(1169–1184) 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 ...

'' of the late

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 ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. He was a member of the

Taira The was one of the four most important clans that dominated Japanese politics during the Heian period of Japanese history – the others being the Minamoto, the Fujiwara, and the Tachibana. The clan is divided into four major groups, named ...

clan (Heike) who 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 ...

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 ...

(Genji). He is mostly known for his early death at the

Battle of Ichi-no-Tani The was fought between the attacking Minamoto clan and the defending Taira clan at Suma, to the west of present-day Kobe, Japan, on 20 March 1184. It sat on a very narrow strip of shore, between mountains on the north, and the sea to the sou ...

and his appearance in the

epic Epic commonly refers to: * Epic poetry, a long narrative poem celebrating heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation * Epic film, a genre of film defined by the spectacular presentation of human drama on a grandiose scale Epic(s) ...

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. ...

'', in which he was killed by the remorseful warrior

Kumagai Naozane (March 24, 1141 – September 27, 1207/October 25, 1208) was a famous soldier who served the Genji (Minamoto) clan during the Heian period and Kamakura era of Japanese medieval history. Kumagai is particularly known for his exploits during the G ...

. He is also the subject of the famous

Noh is a major form of classical Japanese dance-drama that has been performed since the 14th century. It is Japan's oldest major theater art that is still regularly performed today. Noh is often based on tales from traditional literature featuri ...

play ''Atsumori''.

Career

Atsumori was a son of

Taira no Tsunemori Taira no Tsunemori () (1124–1185) was the 3rd son of Taira no Tadamori and a younger half-brother of Taira no Kiyomori. He committed suicide with his younger brother, Taira no Norimori, at the Battle of Dan-no-ura, the last battle of the Genpe ...

, a younger half-brother of the powerful lord and regent

Taira no Kiyomori was a military leader and '' kugyō'' of the late Heian period of Japan. He established the first samurai-dominated administrative government in the history of Japan. Early life Kiyomori was born in Japan, in 1118 as the first son of Taira ...

. Atsumori fought as a warrior during the

. At the age of either 15 or 16, he was killed in the

. During the battle, Atsumori engaged

, a retainer of the

, and was killed. Kumagai had a son the same age as Atsumori. Kumagai's great remorse as told in ''

The Tale of 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. ...

'', coupled with his taking of a monk's vows, caused this otherwise obscure event to become well known for its tragedy.

Battle of Ichi-no-Tani

According to ''The Tale of the Heike,'' the Taira were scattered by

Yoshitsune Yoshitsune may refer to: * Minamoto no Yoshitsune (1159–1189) ** ''Gikeiki'', a Japanese chronicle, sometimes known in English by Helen Craig McCullough's translated title ''Yoshitsune'' ** ''Yoshitsune'' (TV series), a 2005 Japanese television ...

's attack from the Ichi-no-Tani cliff. Kumagai no Jirō Naozane, while scanning the beach for fleeing soldiers, spotted the young Atsumori swimming towards the fleeing vessels. Kumagai Naozane and Taira no Atsumori

Kumagai beckoned Atsumori with his fan, taunting Atsumori by saying, “I see that you are a commander-in-chief. It is dishonorable to show your back to an enemy. Return!” Atsumori returned and they grappled on the beach. Kumagai was stronger. He knocked off Atsumori's helmet to deliver the finishing blow, only to be struck by the beauty of the young noble. Atsumori was “sixteen or seventeen years old, with a lightly powdered face and

blackened teeth Teeth blackening or teeth lacquering is a custom of dyeing one's teeth black. It was most predominantly practiced in Southeast Asian and Oceania, Oceanic cultures, particularly among Austronesian peoples, Austronesian, Austroasiatic, and Kra–Dai ...

—a boy just the age of Naozane's own son...” Kumagai, wishing to spare the life of the boy, asked for Atsumori's name, but the youth refused. He simply said that he was famous enough that Kumagai's superiors would recognize his head when it was time to assign rewards. At that moment, other Minamoto warriors arrived, and Kumagai knew that if he did not kill Atsumori, the other warriors surely would. Kumagai reasoned that it was better if he was the one to kill Atsumori, because he could offer prayers on his behalf for the afterlife. Taira no Atsumori

Kumagai while crying beheaded the youth. Searching the body for something to wrap the head in, he came across a bag containing a flute. He realized that Atsumori must have been one of the soldiers playing music before the battle and thought, “there are tens of thousands of riders in our eastern armies, but I am sure none of them has brought a flute to the battlefield. Those court nobles are refined men!” It is said that the beheading of Atsumori is what led Kumagai to take priestly vows and become a Buddhist monk.

