was a Japanese

samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They h ...

of the late-

Heian period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kanmu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means "peace" in Japanese. ...

. He was a follower of

Minamoto no Yoshitsune was a military commander of the Minamoto clan of Japan in the late Heian and early Kamakura periods. During the Genpei War, he led a series of battles which toppled the Ise-Heishi branch of the Taira clan, helping his half-brother Yoritomo conso ...

. According to the ''

Genpei Jōsuiki The , is a 48-book extended version of the ''Heike Monogatari'' (''The Tale of the Heike''). References External links at University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research univ ...

'', he was one of the , along with Kamata Morimasa, Kamata Mitsumasa, and

Satō Tsugunobu was a Japanese warrior and the brother of Satō Tadanobu. Tsugunobu died in the Battle of Yashima, while protecting Minamoto Yoshitsune from an arrow shot of Taira no Noritsune by riding between Yoshitsune and Noritsune. Tsugunobu was buried in M ...

. He was the younger brother of Tsugunobu, and their father was the Ōshū Fujiwara retainer Satō Motoharu. Tsugunobu and his brother Tadanobu "were 'given' to Yoshitsune by

Fujiwara no Hidehira was the third ruler of Northern Fujiwara in Mutsu Province, Japan, the grandson of Fujiwara no Kiyohira. During the Genpei War, he controlled his territory independently of the central government; however, he was the official imperial governo ...

when Yoshitsune left Oshu to join

Yoritomo was the founder and the first shogun of the Kamakura shogunate of Japan, ruling from 1192 until 1199.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Minamoto no Yoriie" in . He was the husband of Hōjō Masako who acted as regent (''shikken'') after hi ...

Yoshitsune's retreat

Satō is most well known for saving his master Yoshitsune's life at

Yoshino Yoshino may refer to: * Yoshino cherry, another name for ''Prunus × yedoensis'', a flowering cherry tree * Japanese cruiser Yoshino, Japanese cruiser ''Yoshino'', a protected cruiser of the Imperial Japanese Navy Places * Yoshino, Nara, a town ...

, a story recorded in the ''

Gikeiki The , "The Chronicle of Yoshitsune", is a Japanese gunki monogatari ("war-tale") that focuses on the legends of Minamoto no Yoshitsune and his followers. Thought to have been written during the Nanboku-chō period, it has provided inspiration to ...

''. The story has become somewhat legendary over the years. Whilst travelling to

Kyushu is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding Okinawa). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surroun ...

to escape from the troops of his brother

, Yoshitsune and his forces were beset by the monks of Zo-o-no, and were facing defeat. Satō volunteered to fight a rearguard action to allow Yoshitsune time to reach safety, and asked for the loan of his master's armour in order to convince the pursuing troops that Yoshitsune was still within their grasp. (This was not an entirely selfless act, since Yoshitsune's armour would have been of better quality than Satō's, and would have afforded better protection.) Disguised as Yoshitsune, Satō challenged and fought the group's pursuers, killing or wounding around twenty men. His companions were killed, but Satō evaded capture and proceeded to

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...

. In Kyoto he stayed at the house of a woman acquaintance, but was discovered and attacked. Under threat of capture, he committed

seppuku , sometimes referred to as hara-kiri (, , a native Japanese kun reading), is a form of Japanese ritual suicide by disembowelment. It was originally reserved for samurai in their code of honour but was also practised by other Japanese people ...

. His widow, Kaede, along with her sister-in-law Wakazakura, attempted to comfort his grieving mother by presenting herself wearing her late husband's armour.

"Goban" Tadanobu

A popular story regarding Satō Tadanobu's death involves him being attacked whilst playing a game of go. Unable to reach his weapons, he is said to have picked up the goban and used it to fight off his enemies before eventually killing himself. This episode has been a popular theme in ''

ukiyo is the Japanese term used to describe the urban lifestyle and culture, especially the pleasure-seeking aspects, of Edo period Japan (1600–1867). culture developed in Yoshiwara, the licensed red-light district of Edo (modern-day Tokyo), ...

'' prints, and has also inspired ''

kabuki is a classical form of Japanese dance-drama. Kabuki theatre is known for its heavily-stylised performances, the often-glamorous costumes worn by performers, and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers. Kabuki is thought to ...

'' plays such as ''Yoshino Shizuka Goban Tadanobu'' and ''

Yoshitsune Senbon Zakura ''Yoshitsune Senbon Zakura'' (義経千本桜), or ''Yoshitsune and the Thousand Cherry Trees'', is a Japanese play, one of the three most popular and famous in the Kabuki repertoire. Originally written in 1747 for the jōruri puppet theater by ...

'', and the ''ko-jururi'' play ''Goban Tadanobu''. In many of these plays, the Tadanobu character is implied to be a

fox spirit Huli jing () are Chinese mythological creatures usually capable of shapeshifting, who may either be benevolent or malevolent spirits. In Chinese mythology and folklore, the fox spirit takes variant forms with different meanings, powers, charac ...

(" Genkurō"), due to his impersonation of Yoshitsune (in Japan, foxes were believed to be shape-shifters).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sato Tadanobu 1161 births 1186 deaths Samurai People of Heian-period Japan