Nitta Tadatsune (仁田忠常, 1167 – October 12, 1203) was a Japanese

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 ...

lord and

retainer Retainer may refer to: * Retainer (orthodontics), devices for teeth * RFA Retainer (A329), RFA ''Retainer'' (A329), a ship * Retainers in early China, a social group in early China Employment * Retainer agreement, a contract in which an employer p ...

of the

Kamakura shogunate The was the feudal military government of Japan during the Kamakura period from 1185 to 1333. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Kamakura-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 459. The Kamakura shogunate was established by Minamoto no Yori ...

in 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 ...

. He served as a close retainer to

shogun , officially , was the title of the military aristocracy, rulers of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor of Japan, Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, exc ...

Minamoto no Yoritomo was the founder and the first shogun of the Kamakura shogunate, ruling from 1192 until 1199, also the first ruling shogun in the history of Japan.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Minamoto no Yoriie" in . He was the husband of Hōjō Masako ...

and Yoriie. He is known for killing

Soga Sukenari Soga Sukenari (Japanese: 曾我祐成, 1172 - June 28, 1193) was a Japanese samurai in the early Kamakura period. He and his brother Soga Tokimune are known for being the perpetrators of the Revenge of the Soga Brothers incident. He is a centr ...

during the

Revenge of the Soga Brothers The Revenge of the Soga Brothers (曾我兄弟の仇討ち, ''Soga kyōdai no adauchi'') was a vengeance incident on 28 June 1193, during the Fuji no Makigari hunting event arranged by shogun Minamoto no Yoritomo. The Soga brothers, Soga Sukenari ...

incident. In ''

The Tale of the Heike 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 called Nitan no Tadatsune. He is also called Shirō, his '' azana''.

Life

Nitta Tadatsune was born in 1167. His parents are not known but he was from the Kanō clan (a branch of the

Kudō clan Kudo or KUDO may refer to: * KOAN (AM), a radio station (1080 AM) in Anchorage, Alaska, United States, which held the call sign KUDO from 2002 to 2013 * Kūdō, a martial art and a combat sport, also called daido juku People Kudō (工藤; Kudo ...

), descending from the Nanke House of the powerful

Fujiwara clan The was a powerful family of imperial regents in Japan, descending from the Nakatomi clan and, as legend held, through them their ancestral god Ame-no-Koyane. The Fujiwara prospered since ancient times and dominated the imperial court until th ...

. Tadatsune was originally a resident of Nitta,

Izu Province was a province of Japan in the area now part of Shizuoka Prefecture and Tokyo. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Izu''" in . Izu bordered on Sagami and Suruga Provinces. Its abbreviated form name was . The mainland portion of Izu Prov ...

(present-day

Kannami is a town located in Tagata District, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 37,782 in 16,401 households and a population density of 580 persons per km². The total area of the town was . Geography Kannami is ...

Shizuoka Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Shizuoka Prefecture has a population of 3,555,818 and has a geographic area of . Shizuoka Prefecture borders Kanagawa Prefecture to the east, Yamanashi Pref ...

). In 1180, he joined

's troops, and played an active part in the punitive expedition of 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 ...

in the West. In March 1185, he moved to various parts of Chinzei (

Saikaidō The is a Japanese geographical term. It means both an ancient division of the country and the main road running through it. Saikaido was one of the main Circuit (subnational entity), circuits of the Gokishichidō system, which was originally es ...

) serving

Minamoto no Noriyori was a Japanese samurai lord of the late Heian period and early Kamakura period, who fought alongside his brothers Minamoto no Yoritomo and Minamoto no Yoshitsune at a number of battles of the Genpei War. He was the sixth son of Minamoto no Yosh ...

. He also participated in the conquest of Mutsu Province during the

Battle of Ōshū The Battle of Ōshū (奥州合戦, ''Ōshū-kassen'') was a major battle between the Kamakura government and the Northern Fujiwara that took place in the Tōhoku region of Japan from September 1 to October 14, 1189. It resulted in the downfall ...

. In June 1193, during the grand hunting event, Fuji no Makigari, held by

Minamoto no Yoritomo, Tadatsune acted as an archer for Yoritomo. On June 28, 1193, the Soga brothers killed

Kudō Suketsune Kudō Suketsune (Japanese: 工藤祐経; 1147 – June 28, 1193) was a Japanese samurai and ''gokenin'' in the late Heian and early Kamakura period. He was assassinated during the Revenge of the Soga Brothers incident. Life Suketsune was born ...

at the event, an incident known as the

. The brothers began a bloodbath at the event, defeating ten samurai and slashing many others. Tadatsune joined the fight late, criticized the poor strategy of the samurai and told them to separate the two brothers and surround them. Tadatsune attacked

, who told him that he was hoping to fight with him as he was yet to meet a worthy enemy. Although Sukenari managed to cut Tadatsune's forearm and the hair on his temple, Sukenari was getting tired and his sword slipped from his hand, forcing him to retreat. Koshibagaki no Kage almost hit Sukenari's elbow causing him to lose control. Tadatsune took advantage of this, and cut Sukenari from the left shoulder all the way under the right breast, killing him. According to legend, after killing Sukenari, Tadatsune jumped onto a

wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a Suidae, suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The speci ...

