup its forces in Kyushu. Norimura constructed a fort on a hill which later became the site for

Himeji Castle is a hilltop Japanese castle complex situated in the city of Himeji which is located in the Hyōgo Prefecture of Japan. The castle is regarded as the finest surviving example of prototypical Japanese castle architecture, comprising a network o ...

Patron

Norimura was a patron of Sesson Yūbai who established Hōun-ji and Hōrin-ji in Harima. In records about the establishment of land rights for

Daitoku-ji is a Buddhist temple, one of fourteen autonomous branches of the Rinzai school of Japanese Zen. It is located in Kita-ku, Kyoto, Japan. The "mountain name" ('' sangō'') by which it is known is . The Daitoku-ji temple complex today covers more ...

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin, Keihanshin metropolitan area along wi ...

, Norimura's help is recognized.

Kraft, Kenneth Kenneth Lewis Kraft (July 16, 1949October 1, 2018) was a professor of Buddhist studies and Japanese religions (emeritus) at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Education Kraft received a B.A. from Harvard University in 1971. He holds a ...

. (1997)
''Eloquent Zen: Daitō and Early Japanese Zen,''
/ref>

External links

References

1277 births 1350 deaths Daimyo {{daimyo-stub