Shimazu Tadahisa

Shimazu Tadahisa (birth year unknown – August 1, 1227 (18th day of the 6th month of Karoku 3)) was an early Kamakura-period gokenin and the founder of the Shimazu clan. He is said to have been either a son of Koremune no Hirokoto or an illegitimate son of Minamoto no Yoritomo. However, no contemporary source confirms the theory that he was Yoritomo's rakuin (illegitimate offspring), and it is considered a tradition based on the Shimazu family's own accounts.

The Shimazu family tradition gives his birth year as Jishō 3 (1179). However, Tadahisa already appears in the historical record as Sahyōe-no-jō in that year, so his actual birth year is thought to be more than a dozen years earlier.

In Bunji 1 (1185), he was appointed by Yoritomo to the posts of gesu and sōjitō (chief steward) of Shimazu-no-shō, a large estate spanning present-day Miyazaki, Kagoshima, and Kumamoto prefectures, and he took the surname Shimazu. In Kenkyū 8 (1197), he was also appointed shugo (military governor) of Ōsumi and Satsuma provinces, laying the foundation for warrior rule in southern Kyushu.

In the Hiki Yoshikazu Rebellion of Kennin 3 (1203), he was implicated because of his kinship ties with the Hiki clan, and his shugo post was temporarily confiscated. He was later reinstated. After the Jōkyū War (Jōkyū 3, 1221), he was appointed shugo of Echizen, and he continued to enjoy the trust of the bakufu. Rooted in Satsuma, the Shimazu clan went on to govern southern Kyushu for nearly 700 years, becoming one of Japan's longest-surviving warrior families and lasting until the Meiji Restoration. Near the site of the Hokke-dō in Kamakura, Tadahisa's grave site remains.