Background
Norimura Akamatsu was born in 1277. The Akamatsu were a warrior family with their base in the manor of Sayo in Harima Province.
赤松 則村
Norimura Akamatsu was born in 1277. The Akamatsu were a warrior family with their base in the manor of Sayo in Harima Province.
In 1332 Akamatsu Norimura was ordered by Imperial Prince Morinaga to raise troops and attack the Hojo army, and later he joined Chigusa Tadaaki in marching on Kyoto and ovethrowmg the Hojo family.
In 1333, when the so-called Kemmu Restoration took place and Emperor Godaigo returned to Kyoto to rule in person, Norimura was made shugo, constable, of Harima, a post that gave him full control of the province, but this was later taken away from him and, angered, he joined forces with Ashikaga Takauji in opposing the Kemmu government. Their first attempt at revolt failed, but Norimura continued to assist Takauji, fighting in various areas, and in 1336 joined Takauji’s younger brother Naoyoshi in defeating Kusunoki Masashige at the battle of Minatogawa in Harima and overthrowing the Kemmu government. In reward for his services, he was once more appointed constable of Harima.
He was an ardent follower of Zen Buddhism, inviting the monk Sesson Yubai to come to the province to found the Houn- ji, and in his late years he himself became a monk with the religious name Enshin.