was a Heian period provincial magnate (gōzoku) and samurai based in eastern Japan, notable for leading the first recorded uprising against the central government in Kyōto. Along with Sugawara no Michizane and Emperor Sutoku, he is often called one of the "".

Early life

left|thumb|354x354px|[[Emperor Kanmu|Kanmu, 50th emperor of Japan. The branch of the Taira clan (Heishi) to which Masakado belonged, the Kanmu Heishi (桓武平氏), traces itself from Kanmu's children who were not considered eligible for the throne.]]

Masakado was one of the sons of Taira no Yoshimasa (平良将), also known as Taira no Yoshimochi (平良持), of the Kanmu Taira clan (Kanmu Heishi), descendants of Emperor Kanmu (reigned 781–806) who were demoted from princely to commoner status and granted the Taira surname. Yoshimochi was one of the sons of Prince Takamochi, a grandson or great-grandson of Kanmu who was appointed the vice-governor of Kazusa Province (modern central Chiba Prefecture) in 889 (Kanpyō 1). Takamochi's sons who joined him there occupied a variety of provincial offices in the eastern part of the country such as that of chinjufu shōgun, the commander-in-chief of the defense garrison (chinjufu) in Mutsu Province tasked with subjugating the Emishi peoples of the north.

Not much is known of Masakado's birth and early life due to lack of written evidence. The genealogical record Sonpi Bunmyaku (compiled 1377–1395) identifies Masakado as the third of Yoshimochi's eight sons, while the genealogy of the Sōma clan (an offshoot of the Chiba clan, who were descended from Masakado's uncle Yoshifumi), the , identifies him as the second of seven sons. though the factuality of this information has been disputed.

Masakado's year of birth is also unclear. Accounts of his exploits in the mid-930s suggest that his children were young enough to be still in the care of their mother, which may imply that he was born sometime around 900.

At some point in his late teens, Masakado went to the capital city of Heian-kyō (Kyōto) and served in the household of the imperial regent Fujiwara no Tadahira. He is said to have aspired for a position within the imperial police force, the Kebiishi, but failed to obtain court rank or any significant office in spite of his credentials and his patron's high status. the , an anonymous monograph on Masakado's life believed to have been completed as early as the 940s, suggests that the conflict originally began in 931 (Jōhei 1) as a dispute between Masakado, freshly returned from Heian-kyō, and his paternal uncle Taira no Yoshikane (平良兼) over a woman. (Aristocratic marriages during the Heian period were usually matrilocal; the wife continued to reside with her parents while the husband either moved in with his wife's family or simply visited her.) Besides this affront to his honor, Masakado not obtaining any post or rank in the capital might have been another factor in Yoshikane's opposition to the marriage.

thumb|right|[[Takiyasha|Takiyasha-hime, the sorceress, is shown carrying a sword in one hand, a bell in the other, and a torch in her mouth; the toad, her familiar, is shown in the inset with her father, Taira no Masakado. Ukiyo-e woodblock print by Yōshū Chikanobu, 1884.]]

On the 21st day of the 10th month of the same year, Taira no Yoshimasa (平良正), Masakado's paternal uncle or cousin who was also related by marriage to Mamoru, seeking to avenge the deaths of Kunika and Mamoru's sons, faced Masakado in battle in the village of Kawawa (川曲村) in western Hitachi (identified with the town of Yachiyo, Ibaraki)

After his humiliating defeat, Yoshimasa called to Yoshikane – now the vice-governor of Kazusa Province – for aid, who then gathered a large number of warriors from Kazusa and Shimōsa such that officials from the two provinces initially attempted to prevent their dispatch (Such protests were later withdrawn after the issue was deemed to be a private matter beyond the sphere of state affairs). On the 26th day of the 6th month of 936 (Jōhei 6), Yoshikane led his massive army to Hitachi, where he joined forces with Yoshimasa and Kunika's son Sadamori (who had been in the capital when his father was killed and initially took a neutral stance), whom he had prevailed upon to take part in the attack against Masakado. They made contact at the border between Hitachi and Shimotsuke (modern Tochigi Prefecture) with Masakado, who went there to verify reports about a plan to launch a joint attack on him from the north. Despite only having about a hundred poorly-equipped soldiers with him, Masakado inflicted heavy casualties upon his enemies' several thousand strong army. Scattered and thrown into confusion, Yoshikane and the remnants of his forces fled to the provincial headquarters of Shimotsuke, Masakado pursuing them. Although he managed to surround his uncle in the governmental offices, Masakado, seemingly concerned about subsequent censure should he kill Yoshikane then and there, allowed him to escape through a gap in his western line. He then filed a formal grievance with the provincial authorities in neighboring provinces before returning to his territory.

