![Tsurugaoka](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e3/Tsurugaoka.jpg)
, also known as or , was the second son of the second
Kamakura shōgun of Japan,
Minamoto no Yoriie
was the second ''shōgun'' (1202–1203) of Japan's Kamakura shogunate, and the first son of first shōgun Yoritomo. His Dharma name was Hokke-in-dono Kingo Da'i Zengo (法華院殿金吾大禅閤).
Life
Minamoto no Yoriie was born to Hōjō M ...
.
[Yasuda (1990-156)] At the age of six, after his father was killed in Shuzenji in Izu, he became his uncle
Sanetomo's adopted son and, thanks to his grandmother
Hōjō Masako
was a Japanese politician who exercised significant power in the early years of the Kamakura period, which was reflected by her contemporary sobriquet of the "nun shogun". She was the wife of Minamoto no Yoritomo, and mother of Minamoto no Yo ...
's intercession, a disciple of Songyō,
Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū's ''
bettō
is a term which originally indicated the head of an institution serving temporarily as the head of another one, but which came to mean also the full-time head of some institution.Iwanami Japanese dictionaryEncyclopedia of Shinto, Bettō The Kama ...
'' (head priest).
After his
tonsure
Tonsure () is the practice of cutting or shaving some or all of the hair on the scalp as a sign of religious devotion or humility. The term originates from the Latin word ' (meaning "clipping" or "shearing") and referred to a specific practice i ...
he was given the Buddhist name "Kugyō" replacing his childhood name Yoshinari.
He then went to Kyōto to take his vows, coming back at age 18 to become Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū's new ''bettō'',
the shrine's fourth.
[Kamiya Vol. 1 (2006:22)] In 1219 he murdered his uncle Sanetomo on the stone stairs at Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū in the shogunal capital of
Kamakura, an act for which he was himself slain on the same day.
[Kusumoto (2002: 70-73)]
Shōgun Sanetomo's assassination
Assassination
The assassination is chronicled in the ''
Azuma Kagami
is a Japanese historical chronicle.
The medieval text chronicles events of the Kamakura Shogunate from Minamoto no Yoritomo's rebellion against the Taira clan in Izokuni of 1180 to Munetaka Shinnō (the 6th shōgun) and his return to Kyoto in 12 ...
'' and in the ''
Gukanshō''. What follows is the ''Azuma Kagamis version of events.
At about six in the evening of February 12, 1219 (
Jōkyū
, also called Shōkyū, was a Japanese era name (年号, ''nengō'', lit. year name) after '' Kempō'' and before '' Jōō.'' This period spanned the years from April 1219 through April 1222.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Jōkyū''" i '' ...
-1, 26th day of the 1st month), the Buddhist New Year, Sanetomo had just finished the Ceremony of Celebration for his nomination to
Udaijin
was a government position in Japan in the late Nara and Heian periods. The position was consolidated in the Taihō Code of 702. The Asuka Kiyomihara Code of 689 marks the initial appearance of the ''udaijin'' in the context of a central administ ...
.
It had been snowing the whole day and there was more than 60 cm of snow on the ground.
The shōgun left the temple's gate and started descending the stone stairs accompanied only by the sword-bearer, a man called Nakaakira.
Hōjō Yoshitoki, son of former
Regent
A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...
Hōjō Tokimasa
was a Japanese samurai lord who was the first ''shikken'' (regent) of the Kamakura shogunate and head of the Hōjō clan. He was ''shikken'' from 1203 until his abdication in 1205, and Protector of Kyoto from 1185 to 1186.
Background
The H ...
and regent himself since 1205, should have been the sword-bearer, but had gone back to his mansion in
Komachi early because he was not feeling well.
Unexpectedly Kugyō came up from near the stone stairs, yelled: , and struck him with a sword, cutting off his head.
The assassin then killed Nakaakira, and according to the ''Gukanshō'', he did this thinking he was Hōjō Yoshitoki, as he should have been.
[Kamiya Vol. 1 (2006:116-117)]
Sources do not always agree. Kugyō is for example described as wearing either woman's clothes (in the ''Azuma Kagami'') or his monastic uniform.
It is often said that he was hiding behind the great
ginkgo
''Ginkgo'' is a genus of non-flowering seed plants. The scientific name is also used as the English name. The order to which it belongs, Ginkgoales, first appeared in the Permian, 270 million years ago, and is now the only living genus with ...
tree, but the ''Azuma Kagami'' simply says he came .
