* Image is for illustrative purposes only.Kajiwara Kagetoki
梶原景時
The slanderous warrior — Yoritomo's trusted retainer behind Yoshitsune's downfall
Description
Life
Kajiwara Kagetoki (d. 1200) was a warrior from Sagami Province who initially fought for the Taira at the 1180 Battle of Ishibashiyama, cornering Minamoto no Yoritomo, but is said to have spared the defeated Yoritomo's life when he found him in hiding. After pledging loyalty to Yoritomo the following year, he served as deputy chief of the Office of Warriors (Samurai-dokoro) and was promoted to its head in 1192, becoming one of Yoritomo's most trusted aides during the shogunate's founding years.
Conflict with Yoshitsune and Slander
During the 1185 campaign at Yashima, he clashed with Minamoto no Yoshitsune over naval tactics in the famous "reverse-oar" dispute, and his growing distrust of Yoshitsune led him to slander him to Yoritomo, contributing to Yoshitsune's eventual downfall. Because of this, later generations have remembered Kagetoki as a slanderer, and he has been portrayed as Yoshitsune's antagonist in Noh drama and narrative literature.
Downfall and Death
After Yoritomo's death in 1199, Kagetoki accused the gokenin Yūki Tomomitsu of plotting treason against the new shogun Minamoto no Yoriie. When this accusation came to light, sixty-six powerful gokenin jointly signed a petition denouncing him, and Kagetoki was banished from Kamakura. In 1200, while attempting to travel toward Kyoto, he and his family clashed with local warriors at the Kiyomi Barrier in Suruga Province; his son Kagesue and others were killed, Kagetoki took his own life, and the family was destroyed — an episode known as the Kajiwara Kagetoki Incident.