Not long after his victory, Masakado received a summons from the imperial court because of a complaint lodged against him by Minamoto no Mamoru over the battle at Nomoto. Masakado then hurried to the capital to give an account of himself; his lord, Fujiwara no Tadahira, probably intervened in the case and helped lighten his punishment. He was eventually pardoned early the following year (937 / Jōhei 7) when a general amnesty was declared at the occasion of Emperor Suzaku's coming of age (genpuku).

Over the centuries, Masakado became a demigod to the locals who were impressed by his stand against the central government, while at the same time feeling the need to appease his . The fortunes of Edo and Tokyo seemed to wax and wane correspondingly with the respect paid to the shrine built to him at the kubizuka (ja); neglect would be followed by natural disasters and other misfortunes. Hence, to this day, the shrine is well maintained, occupying some of the most expensive land in the world in Tokyo's financial district facing the Imperial Palace. His tomb (which contains only a monument to his head) is near exit C5 of Tokyo's Ōtemachi subway station.

Other shrines which he is deity of include (located in Kanda), and Tsukudo Jinja (which has multiple locations).

thumb|right|The legendary final resting place of Taira no Masakado's head near the [[Tokyo Imperial Palace]]

In Gifu Prefecture, there is a Mikubi shrine (ja) dedicated to Taira no Masakado. According to a legend left at the Shinto shrine, a priest at a shrine in Mino Province prayed to a to prevent the head of Taira no Masakado, who was beheaded in Kyoto, from returning to Kantō for revenge, and the kami shot the head off with a as Taira no Masakado flew back to Kantō. The Mikubi Shrine was built on the spot where the head fell.

  • The Soma Nomaoi (相馬野馬追) horse-riding festival organized by Taira no Masakado is still celebrated today.
  • Taira no Masakado is featured in the historical fiction novels of Yoshikawa Eiji.
  • Chōgorō Kaionji's novels and .
  • Kaze to Kumo to Niji to, a Japanese TV drama based on the novels of Chōgorō Kaionji, chronicles the life of Taira no Masakado.
  • Teito Monogatari, a historical fantasy novel by Hiroshi Aramata providing a speculative retelling of the history of Tokyo in which the curse of Masakado influences the development of the city.
  • In the Nintendo DS game Ganbare Goemon: Tōkai Dōchū Ōedo Tengu ri Kaeshi no Maki, players meet the ghost of Masakado and must retrieve his kabuto helmet to progress the story.
  • Masakado appears in several games in the Megami Tensei franchise.

See also

  • Chiba clan
  • Fujiwara no Sumitomo, rebellious leader of the same time
  • Myōken

Notes

References

Bibliography

  • Friday, Karl F. (2008). The First Samurai: the Life & Legend of the Warrior Rebel Taira Masakado [https://books.google.com/books?id=D7NC4dVU_jcC&q=First+Life] New York: John Wiley and Sons. ;
  • Nussbaum, Louis Frédéric and Käthe Roth. (2005). Japan Encyclopedia. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. ; OCLC 48943301
  • Yoshikawa, Eiji. (1989) Yoshikawa Eiji Rekishi Jidai Bunko (Eiji Yoshikawa's Historical Fiction), Vol. 46: Taira no Masakado (平の将門). Tokyo: Kodansha.
  • Waley, P. Tokyo Now & Then. First Edition (1984). John Weatherhill, Inc. .
  • Lafcadio Hearn <u>Kwaidan</u>. First edition (1904). Houghton Mifflin & Co.
  • Masakado's Home Page
  • Kanda Shrine Official Website (Japanese)
  • Tsukudo Shrine Official Website (English)
  • Kokuō Shrine Official Website (Japanese)