Taira no Masakado

Taira no Masakado

Taira no Masakado (平将門) (?–March 25, 940) was a member of the Kammu Taira clan of Japan. He was the son of Taira no Yoshimochi, "Chinjufu Shogun". His childhood name was "Sōma Kojirō". Taira no Masakado was a powerful landowner in the Kantō region. He is regarded as the first "bushi" because he was the first to lead a self-governing party.

His life is detailed in the "Shōmonki", a detailed book about his life compiled in the year 1099(?) by an anonymous author. Due to the religious and political nature of the account, it was most probably written by a monk or aristocrat closely connected to Masakado himself.

In 939 ("Tengyō 2, 12th month") during the Heian period of Japanese history, Masakado led a minor rebellion which is also known as "Jōhei Tengyo no ran." The armed struggle began when Masako led an attacking on an outpost of the central government in Hitachi Province, capturing the governor. In December of that year, he conquered Shimotsuke and Kōzuke Provinces; and he claimed the title of Shinnō (New Emperor). Masakado killed his uncle Kunika who was part Taira. The central government in Kyoto responded by putting a bounty on his head, and fifty-nine days later his cousin Sadamori, whose father Masakado had attacked and killed, and Fujiwara no Hidesato, killed him at the Battle of Kojima (Shimōsa Province) in 940 and took his head to the capital.

The head found its way to Shibasaki, a small fishing village on the edge of the ocean and the future site of Edo, which later became Tokyo. It was buried. The "kubizuka", or grave, which is located in the present day Ōtemachi section of Tokyo, was on a hill rising out of Tokyo Bay at the time. Through land reclamation over the centuries, the bay has receded some three kilometers to the south.

Over the centuries, Masakado became something of a demigod to the locals who were impressed by his stand against the central government, while at the same time felt the need to appease his malevolent spirit. The fortunes of Edo and Tokyo seemed to wax and wane correspondingly with the respect paid to the shrine built to him at the "kubizuka" — neglect would be followed by natural disasters and other misfortunes. Hence, to this day, the shrine is well maintained, occupying some of the most expensive land in the world in Tokyo’s financial district facing the Imperial Palace.

Other shrines which he is deity of include Kanda Myōjin (located in Kanda), and Tsukudo Jinja (which has multiple locations.)

His tomb (which contains only his head) is near exit C5 of Tokyo's Ōtemachi subway station.

References

* Yoshikawa, Eiji. (1989) "Yoshikawa Eiji Rekishi Jidai Bunko" ("Eiji Yoshikawa's Historical Fiction"), Vol. 46: "Taira no Masakado" (平の将門). Tokyo: Kodansha. 10-ISBN 4-0619-6577-8; 13-ISBN 978-4-0619-6577-5

ee also

* Fujiwara no Sumitomo, The rebellion leader of the same time　
* Yoshikawa Eiji, historical fiction

External links

* http://www.mackinnon.org/masakado-home.html
* http://english.tsukudo.jp/


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Taira no masakado — La tombe de Taira no Masakado Taira no Masakado (平将門) (903? 940) est un membre du clan Taira au Japon. Il était le fils de Taira no Yoshimasa. Taira no Masakado possédait beaucoup de terres dans la région du Kanto. En 939, Taira no Masaka …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Taira no Masakado — La tombe de Taira no Masakado Taira no Masakado (平将門) (903? 940) est un membre du clan Taira au Japon. Il était le fils de Taira no Yoshimasa. Taira no Masakado possédait beaucoup de terres dans la région du Kanto. En 939, Taira no Masakado… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Taira no Sadamori — (平貞盛)(10th c.) was a samurai of the Taira clan who was involved in suppressing the revolt of Taira no Masakado in the 930s 940. He was the son of Taira no Kunika and grandson of Taira no Takamochi, the founder of the Kammu Heishi line. Sadamori… …   Wikipedia

  • Taïra — Taira Le clan Taira (Hira) (平) fut un des quatre clans qui dominèrent la politique du Japon durant l ère Heian, les trois autres étant les Fujiwara, les Minamoto et les Tachibana. Le clan est également connu sous les noms de Heike (平家) et Heishi… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Taira — Familienwappen Agehachō (揚羽蝶, dt. „Ritterfalter“) Die Taira (jap. 平), waren neben den Fujiwara und den Minamoto eine der drei einflussreichsten Clanfamilien, die die Politik Japans während der Heian Zeit dominierten. Nac …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Taira — Le clan Taira (Hira) (平) fut un des quatre clans qui dominèrent la politique du Japon durant l ère Heian, les trois autres étant les Fujiwara, les Minamoto et les Tachibana. Le clan est également connu sous les noms de Heike (平家) et Heishi (平氏),… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Clan Taira — Taira Le clan Taira (Hira) (平) fut un des quatre clans qui dominèrent la politique du Japon durant l ère Heian, les trois autres étant les Fujiwara, les Minamoto et les Tachibana. Le clan est également connu sous les noms de Heike (平家) et Heishi… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Taira Masakado — ▪ Japanese rebel died , March 25, 940, Kitayama, Shimōsa Province, Japan       Japanese rebel leader descended from the emperor Kammu (reigned 781–806).       In 939 Masakado gained control of the Kantō region in central Japan and used the… …   Universalium

  • Taira Family — ▪ Japanese clan Introduction also called  Heike        Japanese samurai (warrior) clan of great power and influence in the 12th century. The genealogy and history of the family have been traced in detail from 825, when the name Taira was given to …   Universalium

  • Heike — Taira Le clan Taira (Hira) (平) fut un des quatre clans qui dominèrent la politique du Japon durant l ère Heian, les trois autres étant les Fujiwara, les Minamoto et les Tachibana. Le clan est également connu sous les noms de Heike (平家) et Heishi… …   Wikipédia en Français

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”