Adachi Yasumori

Adachi Yasumori was a leading gokenin of the mid-Kamakura period. Born in 1231 (Kangi 3) as the third son of Adachi Yoshikage, he died on 14 December 1285 (Koan 8, 11th month, 17th day) in the Shimotsuki Incident. His great-grandfather was Adachi Morinaga, a close aide of Minamoto no Yoritomo, and his mother was a daughter of Tomono Tokinaga of the Kai-Genji. Known as Jo-no-Kuro and Mutsu Nyudo, with the Buddhist name Kakushin, he held the posts of Akita-jo-no-suke and Mutsu-no-kami and served as hikitsuke member, hyojoshu and goon-bugyo.

Life

At the Hoji Battle of 1247 he fought as vanguard against the Miura after a rebuke from his grandfather Kagemori, securing the Adachi's standing. He inherited the headship in 1253 on his father's death and became Akita-jo-no-suke. In 1261 he married his adopted daughter Kakusan-ni to Hojo Tokimune, strengthening ties with the Hojo main line.

Career

In 1266 he took part in the secret council that sent Shogun Prince Munetaka back to Kyoto and installed Prince Koreyasu. After the 1274 Mongol invasion he became goon-bugyo; the Moko Shurai Ekotoba shows Takezaki Suenaga's petition to him. In 1277 he brought the eboshi cap at the coming-of-age ceremony of Tokimune's heir Sadatoki and became his guardian.

The Koan reforms

After Tokimune died in April 1284, Yasumori took Buddhist vows as Kakushin and led reform of the shogunate through the Shin-goshikimoku, aiming to restore shogunal authority, curb the interference of the Hojo household retainers (miuchi-bito) and recover the lands of major temples and shrines. Restraining the miuchi-bito brought him into decisive conflict with Taira no Yoritsuna.

The Shimotsuki Incident

According to the Horeki Kanki, Yoritsuna told Sadatoki that Yasumori's heir Munekage, who had taken the Minamoto surname, aspired to become shogun. On 14 December 1285 fighting broke out across Kamakura; Yasumori, Munekage and his brother Nagakage were killed, some 500 of the clan perished, and the main Adachi line was destroyed. In Kyushu his second son Morimune died when Shoni Tsunesuke attacked Iwato Castle. Yoritsuna was himself destroyed by Sadatoki seven years later.

Character and anecdotes

At about eighteen he served as scribe for shogunal documents and received the secret teachings of the Seisonji calligraphy school. He was also skilled at kemari, appears as a master horseman in section 185 of Tsurezuregusa, and erected distance markers along the Koyasan pilgrimage road.

Swords

The famed sword Tsurumaru Kuninaga (now an Imperial Household collection item) is traditionally said to have been held by the Adachi clan in the Kamakura period before passing to Hōjō Sadatoki. Accounts differ on which member of the Adachi held it, and no source confirms that Yasumori himself owned it.

Legacy

The Ippen Hijiri-e records that Ippen, on hearing of his death, said a great man had been lost. A stone memorial on Mount Aoba in Sendai is thought to honor his memory.