The Hatakeyama Shigetada Incident

Background — Hatakeyama Shigetada, the Model of a Kamakura Warrior

Hatakeyama Shigetada was born in Chōkan 2 (1164) in Hatakeyama Village, Obusuma District, Musashi Province (present-day Fukaya City, Saitama Prefecture). In the Genpei War he won numerous military distinctions at the Battle of the Uji River and the Battle of Ichi-no-Tani, and he also took part in the Ōshū Campaign. As a loyal gokenin since Minamoto no Yoritomo's uprising, he held considerable weight. Within Musashi Province he held the important post of rusudokoro sōkengyō-shiki, which commanded the provincial warriors, and because of his upright character he was later called "the model of a Kamakura warrior." Shigetada's residence was located at Sugaya in Hiki District, Musashi Province (present-day Ranzan, Saitama Prefecture), and the remains of this Sugaya-yakata are preserved today as a National Historic Site.

After Minamoto no Yoritomo's death, Hōjō Tokimasa, who had taken control of the Kamakura shogunate, appointed Taira no Asamasa, the son-in-law of his second wife Maki no Kata, as governor of Musashi Province, seeking to strengthen his influence over the province's administration. To the Hatakeyama clan, which had for generations held considerable weight in Musashi, this was seen as a move that threatened its own position, and tension between the two sides gradually mounted.

The Feud Between Taira no Asamasa and Hatakeyama Shigeyasu

On the 4th day of the 11th month of Genkyū 1 (1204), a banquet was held at Taira no Asamasa's residence in Kyoto to honor the gokenin who had traveled to the capital to receive the bride of Shogun Minamoto no Sanetomo. At this gathering, a fierce quarrel broke out between Asamasa and Shigetada's eldest son, Hatakeyama Shigeyasu. On the following day, the 5th, Tokimasa's son Hōjō Masanori had died of illness in Kyoto, and an uneasy atmosphere had begun to hang over Tokimasa's circle.

Maki no Kata's Slander and Tokimasa's Decision

On the 21st day of the 6th month of Genkyū 2 (1205), Asamasa complained to his mother-in-law, Maki no Kata, that Shigeyasu had subjected him to "abuse." Acting on her son-in-law's complaint, Maki no Kata reported to Tokimasa that Shigetada and his son harbored treasonous intent. Believing this slander, Tokimasa came to resolve to subjugate the Hatakeyama father and son.

The Battle of Futamatagawa — The Deaths of Shigeyasu and Shigetada

Early in the morning of the 22nd of the 6th month, Hatakeyama Shigeyasu was first attacked and killed at Yuigahama in Kamakura by forces under Miura Yoshimura and others. That same afternoon, Shigetada, who had been summoned to Kamakura and did not know what had happened, reached Futamatagawa in Musashi Province (present-day Asahi Ward, Yokohama City, Kanagawa Prefecture), where he encountered a force of several thousand horsemen led by Hōjō Yoshitoki as commander. Shigetada had only 134 mounted warriors with him. Outnumbered, he was struck by an arrow and killed in battle at the age of 42. His son Shigehide and his other retainers followed him in death by taking their own lives.

The Maki Clan Incident — Hōjō Tokimasa's Downfall

On the following day, the 23rd of the 6th month, Hōjō Yoshitoki, who had commanded the force, told his father Tokimasa that "Shigetada had no fact of treason." It became clear that the affair was a false accusation that had destroyed an innocent, powerful gokenin. Furthermore, on the 19th day of the intercalary 7th month, it came to light that Tokimasa and Maki no Kata had been scheming to set up their son-in-law Taira no Asamasa as shogun. Hōjō Masako and Yoshitoki thwarted this plot (the Maki Clan Incident). Tokimasa was made to become a Buddhist monk and was exiled to Izu Province, after which he withdrew from the public stage of politics. On the 26th day of the intercalary 7th month, Asamasa was also put to death in Kyoto. Following this political upheaval, Hōjō Yoshitoki came to hold real power over the shogunate's government as its second regent (shikken).

Later Influence and the Sugaya-yakata

After the Hatakeyama Shigetada Incident, the power of the leading powerful local clans in Musashi Province was greatly diminished, and Hōjō control over Musashi became decisive. The Sugaya-yakata, Shigetada's former residence, was later used as a base by the Yamanouchi Uesugi clan and the Go-Hōjō clan. Its remains have survived to the present day as a testament to the history of castles and residences in the Kantō region from the Kamakura period through the Sengoku period. The tragedy of Shigetada, destroyed through a false charge, came to be long passed down in later generations as the tale of "the model of a Kamakura warrior," renowned for his loyalty.