On the night of June 22, Nakatsuna, together with his father Yorimasa and his younger brother Kanetsuna, set fire to his own residence and left the capital, met with Prince Mochihito at Onjo-ji Temple where he had escaped, and made clear his intention to raise an army.
同年5月21日夜に父頼政、弟の兼綱らとともに自邸を焼いて京を退去し、園城寺に逃れていた以仁王と合流し挙兵の意思を明らかにした。