49 後醍醐天皇
（前略）
（蒙古来襲は）人々を震駭させたに違いありません。同時にそれは、我が国において
は非常な自信となり、我が国は神国なりとの信念がいよいよ強く、勇気百倍するに至り
ました。かように国家の本質を深く考えるようになりますと、それは直ちに現在の状態
は、これで良いだろうかと云う疑問が起こる筈です。つまり朝廷と幕府との対立してい
る不自然、更に朝廷では、上皇が院政をおとりになって、天皇は政治に直接の御関係が
無いと云う不思議、ここに気がつく筈であります。
文永･弘安両度の蒙古襲来は、院政としては亀山上皇の御時でありますが、天皇として
は後宇多天皇の御代でありました。天皇は亀山上皇の皇子であります。文永十一年に御
年八歳、弘安四年に御年十五歳、大国難に遭遇して、上皇がいかなる祈願をこめられた
か、時宗がいかに対処したか、将士がいかに奮闘したかを御承知になり、深く御考え遊
ばされたに相違ありません。然し天皇の御一代は機運いまだ熟せず、次の御代に一切を
期待し給うたでありましょう。それが分かりますのは、おかくれの際に特に御遺勅があ
りまして、御名を後宇多天皇と申し上げる事になったからです。
その頃、我が国の黄金時代と考えられましたのは、延喜･天暦、即ち醍醐天皇･村上天
皇の御代であります。村上天皇は醍醐天皇の御子、そして醍醐天皇は宇多天皇の御子で
あります。従って今、御自身、後宇多天皇と名乗らせ給うた事は、御子を後醍醐天皇と
して、御孫を後村上天皇となされたい御希望、御期待の現れであったと考えられます。
もしそうであったとすれば、後醍醐天皇の御代には、院政をやめて天皇親政が行われ、
また記録所を設けて荘園を整理し、そしてやがて幕府を廃止せられなければなりません
。
文保二年二月、後醍醐天皇御位を継がせ給い、しばらくは御父後宇多上皇、院政をお
とりになります。しかし四年目の元享元年（西暦一三二一年）十二月、院政をおやめに
なって、天皇の親政にかえされました。そしてその月のうちに、朝廷に記録所を設けら
れました。後三条天皇が二百五十年前になさろうとして、遂に果たし給わなかった大改
革を、今や後醍醐天皇は実行しようとされるのであります。
後醍醐天皇が政治を改革して、日本の国をその正しい姿にかえそうとされました事は
、すでに世間に伝わって、人々は非常な喜びを感じ、大きな希望をもつようになりまし
た。それは元享釈書を見ると分かります。元享釈書は師錬の著述です。（中略）
かように後醍醐天皇が、日本国の中興をめざしてお進みになる時、どのような人物が
朝廷にあって、御輔佐申し上げたかを、正中元年（西暦一三二四年）で見ますと、その
年天皇は御年三十七歳でありますが、
大納言 北畠親房 三十二歳
中納言 藤原師賢 二十四歳
権中納言 日野資朝 三十五歳
少納言 源 具行 三十六歳
参議 藤原藤房 三十歳
蔵人頭 平 成輔 三十四歳
等の人々、いずれも学問は深く、識見は高く、そして勇気のある名臣でした。この外に
天皇が御信任になり、低い家柄をかまわずに抜擢して蔵人として、天皇の御傍近くお仕
えして機密にあずからしめ給うたのは、日野俊基でありました。
天皇はかように、すぐれた人材を集めて御相談になり、一方に学問修養を御奨励にな
ると共に、一方にはまたそれぞれ同志を求めて道を弘めさせられました。資朝や俊基は
山伏の姿に身をやつして諸国を廻り、勤王の士をさがし連絡をつけられました、それは
いよいよ日本国の中興となれば、何よりも先決で重大な問題は、幕府を倒す事であるか
らです。然し何分秘密に事を運ばねばならないので、公然と参謀本部を作るわけにはゆ
きません。そこで学問研究の為の会合に名を借りました。当時有名な学者玄恵法印を講
師とし、教本には韓退之（かんたいし）の文集を用い、その講義を聴く為と云って、同
志が集まり、講義がすめば、打ち融けて戦略の相談をし、之を無礼講と称していました
。
（中略）
鎌倉では北条高時、之を聞いて、更に関東の大軍を派遣しました。（中略）
後醍醐天皇親政以来十一年、何とぞして日本国をその正しい姿に戻そうと苦心し努力
し給うたに拘わらず、かような痛ましい結果に終わりました。そしてそれより百年前に
、後鳥羽上皇が流され給うた隠岐へ、同じ御志と同じ御歎きとをいだいて、遷幸し給う
たのでありました。それ故に太平記は、隠岐御遷幸の事を記した後に、
「今年如何なる年なれば、百官罪無くして愁の涙を配所の月に滴り、一人（天皇）位
を易へて宸襟を他郷の風に悩まし給ふらん。天地開闢よりこのかた、かかる不思議を聞
かず。されば天にかかる日月も、誰が為に明かなる事を恥ぢざらん。心無き草木も之を
悲み、花開く事を忘れつべし。」
と歎いています。
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49 Emperor Go-Daigo
(an omission)
This (The Mongolian invasion) must have been a great shock. The Japanese
became even more confident, strengthening their belief that Japan was a divince
country. People began to think about the question of national character. They
questioned the legitimacy of the current political system and the adversarial
situation between the imperial court and the Bakufu. It was also strange that
a Retired Emperor had power over the Emperor, that the Emperor was not directly
involved with government. The Mongolian invasion took place when Retired
Emperor Kameyama (1249-1305) governed the court, but the incumbent sovereign
was Emperor Go-Uda (r. 1274-1287), who was the son of the retired Emperor.
