Ashikaga Mochiuji Ashikaga Mochiuji ( , 1398 - 1439 ) was the Kamakura - fu ' s fourth Kantō kubō during the Sengoku period ( 15th century ) in Japan . During his long and troubled rule the relationship between the west and the east of the country reached an all - time low . Kamakura was finally attacked by shogun Ashikaga Yoshinori and retaken by force . Mochiuji and his eldest son Yoshihisa killed themselves to escape capture . Biography . Mochiuji became " Kubō " while still a child after his father died suddenly of a disease . His violent and abrasive character from the beginning caused widespread resentment among his vassals . After disagreements with Mochiuji , his " kanrei " Uesugi Zenshū organized a rebellion against him ( the so - called " Zenshū no Ran " ) with the aid of nearly half the daimyos in the northern and eastern provinces . Thanks to this support , Zenshū could take Kamakura and Mochiuji had to flee . However , despite his pursuing goals similar to those of the shogunate , Zenshū was after all rebelling against his lord , so the shogunate had no choice but to send troops to stop him . In 1417 , Zenshū and his allies found themselves surrounded at Tsurugaoka Hachiman - gū and Zenshū killed himself . After this took place , Mochiuji attacked Zenshū ' s allies , which included families as the Oda and the Takeda , along with a few noble families from Musashi province . The Ashikaga themselves thought Mochiuji ' s actions to be too much , and shogun Ashikaga Yoshinori in 1432 ordered his army to destroy Mochiuji . This led to Mochiuji and Yoshinori to battle it out during the Eikyo Rebellion in 1438 . In the end , Yoshinori successfully put an end to Mochiuji ' s rebellion in 1439 . Kamakura ' s " Kubō " committed seppuku at the temple of Yōan - ji , west of the city . The events in Kamakura however caused widespread resentment among Yoshinori ' s generals and one of them , Akamatsu Mitsusuke , murdered him in revenge . Yōan - ji . The road that in Kamakura turns right before Zuisen - ji ' s ticket counter leads to a stele marking the spot where used to stand . It was here that Mochiuji made his last stand against the shogunate , finally disemboweling himself to avoid the shame of being taken prisoner He is buried together with three other " kubō " in a small cemetery within Zuisen - ji ( closed to the public ) . The stele reads : When " Kantō Kubō " Ashikaga Ujimitsu died on January 11 , 1398 , he was given the posthumous name . His son Mitsukane built this temple and gave it his father ' s posthumous name . The temple ' s " oshō " Dombo Ushūō was a follower of Musō Soseki . On March 24 , 1439 " Kubō " Mochiuji , a descendant of Ujimitsu , fought here against shogun Yoshinori , was defeated and disemboweled himself . The temple was burned and never rebuilt . This is where it stood . Erected by the Kamakuramachi Seinendan in March 1926 There is however also a 3 . 2 m stone traditionally supposed to be his grave also at Betsugan - ji , a former Ashikaga family temple in Ōmachi . On the stupa is carved the date 1439 , the year of Mochiuji ' s death , however the tomb seems stylistically to belong rather to the precedent Kamakura period , and the attribution seems therefore dubious . Mochiuji ' s eldest son Yoshihisa , 14 years old at the time , was also forced to kill himself at nearby Hōkoku - ji . His three younger sons however escaped to Nikkō and in 1440 were led by Yūki Ujitomo , head of the Yūki clan , to his castle in Koga , Shimōsa province , and survived . When later his castle was attacked by the shogunate , they escaped . Two , Haruō - maru and Yasuō - maru , were caught and executed . The lone survivor , Mochiuji ' s fourth child Shigeuji , would later become the last Kantō Kubō .