Satō Tadanobu

佐藤忠信

Loyal Retainer from Ōshū Said to Have Fought as Minamoto no Yoshitsune's Decoy and Taken His Own Life in Kyoto

Era: Late Heian period
Lifespan: 11531161-1186

Description

Satō Tadanobu was a retainer of the Ōshū Fujiwara clan and the younger brother of Satō Tsugunobu. His birth year is given as either 1153 (Nin'an 3) or 1161 (Ōhō 1), and his death as 1186 (Bunji 2).

Service under Yoshitsune

In 1180 (Jishō 4), at the order of Fujiwara no Hidehira, he is said to have followed Minamoto no Yoshitsune together with his brother Tsugunobu.

The battle at Yoshino

The Gikeiki describes Tadanobu as Yoshitsune's decoy: he returned alone from Yoshino to Kyoto, fought there, and took his own life. However, this battle rests on the Gikeiki tradition, and no historical source confirming it has been found.

Death

He was attacked by Kamakura gokenin Kasuya Arisue while hiding in Kyoto and took his own life. According to the Azuma Kagami (original text unconfirmed), a letter he sent to a married former lover led her husband to reveal his hiding place. The date of death is the 22nd day of the 9th month of Bunji 2 (1186), or 4 November 1186 in the Gregorian calendar.