. When Tadatsune fell ill, Yoritomo would personally attend him, signifying that he had a great deal of trust in Tadatsune. Tadatsune's wife, who was said to be a virgin, drowned on the way to the Mishima Shrine where she prayed for his husband's recovery. Tadatsune became a close retainer to Yoritomo's son,

Minamoto no Yoriie was the second ''shōgun'' (1202–1203) of Japan's Kamakura shogunate, and the first son of first shōgun Yoritomo. His Dharma name was Hokke-in-dono Kingo Da'i Zengo (法華院殿金吾大禅閤). Life Minamoto no Yoriie was born to Hōj ...

. In 1203, Tadatsune killed

Hiki Yoshikazu Hiki Yoshikazu was a Japanese samurai lord and a powerful ''gokenin'' of the Kamakura Shogunate during the Kamakura period. He was related to the ruling Minamoto clan through his daughter's marriage. He, and much of the Hiki clan, were killed for ...

and wiped out the Hiki clan during the Hiki Yoshikazu Rebellion, ordered 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 ...

. Enraged by this, Yoriie ordered Tadatsune and

Wada Yoshimori was a Japanese samurai lord and ''gokenin'' of the early Kamakura period. He was the first director ('' bettō'') of the Board of Retainers in the Kamakura shogunate. Life Wada Yoshimori was born as the son of Miura Yoshiaki and grandson o ...

to assassinate the mastermind of the incident, Hōjō Tokimasa. Yoshimori did not follow Yoriie's orders and informed Tokimasa about the plan. On the other hand, Tadatsune's ambiguous behavior was deemed suspicious and caused Tokimasa's brother Hōjō Tadatoki to misinterpret Tatatsune's intentions. Following this on October 12, 1203, Tadatsune was killed by Katō Kagekado on behalf of the

Hōjō clan The was a Japanese samurai family who controlled the hereditary title of '' shikken'' (regent) of the Kamakura shogunate between 1203 and 1333. Despite the title, in practice the family wielded actual political power in Japan during this perio ...

, caused by Tadatoki's misunderstanding. Tadatsune was aged 37 at the time of his death. In ''

Soga Monogatari ''Soga Monogatari'' () is a Japanese military chronicle-tale based on the vengeance incident, Revenge of Soga Brothers. The story is often known as ''The (illustrated) Tale of the Soga Brothers'' or ''The Revenge of the Soga Brothers''. It is ...

'', although Tadatsune became known for his bravery after he jumped backwards onto a wild boar and killed it in front of Yoritomo, it is said that the boar was actually a

Yama-no-Kami Mountain Gods () are Asian tutelary deities associated with mountains. They are related to Landlord deity, landlord deities and tudigongs and City God (China), City Gods. They are well-known in Korea and some prominent Chinese mountains have shri ...

, and that he was divinely punished to be suspected of betrayal. He is also known for exploring the Hitoana cave in

Mount Fuji is an active stratovolcano located on the Japanese island of Honshu, with a summit elevation of . It is the highest mountain in Japan, the second-highest volcano on any Asian island (after Mount Kerinci on the Indonesian island of Sumatra), a ...

Family

* Father: Unknown * Mother: Unknown * Brothers: ** Nitta Gorō Tadamasa ** Nitta Tadatoki *Wife: Unknown

In popular culture

Television drama

Kusa Moeru is a 1979 Japanese television series. It is the 17th NHK taiga drama. It is also the first Taiga drama to standardize the use of modern language in dialogue starting with this one onward. On the other hand, characters did not use first names to ...

(1979)

Jouji Nakata , sometimes anglicized to George Nakata, is a Japanese actor, voice actor, and narrator who is affiliated with the Office Osawa agency. His major voice roles include Alucard in ''Hellsing'', Hijikata Toshizo in ''Golden Kamuy'', Roy Revant in ' ...

as Nitta Tadatsune *

The 13 Lords of the Shogun is a Japanese historical drama television series starring Shun Oguri as Hōjō Yoshitoki. The series is the 61st NHK taiga drama. Cast Starring role *Shun Oguri as Hōjō Yoshitoki. Kōki Mitani pointed out some similarities between him and Mi ...

(2022) Takakiji Hiroyuki as Nitta Tadatsune

Gallery

File:仁田館遺跡説明板.jpg, Site of Nitta Mansion near Nitta Station, Izu,

File:仁田忠常・忠時・忠正公の墓.jpg, Graves of Nitta Tadatsune, Tadatoki and Tadamasa in 167‐1, Nitta,

File:Yoshitoshi Apparition in a Cave.jpg, Nitta Tadatsune by

Yoshitoshi Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (; also named Taiso Yoshitoshi ; 30 April 1839 – 9 June 1892) was a Japanese printmaker. Nussbaum, Louis Frédéric. (2005)"Tsukoka Kōgyō"in ''Japan Encyclopedia,'' p. 1000. Yoshitoshi has widely been rec ...

in ''Apparition in a Cave''

References