When his younger brother Tadayoshi was defeated at Ide-no-sawa in July 1335 and Kamakura fell to Tokiyuki, Ashikaga Takauji left Kyoto without imperial permission, raced down the Tokaido, and crushed Tokiyuki's forces, retaking Kamakura by August. The victory emboldened Takauji to break with Emperor Go-Daigo; the following year (1336) he installed Emperor Komyo and founded the Muromachi Shogunate. The Ide-no-sawa defeat — by forcing Tadayoshi to abandon Kamakura — proved the decisive catalyst that led Takauji to defy Go-Daigo and open the Northern-Southern Courts era.

In July 1335, Hojo Tokiyuki — orphan heir of the fallen Kamakura regent line after the shogunate's collapse in 1333 — was raised by Suwa Yorishige and other Shinano supporters and marched to reclaim Kamakura. At Ide-no-sawa on the Kamakura Kaido (present Sugawara Jinja precinct), his forces clashed with those of Ashikaga Tadayoshi — who, under Emperor Go-Daigo's Kenmu government and serving Prince Narinaga, then defended Kamakura. Tadayoshi was routed; Tokiyuki pressed on and retook Kamakura, only to be driven out about two weeks later by Takauji's army rushing down from Kyoto. Tokiyuki spent the rest of his life in hiding, repeatedly rising again for the Southern Court. This 'Nakasendai Rebellion' set the stage for the Kanno Disturbance and the Northern-Southern Courts wars — and its opening battle unfolded on this hill in Honmachida.