Minamoto no Mitsunaka

Minamoto no Mitsunaka (912–997) was a warrior of the mid-Heian period. As the founder of the Settsu Genji line, he laid the foundation for the Minamoto warrior house as a whole in later generations. Mitsunaka was also called “Tada no Mitsunaka” and based himself at Tada in Settsu Province (present-day Kawanishi City, Hyōgo Prefecture), where he established the authority of the warrior class. While maintaining close ties with the Fujiwara regent house, he firmly established the social standing of the “warrior” who protected the court and the nobility by force of arms, and he was a pioneer of that role.

Mitsunaka is known for the Anna Incident of 969, in which he informed on the rebellious plot of Minamoto no Tsuranu and others. This began the downfall of the Minister of the Left, Minamoto no Takaakira, and helped the Fujiwara monopolize political power. Through this political judgment he won deep trust from the Fujiwara, and he raised the military reputation of the warrior class by serving as provincial governor of Settsu, Echizen, Iyo, and Mutsu, among others. His sons Yorimitsu and Yorinobu came to command the warrior bands of various regions, and the prototype of the Genji warrior ethos was formed.

As for swords, Mitsunaka's era was an important turning point in which the Japanese sword shifted from straight blades to curved blades (blades with a curve), and Mitsunaka himself belonged to the generation that experienced this change. The “Tsurugi no Maki” (Book of Swords) chapter of the Genpei Jōsuiki contains a tale that Mitsunaka had the long swords “Higekiri” and “Hizamaru” made to guard the realm, and that they were handed down as heirloom swords of the Minamoto line. Also, the famous sword “Dōjigiri Yasutsuna,” said to have been used by Mitsunaka's son Minamoto no Yorimitsu to slay Shuten-dōji of Mount Ōe, has been designated a National Treasure as one of the oldest celebrated swords in Japan. Mitsunaka can be said to stand at the starting point of warrior society and of Japanese sword culture.