Minamoto no Sanetomo

Minamoto no Sanetomo (1192-1219) was the third shogun of the Kamakura shogunate and a rare warrior who also earned fame as an outstanding poet. He was born the second son of Minamoto no Yoritomo and assumed the position of shogun at just 12 years old. Although he stood at the head of the warrior government, Sanetomo had a deep interest in waka and culture, and through his love of the Man'yōshū he established a distinctive poetic style.

Sanetomo's waka were compiled into his personal poetry collection, the Kinkai Wakashū, which left behind a body of masterpieces that shine in the history of Japanese literature. He also studied under the poet Fujiwara no Teika and was highly praised, with 25 of his poems included in the Shinchokusen Wakashū compiled by Teika. His delicate sensibility shone especially brightly even in the age of warriors, and he was a rare shogun who walked the paths of both the military and the literary arts.

Sanetomo also showed interest in the continent. He had Chen Heqing, a man of the Song, build a Chinese-style ship and planned a voyage to Song China. However, the ship completed in Kenpō 5 (1217) would not float, and the plan was never realized. Although his rule was placed under the guardianship of the Hōjō clan, he displayed a distinctive diplomatic stance aimed at harmony with the imperial court. In 1219, on the night of the ceremony congratulating him on his appointment as Minister of the Right at Tsurugaoka Hachimangū, his short life came to an end when he was assassinated by his nephew Kugyō. His death brought the Minamoto line of shoguns of the Kamakura shogunate to an end and became a turning point that firmly established the regency government of the Hōjō clan.