In other works

The Atsumori narrative became the subject of many subsequent works, including: *The

play, ''

Atsumori (1169–1184) was a ''samurai'' of the late Heian period of Japan. He was a member of the Taira clan (Heike) who fought in the Genpei War against the Minamoto (Genji). He is mostly known for his early death at the Battle of Ichi-no-Tani and hi ...

'', which follows Kumagai, now known as the Buddhist priest Renshō, as he speaks with and prays for the dead Atsumori. *The

Bunraku is a form of traditional Japanese puppet theatre, founded in Osaka in the beginning of the 17th century, which is still performed in the modern day. Three kinds of performers take part in a performance: the or (puppeteers), the (chanters) ...

puppet play, later adapted for

Kabuki is a classical form of Theatre of Japan, Japanese theatre, mixing dramatic performance with Japanese traditional dance, traditional dance. Kabuki theatre is known for its heavily stylised performances, its glamorous, highly decorated costumes ...

, ''

Ichinotani Futaba Gunki The was fought between the attacking Minamoto clan and the defending Taira clan at Suma, to the west of present-day Kobe, Japan, on 20 March 1184. It sat on a very narrow strip of shore, between mountains on the north, and the sea to the sou ...

.'' *''A Narrative: Atsumori'', which expands upon the ''Tales of the Heike'' version and includes a section where Kumagai personally returns the body of Atsumori to the Minamoto. *''Little Atsumori'', the tale of the resulting plight of Atsumori's wife and his yet unborn son. *The lesser-known

play ''Sakigake Genpei Tsutsuji'' (otherwise called ''Ogiya Kumagai'', or ''Suma no Miyako Genpei Tsutsuji''), where Atsumori hides his identity by dressing up as the girl Kohagi and working in a fan shop. *Atsumori, as a

Kami are the Deity, deities, Divinity, divinities, Spirit (supernatural entity), spirits, mythological, spiritual, or natural phenomena that are venerated in the traditional Shinto religion of Japan. ''Kami'' can be elements of the landscape, forc ...

, is a character in

Wen Spencer Wen Spencer (born 1963) is an American science fiction and fantasy writer whose books center on characters with unusual abilities. In 2003, she was the winner of the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer. Spencer was raised on a family f ...

's modern fantasy novel ''

Eight Million Gods 8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9. Etymology English ''eight'', from Old English '', æhta'', Proto-Germanic ''*ahto'' is a direct continuation of Proto-Indo-European '' *oḱtṓ(w)-'', and as such cognate wi ...

''.

Oda Nobunaga was a Japanese ''daimyō'' and one of the leading figures of the Sengoku period, Sengoku and Azuchi-Momoyama periods. He was the and regarded as the first "Great Unifier" of Japan. He is sometimes referred as the "Demon Daimyō" and "Demo ...

, the 16th-century warlord often quoted from the

Kōwakamai is a Japanese recitative dance, originating in the 15th century and popular during the Sengoku and early Edo periods (late 16th to early 17th centuries). Although kōwakamai has dance and musical components, scholars consider its textual component ...

version of "Atsumori", which gave Atsumori a

death poem The death poem is a genre of poetry that developed in the literary traditions of the Sinosphere—most prominently in Culture of Japan, Japan as well as certain periods of Chinese history, Joseon Korea, and Vietnam. They tend to offer a reflectio ...

''人間五十年、下天のうちをくらぶれば、夢幻の如くなり。一度生を享け滅せぬもののあるべきか'' an's life of fifty years, against Heaven's span, Like a dream, a phantom. Once granted breath, what being escapes its final fade?"

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taira no, Atsumori Samurai Taira clan 1169 births 1184 deaths Japanese warriors killed in battle People of the Heian period People of the Genpei War

Career

Battle of Ichi-no-Tani

In other works

See also

References