Minamoto no Sanetomo 源 実朝 | |
|---|---|
 Painting of Minamoto no Sanetomo byYashima Gakutei.Edo period circa 1825. | |
| Shōgun | |
| In office 1203–1219 | |
| Monarchs | Tsuchimikado Juntoku |
| Shikken | Hōjō Tokimasa Hōjō Yoshitoki |
| Preceded by | Minamoto no Yoriie |
| Succeeded by | Kujō Yoritsune |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1192-09-17)September 17, 1192 |
| Died | February 13, 1219(1219-02-13) (aged 26) |
| Nationality | Japanese |
| Spouse | Bomon Nobuko |
| Parents |
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| Signature |  |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Minamoto clan |
| Branch/service | Minamoto clan |
Minamoto no Sanetomo (源 実朝;Japanese pronunciation:[mʲi.na.mo.tono(|)sa.ne.to.mo],[1] September 12, 1192 – February 13, 1219, r. 1203–1219) was the thirdshōgun of theKamakura shogunate. He was the second son of the Kamakura shogunate founder,Minamoto no Yoritomo. His mother wasHōjō Masako and his older brother was the second Kamakura shogunMinamoto no Yoriie.
His childhood name wasSenman (千万). He was the last head of theMinamoto clan ofJapan. HisDharma name wasDaijijiden seini'i goshoko jingi (大慈寺殿正二位丞相公神儀).
He was an accomplishedwaka poet.
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After the death of Yoritomo in 1199, Sanetomo's maternal grandfatherHōjō Tokimasa usurped the political and military power of the Shogunate, relegating the position and title ofSei-i Taishōgun, orshōgun, to a figurehead. Through hereditary succession, Sanetomo's older brother Yoriie becameSei-i Taishōgun in 1202, only to be stripped of the title a year later and put under house arrest for plotting against theHōjō clan.[citation needed] This was presumably to keep theshōgun a child and thus needing a regent (shikken) to make decisions in his place. Shortly thereafter, in 1203, Sanetomo became head of the Minamoto clan and was appointedSei-i Taishōgun.
A year later, Yoriie was assassinated by the Hōjō. Sanetomo was never more than a puppet for his motherHōjō Masako and maternal uncle Hōjō Yoshitoki, who used him as a pawn in their war with their father Tokimasa; Tokimasa tried to depose his grandson a number of times, beginning in 1205, causing Sanetomo to fear for his life thereafter.[citation needed]
Sanetomo, understanding his own powerlessness and not wanting to meet the same fate as his elder brother, put his time and energy into writingwaka poetry and gaining posts within the powerless but honorary imperial court. Sanetomo was a talented poet, writing over 700 poems between the age 17 and 22 while he was tutored byFujiwara no Teika[citation needed]. He published his private waka collectionKinkai Wakashū, even having one of histanka included in the anthologyOguraHyakunin Isshu ("100 Poems by 100 Poets"), a collection of Japanese poems of theHeian and early Kamakura periods. Sanetomo reached the third-highest post of the imperial court,Udaijin (Minister of the Right or "vice-premier") in 1218.[2]
Eventually, Sanetomo lapsed into inactivity and despair, plagued by fear of assassination and tormented by his chronicalcoholism (an addiction which PriestEisai once tried to break by replacing alcohol withtea).[citation needed]
Under heavy snow on the evening of February 13, 1219 (Jōkyū 1, 27th day of the 1st month), Sanetomo was coming down from the Senior Shrine atTsurugaoka Hachiman-gū after participating in a ceremony celebrating his nomination toUdaijin.[3] His adopted heir and nephew, son of the deposed Yoriie,Kugyō, came out from beside the stone stairway of the shrine and assassinated him.[3] For his act, he was himself beheaded a few hours later,[3] thus bringing theSeiwa Genji line of the Minamoto clan and their rule in Kamakura to a sudden end.
Minamoto no Sanetomo was succeeded byKujō Yoritsune, son-in-law of Yoriie, as fourthshōgun of the Kamakura shogunate.
The years in which Sanetomo was shogun are more specifically identified by more than oneera name ornengō.
| Preceded by | Shōgun: Minamoto no Sanetomo 1203–1219 | Succeeded by |