The detail of the ginkgo first appears in the ''
Shinpen Kamakurashi The is an Edo period compendium of topographic, geographic and demographic data concerning the city of Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, and its vicinities. Consisting of eight volumesTakahashi (2005:20) and commissioned in 1685 by Tokugawa Mi ...
'', and is therefore considered an Edo period invention.
[Kamakura Shōkō Kaigijo (2008:152)]
Kugyō's death
Having killed his uncle, Kugyō took his head, left the temple and went to hide temporarily at the home of its guardian in Yukinoshita.
From there he sent a messenger to
Miura Yoshimura Miura may refer to:
Places
* Miura, Kanagawa
* Miurakaigan Station
*Miura District, Kanagawa
*Miura Peninsula
* Ganadería Miura, the home of the Miura fighting bull line
People
* Miura (surname)
*Miura clan, Japanese descended clan of the Tai ...
's home in
Nishi Mikado, explaining that he was now the new shōgun and wanted to talk to him as soon as possible about what was to be done.
Yoshimura and his family had an extremely close relationship with Kugyō, whose
wetnurse
A wet nurse is a woman who breastfeeds and cares for another's child. Wet nurses are employed if the mother dies, or if she is unable or chooses not to nurse the child herself. Wet-nursed children may be known as "milk-siblings", and in some cu ...
had been a
Miura.
To buy time, Yoshimura sent back a message in which he asked Kugyō to stay where he was because he would send some soldiers to pick him up.
While Kugyō waited, Yoshimura sent a messenger to Yoshitoki's residence in Komachi.
Yoshitoki immediately sent back the order to execute the assassin.
Yoshimura gathered the family council to decide how to do that.
Nagao Sadakage, a samurai known for his strength and reliability, was then entrusted with the task.
He left with a group of five men, and on the way they met Kugyō himself who, unable to contain himself and wait for Yoshimura's escort, had left his refuge and was already in Nishi Mikado on his way to Yoshimura's mansion.
While one of the five men engaged him, Nagao Sadakage beheaded him.
His head was then brought to the Regent's residence in Komachi for identification.
Debate about Kugyō's motives
According to the traditional interpretation of events, Kugyō's act had been instigated by Yoshitoki and the Hōjō, who wanted to get rid at one stroke of the last two male members of the
Seiwa Genji
The is a line of the Japanese Minamoto clan that is descended from Emperor Seiwa, which is the most successful and powerful line of the clan. Many of the most famous Minamoto warriors, including Minamoto no Yoshiie, Minamoto no Yoritomo, the fo ...
line.
Historians however now see the theory as unsupported by evidence and probably untrue.
Although the assassination undoubtedly served Yoshitoki's interests, it is unclear why Kugyō would have willingly helped the Hōjō family, who was responsible not only for his father's death, but also for that of his brother
Ichiman and of the entire
Hiki clan
The Hiki clan (比企氏, ''Hiki-shi'') was a Japanese samurai family descending from the Fujiwara clan. As close Retainer (medieval), retainers of shogun Minamoto no Yoritomo, they served the Kamakura shogunate during the early Kamakura period, w ...
.
The death of Nakaakira the sword-bearer makes it likely that Kugyō meant to kill Yoshitoki too.
His relationship with Yoshimura was extremely close (Yoshimura's wife had been Kugyō's wet nurse), and it seems more plausible that the two had planned together the assassination of both Sanetomo and Yoshitoki.
Sanetomo's wet nurse had been Masako's younger sister, making the shōgun emotionally close to the Hōjō, and this failed ''coup d'état'' was probably just an episode in the ongoing war between Hōjō and Miura, which continued until the Miura's defeat in 1247.
Realizing that Yoshitoki had avoided death out of sheer luck and that their plan was doomed, Yoshimura could very well have decided that he had to betray Kugyō to save himself and his family.
Notes
General references
*
*
*
*
* Mutsu, Iso. (2006). ''Kamakura: Fact and Legend.'' Tokyo:
Tuttle Publishing
Tuttle Publishing, originally the Charles E. Tuttle Company, is a book publishing company that includes Tuttle, Periplus Editions, and Journey Editions. .
*
''Azuma Kagami'' accessed on September 4, 2008
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kugyo
Japanese assassins
Minamoto clan
Executed Japanese people
People executed for murder
People executed by Japan by decapitation
Kamakura period Buddhist clergy