Who was this person?
The third shōgun of the Kamakura shogunate and a waka poet. Born in Kamakura as the second son of Minamoto no Yoritomo and Hōjō Masako, he became shōgun as a boy in place of his brother Yoriie. He studied poetry under Fujiwara no Teika and left the Kinkai Wakashū. He became the first warrior to be named Minister of the Right, but lost his life at Tsurugaoka Hachimangū at the hands of his nephew Kugyō.
| Name | Minamoto no Sanetomo (源実朝) |
|---|---|
| Born–died | 1192 – 1219 |
| Period | Kamakura period |
| Birthplace | Kamakura |
| Main achievements |
|
He was born in Kamakura as the second son of Minamoto no Yoritomo and Hōjō Masako. His childhood name was Senman. That year his father Yoritomo was appointed sei-i taishōgun, and the boy was raised with great care as a child of the shogun's house. He had an elder brother, Yoriie, ten years older.
His father Yoritomo died and his brother Yoriie succeeded him. Under the young Yoriie, rule by a council of senior vassals began, and his mother Masako and grandfather Hōjō Tokimasa came to steer the shogunate. The young Senman grew up in the midst of the adults' struggles.
When his brother Yoriie was removed in the Hiki Yoshikazu Incident, he was made the third shogun with the backing of his grandfather Tokimasa and others. The name Sanetomo is said to have been chosen by Retired Emperor Go-Toba. As he was still a child, real power lay with Tokimasa, who became shikken.
He married the daughter of the Kyoto noble Bōmon Nobukiyo, a cousin of Retired Emperor Go-Toba. He is said to have turned down a match with a gokenin's daughter and asked for a bride from the capital himself. The marriage strengthened his ties with the retired emperor and deepened his love of Kyoto culture.
In the Maki clan incident his grandfather Tokimasa is said to have tried to depose him, and he was protected by his mother Masako and uncle Yoshitoki. Around this time he began composing waka and eagerly studied the newly compiled Shin Kokin Wakashū, which he had sent from Kyoto. Amid political unrest, poetry became his emotional anchor.
He sent thirty of his waka to the Kyoto poet Fujiwara no Teika and asked for critique. Teika is said to have guided him by sending Kindai Shūka, a treatise on the art of waka. The two never met, but their bond as teacher and pupil continued through letters.
The senior vassal Wada Yoshimori clashed with Hōjō Yoshitoki and raised troops, and fierce fighting broke out in Kamakura. Sanetomo took Yoshitoki's side and the revolt was put down. Yoshimori's clan, whom Sanetomo had favored, was destroyed, making plain the weakness of the shogun and the strength of the Hōjō.
By around this time the Kinkai wakashū, a collection of the poems he had composed, is thought to have been completed. Teika also sent him a copy of the ancient anthology Man'yōshū. Many poems have a broad, vigorous Man'yō style, and his verse on great waves crashing on the rocky shore is well known.
When he suffered from a hangover, the Zen monk Eisai recommended tea and presented a book on its benefits, thought to be the Kissa Yōjōki. Sanetomo trusted Eisai deeply and grew devoted to Buddhism. The story is known as one of the starting points for the spread of tea.
He met Chen Heqing, a craftsman from Song China, who reportedly told him that in a past life he had been an abbot at Mount Yuwang in Song. Saying he had once had the same dream, Sanetomo wished to sail to Song and ordered a large ship built. Those around him tried to stop him, but he was determined.
An attempt was made to launch the finished ship at Yuigahama, but the beach was too shallow and the ship would not move, rotting where it lay. His dream of going to Song was never realized. The episode is told as a sign of his constraints as shogun and his longing for distant worlds.
Receiving ever higher court ranks, he became the first warrior to be named Minister of the Right. Since he had no children, his mother Masako and the court discussed bringing a son of Retired Emperor Go-Toba to Kamakura as the next shogun. His close ties to the retired emperor supported his position.
On a snowy night, after a ceremony at Tsurugaoka Hachimangū to give thanks for his appointment as Minister of the Right, he was attacked by his nephew Kugyō and lost his life. The line of Minamoto shoguns ended, leading later to the Jōkyū War. The poems of the Kinkai wakashū were later highly praised by Masaoka Shiki and others.
A. The third shōgun of the Kamakura shogunate and a waka poet. Born in Kamakura as the second son of Minamoto no Yoritomo and Hōjō Masako, he became shōgun as a boy in place of his brother Yoriie. He studied poetry under Fujiwara no Teika and left the Kinkai Wakashū. He became the first warrior to be named Minister of the Right, but lost his life at Tsurugaoka Hachimangū at the hands of his nephew Kugyō.
A. Period: Kamakura period. Born in 1192, died in 1219.
A. Minamoto no Sanetomo was born in Kamakura.
A. It is a collection of Minamoto no Sanetomo's own waka. The name is said to come from the metal radical of the character for Kamakura and a word meaning minister. Many of its poems are strong and direct, recalling the Man'yōshū, and they were later highly praised by Masaoka Shiki and others.
See also: Wikipedia (ja) / Wikipedia (en) / Wikipedia (fr) / Wikipedia (zh) / Wikidata
Follow this life (autoplay)Hōjō TokimasaMinamoto no YoritomoHōjō MasakoHōjō YoshitokiMasaoka Shiki
Minamoto no YoshitsuneHōjō YoshitokiShinranHōjō YasutokiDōgenNichirenHōjō TokiyoriIppen
People of the Kamakura period ・ People by period
Based on facts found in textbooks and biographies. Uncertain points are marked as such.