新田義貞

Nitta Yoshisada, descendant of the Minamoto line, destroyed the Kamakura Shogunate in 1333 with a bold uprising that swept across the Kantō Plain. His most celebrated act came at the cliff-side beach of Inamuragasaki, where his army was blocked from entering Kamakura from the sea. Yoshisada drew his golden tachi, prayed to the sea gods, and cast the blade into the waves — whereupon, according to legend, the tide receded to reveal a passage for his troops. This act of sacrificing his greatest treasure — a magnificent sword — to the sea is one of the most iconic moments in samurai history. He then swept into Kamakura, drove the Hōjō rulers to mass suicide at Tōshō-ji temple, and ended 140 years of Hōjō power. He later died in battle in Fukui at age thirty-eight, loyal to the Southern Court to the last. The golden sword he cast into Sagami Bay is said to rest on the ocean floor to this day.