Minamoto no Sanetomo, the younger sibling of the 2nd Kamakura Shogun, Yoriie, who had been dethroned by their maternal grandfather and later assassinated, consequently leading to Sanetomo's appointment as Shogun.
Born on September 17, 1192, Sanetomo found himself manipulated by his mother and lived in constant fear of his grandfather, who made multiple attempts to eliminate him. Despite these challenges, Sanetomo devoted his time to composing poetry, creating over 700 high-quality Waka poems. The powerlessness he experienced, along with persistent threats to his life, drove him to develop a chronic dependency on alcohol.
At the age of 27, Sanetomo met his demise through assassination orchestrated by his nephew and adopted son, Minamoto no Yoshinari, on the Grand Stairway of the Tsurugaoka Hachiman Shrine in Kamakura in 1219.
On the snowy 13th day of the second month, coinciding with the Buddhist New Year, Sanetomo had just concluded a ceremony regarding his recent appointment as Udaijin, or Minister. Exiting the shrine via the grand stairway, Yoshinari ambushed him, beheading the shogun and killing the sword-bearer. The intended target should have been the future regent, Hojo Yoshitoki; however, feeling unwell, he had left earlier, and his substitute was mistakenly slain. Fleeing with Sanetomo’s head, Yoshinari wrote a letter proclaiming himself the new shogun. Nevertheless, his "reign" was brief, as Yoshinari was apprehended and executed within hours.
See also
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Otomo Sorin
Ōtomo Yoshishige came from a noble lineage, being the eldest son of Ōtomo Yoshiaki, the ruler of Funai Province. The roots of the Ōtomo family traced back to Fujiwara Hidesato, the adopted son of Nakahara Chikayoshi. Fujiwara served Minamoto Yoritomo during the Genpei War and took part in battles in Mutsu Province in 1189. In 1193, he was appointed shugo of Buzen and Bungo Provinces, after which he adopted a new surname—Ōtomo.
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Okudaira Sadamasa
Sadamasa was the son of Okudaira Sadayoshi and took part in several battles under Tokugawa Ieyasu, distinguishing himself in the Battle of Anegawa in 1570, where he took two heads. Around 1572 he was forced to enter the service of the Takeda clan, but after the death of Takeda Shingen in 1573 he returned to Tokugawa, leaving Tsukude Castle together with his men. As a result of this defection, Takeda Katsuyori ordered the execution of Sadamasa’s wife and brother, who were being held as hostages.
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Okubo Tadatika
Tadatika, the son of Okubo Tadayō, entered the service of Tokugawa Ieyasu at the age of eleven, and took his first head in battle when he was sixteen. After the establishment of the Tokugawa shogunate, he was appointed as a rōjū — a senior bakufu official — and was regarded as one of Ieyasu’s most trusted advisors, alongside Honda Masanobu. He is also known for his military chronicle Mikawa Monogatari, which describes Ieyasu’s rise to power and the early years of the Tokugawa shogunate.
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Okubo Nagayasu
Nagayasu was the second son of Okura Nobuyasu, a sarugaku theater actor from the Takeda clan. Takeda Shingen recognized the young man’s potential and took him into service, appointing him as a vassal to his general, Tsuchiya Masatsugu. During this period, Nagayasu changed his family name to Tsuchiya. He was entrusted with developing the Takeda clan’s gold mines as well as handling matters related to taxation.
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Nitta Yoshisada
Nitta Yoshisada was a loyal soldier of Emperor Go-Daigo, who in the 1330s attempted to restore direct imperial rule in Japan. The Nitta family was related to the Ashikaga house and was older in lineage. However, they did not join Minamoto Yoritomo at the start of his war with the Taira, as the Ashikaga did, and therefore did not receive high positions in the Kamakura shogunate. This may have been one of the reasons why Yoshisada rose against the Hōjō clan in 1333.
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Natsume Yoshinobu
Yoshinobu, a long-time vassal of the Matsudaira and Tokugawa clans, governed Hamamatsu Castle on behalf of the Tokugawa house. During the clashes between the Imagawa, Takeda, and Matsudaira clans, he served in the garrison of Nagasawa Castle and in 1562 took part in raids under the command of Itakura Shigezane. When, in 1563, a revolt of the Sōtō-shū sect followers broke out in Mikawa Province, Yoshinobu joined the rebels together with Honda Masanobu and Hachiya Sadatsugu.
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Nambu Nobunao
The Nambu clan was an ancient and powerful family that traced its lineage back to the Minamoto shoguns and had controlled a significant part of the Tohoku region in northern Honshu since the 12th century. Nobunao was born in Ikatai Castle, located in what is now the city of Iwate. He was the second son of Ishikawa (Nambu) Takanobu, the 22nd head of the Nambu clan. In 1565, Nobunao’s uncle, Nambu Harumasa, adopted him, brought him to Sannohe Castle, and named him his heir, later giving his daughter in marriage to him.
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Naito Ienaga
Ienaga was the son of Naitō Kiyonaga and served Tokugawa Ieyasu from an early age. Like his father, he was exceptionally brave, and thanks to his remarkable skill with the bow, he earned the nickname “the unrivaled archer.” Although both the elder and the younger Naitō belonged to the Jōdo Shinshū (“True Pure Land”) sect, during the Ikkō-ikki uprising in Mikawa Province in 1565, Ienaga did not support his fellow believers and instead sided with Tokugawa Ieyasu, earning his special trust. He later took part in the battles of Mikatagahara, Nagashino, and many other engagements while accompanying Ieyasu.
