Kanō Muneshige (狩野宗茂) was a

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

samurai The samurai () were members of the warrior class in Japan. They were originally provincial warriors who came from wealthy landowning families who could afford to train their men to be mounted archers. In the 8th century AD, the imperial court d ...

of the

Kamakura period The is a period of History of Japan, Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura, Kanagawa, Kamakura by the first ''shōgun'' Minamoto no Yoritomo after the conclusion of the G ...

. He was the son of Kudō Shigemitsu, the founder of the Kanō clan. He is said to be an ancestor of

Kanō Masanobu was a Japanese painter. He was the chief painter of the Ashikaga shogunate and is generally considered the founder of the Kanō school of painting. Kano Masanobu specialized in Zen paintings as well as elaborate paintings of Buddhist deities an ...

, the founder of the

Kanō school The is one of the most famous schools of Japanese painting. The Kanō school of painting was the dominant style of painting from the late 15th century until the Meiji era, Meiji period which began in 1868, by which time the school had divided i ...

of painting.

Life

Born as a son of Kudō Shigemitsu, the fourth son of

Kudō Suketaka Kudō Suketaka (工藤祐隆) was a Japanese feudal lord who was the lord of Kusumi Manor in Izu Province and the 6th head of the Kudō clan. He founded the Itō clan and is an ancestor to the Kanō clan and the Kawazu clan. He was also known ...

(Itō Ietsugu), he was the sixth head of Fujiwara Nanke's Kudō clan. Muneshige served

Minamoto no Yoritomo was the founder and the first shogun of the Kamakura shogunate, ruling from 1192 until 1199, also the first ruling shogun in the history of Japan.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Minamoto no Yoriie" in . He was the husband of Hōjō Masako ...

during the

Genpei War The was a national civil war between the Taira clan, Taira and Minamoto clan, Minamoto clans during the late Heian period of Japan. It resulted in the downfall of the Taira and the establishment of the Kamakura shogunate under Minamoto no Yori ...

. In May 1193, Muneshige and

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 Hō ...

were in charge of the preparatory construction of mansions at the site of the Fuji no Makigari, a grand hunting event planned by Yoritomo. He then participated in the event later that month. After the brothers

Soga Sukenari Soga Sukenari (Japanese: 曾我祐成, 1172 - June 28, 1193) was a Japanese samurai in the early Kamakura period. He and his brother Soga Tokimune are known for being the perpetrators of the Revenge of the Soga Brothers incident. He is a centr ...

and Tokimune killed their father's killer,

Kudō Suketsune Kudō Suketsune (Japanese: 工藤祐経; 1147 – June 28, 1193) was a Japanese samurai and ''gokenin'' in the late Heian and early Kamakura period. He was assassinated during the Revenge of the Soga Brothers incident. Life Suketsune was born ...

, during the

Revenge of the Soga Brothers The Revenge of the Soga Brothers (曾我兄弟の仇討ち, ''Soga kyōdai no adauchi'') was a vengeance incident on 28 June 1193, during the Fuji no Makigari hunting event arranged by shogun Minamoto no Yoritomo. The Soga brothers, Soga Sukenari ...

incident on the last night of the hunting event, Muneshige was present at Tokimune's interrogation. Ever since Muneshige, his descendants were called "Kanō-''suke''" (''suke'' being one of the titles for '' kokushi'' officials'')'' for generations. They served as ''kokushi'' officials in the

Izu Province was a province of Japan in the area now part of Shizuoka Prefecture and Tokyo. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Izu''" in . Izu bordered on Sagami and Suruga Provinces. Its abbreviated form name was . The mainland portion of Izu Prov ...

. The name "Kanō" comes from the Kanō Manor in Izu Province (currently near Kanō River in Odairakakigi, Izu,

Shizuoka Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Shizuoka Prefecture has a population of 3,555,818 and has a geographic area of . Shizuoka Prefecture borders Kanagawa Prefecture to the east, Yamanashi Pref ...

), where the Kudō clan was based.

Genealogy

, the founder of the

and the Kanō family, a family of distinguished Japanese painters, is said to be a descendant of Kanō Muneshige.

References

{{reflist Samurai People of the Kamakura period