Because his father Yoshifusa died young at age 34 when his grandfather Yoshikane NITTA was still alive, he became the successor of the Nitta clan when he was only 13 years old, and his grandfather served as his conservator.
父・義房が34歳の若さで、祖父・新田義兼に先立って没したため、祖父の後見役を受け、わずか13歳で新田氏惣領となる。