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 ...

warlord of the late

Heian The Japanese word Heian (平安, lit. "peace") may refer to: * Heian period, an era of Japanese history * Heian-kyō, the Heian-period capital of Japan that has become the present-day city of Kyoto * Heian series, a group of karate kata (forms) * ...

and early

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 ...

Japan. He fought in 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 ...

, though originally for the

Taira clan The was one of the four most important Japanese clans, clans that dominated Japanese politics during the Heian period, Heian period of History of Japan, Japanese history – the others being the Minamoto clan, Minamoto, the Fujiwara clan, Fuji ...

, he switched sides to the

Minamoto clan was a Aristocracy (class), noble surname bestowed by the Emperors of Japan upon members of the Imperial House of Japan, imperial family who were excluded from the List of emperors of Japan, line of succession and demoted into the ranks of Nobili ...

for the

Battle of Dan-no-ura A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force c ...

, and ended the war on the winning side.Nussbaum, Louis Frédéric ''et al'' (2005). "Hatakeyama Shigetada" in His

Dharma name A Dharma name is a new name acquired during both lay and monastic Buddhist initiation rituals in Mahayana Buddhism and Pabbajjā, monastic ordination in Theravada Buddhism (where it is more proper to call it Dhamma or Sangha name). The name is ...

was Jissan Shūshin Daikoji (實山宗眞大居士).

Biography

Following the war, when his son Shigeyasu was killed by

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 ...

, Shigetada spoke up. The reward for this temerity was death, along with the rest of his family. His brave attempt to defend his honor, along with various other acts of strength and skill are recorded in the ''

Heike Monogatari is an epic account compiled prior to 1330 of the struggle between the Taira clan and Minamoto clan for control of Japan at the end of the 12th century in the Genpei War (1180–1185). It has been translated into English at least five times. ...

'' and other chronicles of the period. In an anecdote from the ''

Heike monogatari is an epic account compiled prior to 1330 of the struggle between the Taira clan and Minamoto clan for control of Japan at the end of the 12th century in the Genpei War (1180–1185). It has been translated into English at least five times. ...

'', he is described as competing, along with a number of other warriors, to be the first across the

Uji River The , also called the Seta River (瀬田川 ''Seta-gawa'') and the Uji River (宇治川 ''Uji-gawa'') at portions of its route, is the principal river in Osaka Prefecture on Honshu, Japan. The source of the river is Lake Biwa in Shiga Prefectur ...

. When his horse is shot in the head with an arrow, he abandons the creature and uses his bow as a staff to help himself across. Just as he is about to climb the bank, however, his godson Okushi no Shigechika asks for help, and is grabbed and thrown ashore by Shigetada; Shigechika then stands tall and proclaims himself the winner, the first across the river. After the Battle of Awazu in 1184, Shigetada was known for failing to capture

Tomoe Gozen Tomoe Gozen (, ) was an onna-musha, a female samurai, mentioned in '' The Tale of the Heike.'' There is doubt as to whether she existed as she doesn't appear in any primary accounts of the Genpei war. She only appears in the epic "The tale of th ...

.Joly, Henri L. (1967)
''Legend in Japanese Art,''
p. 540.

Gallery

Notes

References

* Joly, Henri L. (1967). ''Legend in Japanese Art: a Description of Historical Episodes, Legendary Characters, Folk-lore Myths, Religious Symbolism, Illustrated in the Arts of Old Japan.'' Rutland, Vermont: Tuttle.
OCLC 219871829
* Kitagawa, Hiroshi and Bruce T. Tsuchida, ed. (1975). ''The Tale of the Heike.'' Tokyo:

University of Tokyo Press The is a university press affiliated with the University of Tokyo in Japan. It was founded in 1951, following the post-World War II reorganization of the university. The press is currently a member of the Association of University Presses. H ...

.
OCLC 164803926
* Nussbaum, Louis Frédéric and Käthe Roth. (2005). ''Japan Encyclopedia.'' Cambridge:

Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is an academic publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University. It is a member of the Association of University Presses. Its director since 2017 is George Andreou. The pres ...

.
OCLC 48943301
* Varley, Paul. (1994). ''Warriors of Japan as Portrayed in the War Tales.'' Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. ;
OCLC 246555065

External links

* Grunwald Center for the Graphic Arts, UCLA Hammer Museum:
woodcut print -- "Battle of Uji River" or "Hatekeyama Shigetada fording the Uji River," Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1797-1861)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hatakeyama, Shigetada 1164 births 1205 deaths Taira clan Hatakeyama clan People of the Heian period People of the Kamakura period Buddhists of the Heian period Buddhists of the Kamakura period People of the Genpei War