was a

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 ...

during the

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 Kammu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means in Japanese. It is a ...

of Japan. In the

Zenkunen War The , also known in English as the Former Nine Years' War or the Early Nine Years' War, was fought between the Imperial Court in Kyoto, Imperial Court and the Abe clan in Mutsu Province, in Tōhoku region, Northeast Japan, from 1051 to 1062. It ...

, Sadato fought alongside his father against the

Minamoto was a noble surname bestowed by the Emperors of Japan upon members of the imperial family who were excluded from the line of succession and demoted into the ranks of the nobility since 814."...the Minamoto (1192-1333)". ''Warrior Rule in Jap ...

Life

Sadatō was born in 1019, to the

Abe clan The was one of the oldest of the major Japanese clans (''uji''); and the clan retained its prominence during the Sengoku period and the Edo period.Meyer, Eva-Maria"Gouverneure von Kyôto in der Edo-Zeit." Universität Tübingen (in German). Th ...

, as the son of

Abe no Yoritoki (died 28 August 1057) was the head of the Abe clan of Emishi who were allowed to rule the six Emishi districts ( Iwate, Hienuki, Shiwa, Isawa, Esashi and Waga) in the from Morioka to Hiraizumi in what is now Iwate Prefecture. Background ...

, the '' chinjufu-shōgun'' (general in charge of overseeing the Ainu and the defense of the north).

Minamoto no Yoriyoshi was a Japanese samurai lord who was the head of the Minamoto clan and served as '' Chinjufu-shōgun''. Along with his son Minamoto no Yoshiie, he led the Imperial forces against rebellious forces in the north, a campaign called the Zenkunen War, ...

and his son Yoshiie came to the Abes' northern province of Mutsu to restore power over the province to the Governor; Abe no Yoritoki, Sadatō's father, had been acting beyond his station. As a result, the two clans fought for roughly nine years, with some truces, over the course of a total of twelve years from 1051 to 1063. Sadatō's father was killed in 1057, and so he became head of the clan and head of the military effort against the Minamoto. He fought them in the

battle of Kawasaki The battle of Kawasaki was the first major battle of the Early Nine Years' War ( Zenkunen War) (1051-1063). It was fought between the forces of the Abe clan, led by Abe no Sadato, and those of the Minamoto clan was a Aristocracy (class), no ...

, in a snowstorm, defeated them and pursued them through the blizzard for a short time. Other battles followed, during which Sadatō's attacks, along with the harsh weather and terrain, weakened his enemies. However, in 1062, the Minamoto received reinforcements, and Sadato faced them for the last time. He came under siege in a fortress on the Kuriyagawa, and after several days of fighting, his water supply diverted, his defenses attacked, and his fortress set aflame, Sadato surrendered. The Minamoto returned to Kyoto the following year, carrying his head.

Appearance

Hiroaki Sato has described him, "He was more than six feet tall, the circumference of his waist is seven feet and four inches. He had an extraordinary face, his skin was white, and he was fat."

Genealogy

Famed director

Akira Kurosawa was a Japanese filmmaker who List of works by Akira Kurosawa, directed 30 feature films in a career spanning six decades. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential filmmakers in the History of film, history of cinema ...

claimed in his autobiography to be a descendant of Abe no Sadatō.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abe no, Sadato People from Iwate Prefecture Samurai 1019 births 1062 deaths People of the Heian period