In the 11th year of the Bun'ei (1274), this Emperor Go-Uda was 8 years old,
and in the 4th year of the Kouan era (1281) he was 15 years old. In such unstabl
e and dangerous times, the young Emperor knew that the Retired Emperor prayed
to the Gods, and that Houjou Tokimune was making plans. He must have given all
this serious thought, but the system remaind unchanged during his reign. The
Emperor likely placed his hopes in the next generation. This is borne out by
his clear instruction that his own posthumous title be "Emperor Go-Uda." It
means that the whole agenda of impeial restoration ought to be carried out.
The Engi and Tenryaku eras (10th century) of the sovereigns Emperor Daigo (r.
897-9309 and Emperor Murakami (r. 946-967) were regarded as the golden age of
strong imperial rule. Emperor Murakami was the son of Emperor Daigo, and
Emperor Daigo was the son of Emperor Uda (r. 887-897). The posthumous name
"Emperor Go-Uda" meant "the continuation of Emperor Uda." He must have intended
to name his son "Emperor Go-Daigo" ("continuation of Emperor Daigo"), and his
grandson "Emperor Go-Murakami" ("continustion of Emperor Murakami").
If this were the case, then the next sovereign Emperor Go-Daigo should restore
the condidions of the Engi and Tenryaku eras (10th century). He must terminate "
Insei," government by the Retired Emperor. A Records Office must also be
established to sort out the privately-owned domains. Finally, the Bakufu must be
abolished.
In the second month of the second year of the Bunpou era (1318), Emperor
Go-Daigo took the throne. For a short period his father, Retired Emperor Go-Uda
governed. but in the 4th year of the Emperor's reign, in the 12th month of the
first year of the Genkou era (1321), the Retired Emperor returne the power to
Emperor Go-Daigo. Within that month, a Records Office was established in the
imperial court, and Emperor Go-Daigo began the major reform which Emperor
Go-Sanjou (r. 1068-1072) had attempted, unsuccessfully, 250 years before.
The news of Emperor Go-Daigo's political reform, intended to restore Japan's
orthodox system of government, created joy and hope among the population. This
was written about in The History of japanese Buddhism Up to the Genkou Era
(Genkou Shakusho, 1322), by a Zen monk Shiren. (an omission)
As Emperor Go-Daigo set out to restore imperial rule, he was assisted by a
number of young courtiers. In the first year of Shouchuu era (1324), when the
Emperor was 37 years old, there were:
Major Counsellor Kitabatake Chikafusa, age 32.
Middle Counsellor Fujiwara no Morokata, age 24.
Provisional Middle Counsellor Hino no Suketomo, age 35.
Lesser Counsellor Minamoto no Tomoyuki, age 36.
Consultant Fujiwara no Fujifusa, age 30.
Head Archivist Taira no Narisuke, age 34.
They were all learned, upright and noble statesmen. In addition, the Emperor
appointed Hino no Toshimoto as an Archivist in spite of his humble origin. As a
result, Hino no Toshimoto served the Emperor as confidante and handled matters
of utmost secrecy.
Thus the Emperor consulted with his brightest courtiers, supported
scholarship, and encouraged his subjects to follow men who shared the same
ideology. Hino no Suketomo, Hino no Toshimoto and others dressed as itinerant
mountain priests and travelled to the provinces in search of loyalists, and
made contacts; if imperial rule were to be restored, the Bakufu must be
destroyed. However, the plan had to remain a secret. No headquarters could be
set up publicly. Instead, academic lecture sessions were organized. A
well-known Buddhist scholar and Chief Abbot Gen's was appointed as the
lecturer. For the textbook, the discourses of Han Tuizhi were used. The
loyalists pretended to gather for the lecture sessions, and afterwards they
discussed tactics freely, despite their respective court ranks. They called
these sessions "open meetings."
(an omission)
Hearing the news, the Shougun Houjou Takatoki (1303-1333) sent a large army
gathered from the eastern province. (an omission)
By then 11 years had passed since Emperor Go-Daigo had taken power over the
imperial court. He had tried to restore Japan to its orthodox political state,
but his efforts ended in tragedy. He was sent to Oki Island, with the same
fateful sorrow which Retired Emperor Go-Toba (1180-1239) must have felt a
hundred years previous, when he was also sent to Oki Islnd after the Joukyuu
War. That is why The Chronicle of Grand Pacification (Taiheiki) sadly states:
"What sort of year was this year, when blameless officials shed tears of
sorrow beneath the moon of exile, and the first person under heaven changed his
estate to grieve amid the winds of a strange land ! Never since the beginning
of heaven and earth had such extraordinary things been heard of ! Was there any
man for whose sake the sun and moon could shine, hanging in the heavens
unashamed of their brightness ? These were things that would bring sadness even
to insentient plants and trees or make flowers forget to open."
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少年日本史 (平泉澄)
The story of Japan （Hiraizumi Kiyoshi)
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